@cj I have a formerly very reactive Malinois and out of desperation took him to Shield K9 for their reactivity training where they used bonkers. In their case it was an empty windshield washer fluid bottle filled with a couple inches of pebbles. It can’t really hurt the dog, but they would whip it at the dogs head. It scares the crap out of them.
The bonker was horrible and I’m so sorry I ever went. My dog became more afraid. He didn’t want to get out do the car when we arrived on the second day, the only time and place that’s ever happened.
After being hit 7 times, my boy redirected and tried to bite the trainer attacking him. The trainer was surprised and told me off. That’s when I realized this was stupid. First off, his attempted attack on the shield k9 trainer was perfectly reasonable. If he’s thrown that at me, it would have taken much less than 7 tries before I attacked him! I realized that fixing fear with greater fear was both stupid and dangerous. It might appear to work until they encounter something they fear more than the bonker. By then you might be lax thinking the problem was solved and then you’re really in for it!
Now could it be used for other things? Sure. Is is a good idea? I can’t think of a single situation where this is a good idea. Sorry. The situations where prongs and ecollars don’t work? There are lots. Use a slip collar. Condition the dog properly to the ecollar. NePoPo is very big on this and IT WORKS. It really does.
I regularly use e collars and prongs. I’m a NePoPo style trainer now. I see no time where a bonker is the best tool for the job. Often, there is better way, you just need to find it.