that training device

as mentioned earlier, I was going to research a "training device" that would help out around the house with my out of control dog. i looked around on the net, finding several, but settling with one i picked up at a local store. it looked very similar to a smoke detector in size and shape. it came with a collar that had two metal prongs that were to touch the dogs skin around the neck. the basic premise is that when they got with in a certain radius of the device, he would be given a audible warning, then if that was not obeyed, he would be given a shock from the collar. since my dog is somehwhat on the slow side, i thought this would work out well, an audible warning followed up by a minor shock. i have to admit, at first this device worked great, he stayed away from the garbage, the area in the kitchen where i prepared all the food, and off the couch. but as he got older, it seemed to be working less and less. one day he came right up to the counter as i was making lunch, so i grabbed the collar, forgetting that the device was right there and functional, but in doing so i grabbed the shocking part of the collar and gave myself a good zap. i could not figure out how he could ignore such a warning, he is kind of a wussy dog after all. it wasnt until my husband and i thought about it later that we realized his neck is too thick to get any kind of feeling from it. he has too many folds of skin and they are so thick that nothing was getting through. needless to say, we dont use this device anymore...