OK so what did Ed say about Horses and dogs in his DVD "E-Collar training for pet owners".
I've conditioned my dog to the E-Collar and used it in his training a few times, not as many as I'd like to have and not as many as I should have.
Anyway....We were out tonight for a walk with the bhoy and I had put his E-Collar on for some reason as I'd not normally for the walk we were going to. While we were out, we decided to go to the river instead of the forest and had a nice walk along the banks (ahh a change of plans <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />
![;) smiley for ;)](http://leerburg.com/forums/images/graemlins/default/wink.gif)
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We walked past the Horses (roaming free) with the dog on leash and all was fine. The bhoy isn't too bad around horses as we've done a LOT of socialising with him around them, and the horses are usually very nice, although a little rough at times.
Walking along I thought I'd test the E-Collar to find his working level for tonight and it didn't seem to be working. At this point the wife was muttering something like "what a waste of £200 that was", so I had a footer and got a reaction at about 70 (on the 1700NCP), then ramped it up when he got in a bit more drive.
On the way back to the car we thought we'd walk through the field and let the bhoy off leash to play "find the stone in the grass" <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> The Horses were VERY far away and out of site <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />.
So the wife is playing with the bhoy throwing stones in the long grass and he's bringing them back having a great time, heeling, sitting etc.
A car pulls up, two guys rattle the fence and the Horses come a running at great speed. I said to the wife to leave the bhoy off leash as he's be fine (recall is good under normal circumstances) and just have him heel (HUGE mistake), which she does, then sits him but he's now focused on the fast moving things over there somewhere (Another mistake) <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />.
OFF HE GOES in full prey (I think) and of course the recall fails <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> I shout down, dog gives furry finger! I shout down again, but with the long handed correction in the form of my £200 E-Collar <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> Down he goes! Focus lost and back on us and we're all happy <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />
The good thing about the E-Collar for me now is that I still have a dog. Forget all the other stuff for a minute and think about 8 horses VERY excited about these visitors and the treats they get from them. If I had no way of stopping my dog he'd be dead.
Lesson learned!
Reccomendation?
Get the DVD! Get the collar! Learn to use it and ALWAYS put it on when going out <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />
Realisation?
Even if you think your recall is good, it's NOT as good as it needs to be! KEEP WORKING ON IT!
John