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Dog owners in porcupine territory often look for ways to save their beloved companions from those painful encounters. Unfortunately, aversive training like (e collars) is an unreliable and potentially harmful solution. Here’s why:

Porcupines: Nature’s Aversive Experts

* The ultimate deterrent:  Porcupines are walking arsenals of thousands of quills. These quills deliver excruciating pain and can cause serious infections and injury. Trust me, it hurts worse than the e collar. If aversives would stop it, we wouldn’t see repeat quillings.
* Dogs gonna dog: Despite repeated quillings, many dogs remain obsessed with porcupines. The drive to investigate or even hunt these prickly creatures often outweighs their past negative experiences. Again, if the quills don’t deter them, why would the e collar at a remotely reasonable level?

The Problem with E Collars

* Strength of instinct: For many dogs, the thrill and curiosity surrounding a porcupine outweigh the momentary discomfort of stim.
* Difficulty of set up: Even for dogs who don’t have that strong instinct, there’s still the fact that you need a porcupine to do the training with, and that ideally it won’t quill anyone in the process, nor will it get injured. It’s a lot easier to get a snake for avoidance training and keep everyone safe than it is a porcupine. Good luck.

It’s Not All Bad: Individual Success vs Universal Solution

* Temperament matters: Some dogs, with the right guidance, may learn to avoid porcupines after a negative experience coupled with training. However, this isn’t a guaranteed outcome or a one-size-fits-all solution. More dogs than not will continue to pursue the porcupine without VERY strong incentive not to.
* The lack of “Avoidance Courses”: The rarity of professional porcupine avoidance training speaks volumes. Expert trainers recognize the difficulty and ethical concerns involved in using strong aversives with limited success rates to teach porcupine avoidance. You can find snake avoidance courses all over, but porcupine avoidance? *Crickets*

So, What Can You Do?

* Prevention is key: Avoid areas where porcupines are known to live, particularly at dawn or dusk when they are most active.
* Leash control: Keep your dog on a leash in risky areas to prevent them from pursuing.
* Supervision: Closely monitor your dog when outdoors in porcupine territory.
* Training: I know this might be confusing given I just spent an entire article telling you that the training rarely works. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work hard on obedience cues like “leave it” and recall to try to keep them safe. These cues can save your dog from a quilling if they’re well proofed and the dog values biddability and reward over curiosity or drive.

Remember: Your dog’s safety and well being are paramount. Training for porcupine avoidance, positively or aversively, carries risks and doesn’t offer a reliable solution for such a deeply instinctual drive in most dogs. In most cases, you’re just going to watch your dog get quilled over and over, and/or watch a porcupine get hurt.