Why E-Collars Won’t Fix Resource Guarding in Dogs

I was scrolling through social media, as I do each night, and I came across yet another influencer video that led me to pause. In the clip, a trainer used an e-collar to interrupt a Golden Retriever who was resource guarding. The behavior— often a result of anxiety, insecurity, or learned responses— was stopped in the moment by applying a stimulation from the collar.

While this method might look effective on the surface, it doesn’t actually solve the underlying problem. It suppresses the dog’s emotional response through discomfort and confusion. What’s being “fixed” here isn’t the behavior— it’s just the expression of it. The underlying need, fear, or motivation is left unaddressed.

The Problem with Suppression

Resource guarding in dogs is a survival-driven behavior rooted in emotion. When a dog is punished or “stimmed” for reacting, they aren’t learning to feel safe or trust their environment— they’re learning that communicating their discomfort leads to punishment. This doesn’t make the dog safer or more confident; it often pushes behaviors underground, which can result in unpredictable and explosive reactions later.

Instead of working with the dog to build coping skills and confidence, this method creates a situation where the dog is afraid to express how they feel. That’s not training— that’s suppression.

Behavior Specialist vs. Dog Trainer

This is where the difference between a dog trainer and a behavior specialist becomes crucial. A trainer might be focused on obedience or surface-level behavior changes. A behavior specialist looks deeper— into the emotional roots of behavior, the function of the dog’s actions, and how to create lasting change through evidence-based practices.

The trainer in the video later mocked professionals in a different video, who work with behavior cases over longer periods—months, even years— as if the time spent was unnecessary. But the truth is: behavior modification, especially for emotionally charged behaviors like resource guarding, takes time. Healing takes time. Building trust takes time.

Quick fixes are appealing, but they’re often unstable. Dogs aren’t machines to be reprogrammed— they're sentient beings with individual histories, needs, and emotional frameworks.

Why Positive Reinforcement Matters

Positive reinforcement doesn’t just manage behavior— it teaches. When a dog learns that giving up a valued resource earns them something even better, like a high-value treat or affection, they start to see human approach as a good thing rather than a threat. This method creates true behavior change because it aligns with how dogs learn best: through association and repetition, not fear.

It builds communication, not conflict.

Final Thoughts

The video I saw was a perfect example of why it’s important to dig deeper than what looks effective on the surface. Using aversives like an e-collar to control behavior might buy temporary compliance, but it comes at the cost of trust, emotional safety, and long-term stability.

That said, an e-collar—like any tool— can have a place in training when used with nuance, experience, and ethical consideration. But in this case it is not a solution. And it should never be the first line of defense, especially for behavior issues rooted in fear or insecurity. And no responsible trainer would ever promote it as a quick fix to the general public.

Legitimate professionals understand that behavior change takes time, context, and compassion. Tools don’t fix behavior—training does.

Dogs deserve better than fear-based shortcuts. They deserve support, structure, and training that helps them feel safe in their world.

Positive reinforcement isn’t just a preference—it’s the ethical, science-backed standard for helping dogs thrive.