By Lynn –
In light of the fact that Australia has been a bit wonky with its views of such training collars as the pinch and the remote, here are a few links containing information about bans, laws, and where to find products within the country (since apparently the RSPCA is banning imports in some areas). Something to keep in mind is that it’s more commonly called either the Pressure Point collar (hence why you see a lot of “PP collar” references in some places), or a Behavior Modification collar. Anyone with additional links or information, please post a thread in the forum so we can add to it!
The case of Innotek Australia (Orion Pet Products) vs RSPCA
A private blog keeping up-to-date (though not anymore, sadly) of the laws regarding the pinch collar in Australia
Some Aussies with working dogs have had success ordering equipment (including pinch collars) from Euro Joe, but again, I’m not sure about the import situation.
K9 Force is located in Australia and has prong collars available for any size within the country. PLEASE NOTE there is no order form, as you must email in an order as specified on this page. I recommend looking around this site if you are in need of some hands-on help in Australia; it has some great information.
Another working dog site that sells pinch collars in Australia, but make sure to take out a second mortgage…this place tends to run a little pricey (unless I’m just naive and think they get any cheaper than that in a place where they’re essentially banned).
A letter to the Victorian government to lift the ban on prong collars. This site is full of working dog owners in Australia. It’s a good look-around too. Be warned that links are hidden unless you are a registered member. [It’s come to my attention that this direct link, copied and pasted, to what I consider a well-written piece is consistently coming up 404. If that happens to you, click on the “Blogs” link in the bar under the cool-looking banner and scroll down to the writings. Member ‘Top Dog’ has the only two blog entries currently, and the letter is the second one.]
Chris Flegler has a Sit Means Sit satellite in Brisbane. If you are near that area, I highly recommend checking him out. He even has some videos up, among other SMS trainers nationwide. Sit Means Sit is a highly respected organization of trainers who use the e-collar, and their results are fantastic. It’s quite the opposite of what the RSPCA wants you to believe regarding dogs who’ve been trained with an e-collar!
Suzi Jones has a tip straight from customs: “A tip from another forum I belong to: one person said they had their prong collar sent in 2 boxes and it made it through customs (and that this tip came from the customs office).
If you want to get a prong collar for your dogs sent in from another country Have the links sent in a separate box then the chain piece. Cost a bit more for the shipping but better then the 100 or so Aussie dollars to buy on in country.”
Again, if anyone has any other link submissions or information regarding the laws of training collars in the general Oceania area, create a thread for it for the forum.