heading this off about the collar now:

she is wearing an e-collar. it does not automatically shock her. that is not even possible with this collar. i adjust its position on her neck every 3 hours max to keep her comfortable and prevent sores. i have the remote for it and i control how strong the shock is, and it is as low as it can be and still be effective. we also only use it when absolutely necessary, such as ensuring she follows important commands such as HEEL, STAY and COME. she needs to do these perfectly every time because we need to be able to use them to keep her safe. otherwise lucy can be herself and it is never used for punishment, ever. ever ever ever. only to ensure she knows what to do, no matter what other stimulus she's getting (like seeing a rabbit she wants more than anything to chase)

she completed a 30 day training and we are continuing that training by using the e-collar. we had a lot of consternation about using it. we do not want to hurt lucy, we don't want anything she dislikes to happen to her at all, but the difficulty in training her without a negative stimulus like this is astronomical. it is possible, i admit. it is not within our skill level as regular dog parents, though. of this i am sure.

finally, she almost never needs it! her training has stuck pretty well (though the trainer warned that she may try to unexpectedly drop all training as a final attempt not to have to do it, which she hasn't done yet).