September 24, 2013
I hired a trainer to help with distraction training and he created a bad experience with the ecollar. What do you think of what happend?
Full Question:
I have a Brittany rescue that I've had for about 4 1/2 years. She's well trained in the house and yard but gets very distracted outside. I had thought about trying an electronic collar but when I first got her I stupidly hired a trainer recommended by the rescue people. He was trying to get her to come and was working quickly and somewhat roughly with her. He took her to a conservation area down the street after a quick session in the yard with an e-collar. She didn't come when he called her in the field so he kept cranking up the level. She finally yiped loudly and disappeared. He couldn't find her and neither could I but she ran home and I found her by the gate. I fired the trainer. This experience was about 4 years ago and I don't want to do anything stupid again. What do you think? 
Ed's Answer:
Your email is a sad email. I feel badly (as you do) for your dog.
The problem is not with a remote collar but rather it’s with the person pushing the buttons at the wrong time and at the wrong levels. What happened to your dog reminds me of why I often say that a remote collar is the worst training tool ever invented when it is used incorrectly. With that said I also say it’s the greatest training tool ever invented when used correctly.
I can’t comment on what this trainer or what he did to your dog. I don’t know this person.
All I can say is that we train with low level stimulation, often levels that humans cannot feel. At those levels our goal is to redirect our dog away from a distraction and get it to focus on something we have already trained it to do, something it knows how to do.
We don’t use remote collars to teach a dog new behaviors, we use low level stimulation to reinforce off leash behavior that it already knows how to do.
So, I always recommend that new dog trainers educate themselves on the correct use of remote collars. We have a few DVDs on properly using the remote collar:
Remote Collar Training for the Pet Owner with Ed Frawley
The Electric Collar with Michael Ellis
Regards,
Ed Frawley
The problem is not with a remote collar but rather it’s with the person pushing the buttons at the wrong time and at the wrong levels. What happened to your dog reminds me of why I often say that a remote collar is the worst training tool ever invented when it is used incorrectly. With that said I also say it’s the greatest training tool ever invented when used correctly.
I can’t comment on what this trainer or what he did to your dog. I don’t know this person.
All I can say is that we train with low level stimulation, often levels that humans cannot feel. At those levels our goal is to redirect our dog away from a distraction and get it to focus on something we have already trained it to do, something it knows how to do.
We don’t use remote collars to teach a dog new behaviors, we use low level stimulation to reinforce off leash behavior that it already knows how to do.
So, I always recommend that new dog trainers educate themselves on the correct use of remote collars. We have a few DVDs on properly using the remote collar:
Remote Collar Training for the Pet Owner with Ed Frawley
The Electric Collar with Michael Ellis
Regards,
Ed Frawley
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