When treats are not enough

A few years back if asked about electric collars, I would of been one of those to be concerned about using one, but that would of been me making an uninformed judgement. So the last few years, I have watched a lot of training videos of trainers who endorse the use of electric collars, and I've read a lot of the frankly dodgy research against the use of them. You only have look at what the Kennel Club use as a reason to ban them Electric Shock Collars • The Kennel Club:  
"Key Statistics from Research into Electric Shock Collars

• 1 in 4 dogs showed signs of stress compared to less than 5% of dogs in the non-electric shock collar control group (Defra commissioned study AW1402, 2013)
• 1 in 3 dogs yelp at the first use of electric shock collar and 1 in 4 yelp at subsequent uses (Defra commissioned study AW1402, 2013)
• 73% of the public disapprove of the use of electric shock collars on dogs (Kennel Club commissioned survey, 2014)
• 79% of the public agree that positive reinforcement training methods can address behavioural issues in dogs without the need for negative training methods (Kennel Club commissioned survey, 2014)
• 74% of the public would support the government introducing a ban on electric shock collars (Kennel Club commissioned survey, 2014)"

Yet again stats being misused to make an argument. The figures at a first glance look a bit shocking (No pun intended), but scratch beneath this, and we are not being told anything here really of any value to form an opinion on, whether the use of using an electric collar and the discomfort a dog feels momentarily is worth the value they bring to training of a dog that will not recall, which is a really big problem in the world outside the controlled environment of most dog training classes. using just positive training methods. Not everything can be achieved with the lure of a treat or praise, sometimes there has to be a negative consequence to a behaviour to get the message over. Sorry, but what often can at first be perceived as an act of cruelty, in the long term can be an act of kindness. 
Firstly we need to know what level of stress we are looking at when "1 in 4 dogs showed stress, compared to less than 5% of dogs in the non-electric shock collar control group", and we also need to know what level of training was achieved in these groups, so using dogs with training issues would be a good idea. We also need to know exactly how many times any yelps occurred after subsequent uses, as once the dog gets the hang of an electric collar used by someone who understands their use and how to use them, just a low vibration should be enough as a warning to achieve the desired behaviour of the dog. 
The KC survey I would take with a pinch of salt, because the majority of the public, are very ignorant when it comes to methods of training dogs, and is reflected in the rising number of dog attacks we see on farming stock, humans, and dogs attacking other dogs, and the number of dogs in rescue, as one of the reasons for giving up dogs to rescues is often training issues. The general public would not be informed enough on the pros and cons of using electric collars in the toolbox of dog training, to be able to answer the questions asked in the KC survey. A couple years ago, I was not informed enough to give an opinion on electric collars, and I would of aired caution on the use of them, but I know the idea that we can train all dogs with ignoring bad behaviour, and giving them a treat or a pat when we get the desired behaviour is killing dogs, and as this American dog trainer writes, it is A Silent Killer.
​Terrierman's Daily Dose gives an ideal place to start to learn about electric collar aka E collars with a link to the book Everything you need to know about E Collar Training and is a good place to start in learning about this training tool, and to get an informed opinion about using electric collars.