I am fairly new to Schutzhund training and I have been advised to get an E-collar. I am looking at the Dogtra 1900 and the Tri-Tronic Sport G3 series.. But I am looking for advice on what collar I should get under $300. I am going to be ordering Leerburgs training with an E-collar, but I really am confused as to what collar I should purchase. I do want a collar that is water proof as my Shepherd loves to swim, but when he gets to shore his recall is terrible...I will be using the collar to help with re-call and not pulling on the leash when I am out for long walks. Thank you in advance for any help.. (:

Personally I use the tri-tronics sport and I love it. It's just a plain great collar and is great in the water. The hand piece is easy to carry and is the same size as the average home walkie talkie and fairly water resistant. Great battery life as well, I've had mine hold a charge while left on accidentally for over 3 days which made it ideal to use in the field where there were no plug ins. I found with the wonder lab she responds well to the tone function as well.

Really I think you'll do well with either collar set. Dogtra and Tritronics both make great collars.

The key to e collars is training on how to use them. I can't recommend Ed's DVD on e collars highly enough.

In Ed's e collar video he recommends 3 brands, Dogtra, Innotek and Tri-Tronics. I purchased a two dog Dogtra collar from Leerburg and have been happy with it. I found this site after I had one of my dogs with a bird dog trainer and decided to research e collars. The Dogtra collar I got has a digital readout that goes from 0 to 127 (it is a low to medium and they sell a low to high for stubborn dogs) This feature allows you to really fine tune the stimulation level. According to the information in Ed's video, cheaper collars don't have the consistency or accuracy in stimulation level. At an 11 or 13, I barely feel a tickle in the palm of my hand and am able to use a very low level on the one dog that was trained with the e collar. The collar I purchased is waterproof.

Thank you for your responses! I love this forum! It is so wonderful to be able to talk to wonderful dog people from all over the country!! Dog people are the best!!!!

One thing I forgot to mention is that the Dogtra collar has a pager function. When you press that button the collar vibrates and does not stimulate electrically. Ed's very good video does not cover this function. I had an idea that I'd use this funcion to call the dog in a recall. My dog reacted like he does a correction, that is with the same body movement. It is an additional feature worth having in my opinion.
I have encountered a couple of other folks who have well trained hunting dogs who have Dogtra collars and they have been pleased with them. I haven't asked them about their opinion of the pager function, however. If you get this brand, do spend the additional cost to get the model with the digital readout that goes from 0 to 127. It really allows you to fine tune the stimulation level so that you can use the lowest effective level for your dog for "ordinary" use. Major distractions, as in the case where my dog ran after some foxes and disobeyed a verbal command, require you to increase the stimulation. It's a really long leash and effective. I would not have used it without Ed's video instructional either.

Thanks George!
I ordered the Dogtra 1900 and the e-collar training DVD, and a bonus of getting $20 off with the order of the E-Collar.. I like what you said about the pager function.. Very good idea! Thanks for taking the time to respond to my question (:

You are welcome. In Ed's e collar video he has the collar in the palm of his hand and pushes the button. His hand jerks and the unit falls to the ground. My bird dog trainer insisted that I use the collar on myself so I'd know what it felt like. After watching the video I was thinking, "No way!" But at the low stimulation level I use, I barely felt anything. I was expecting a shock, but it wasn't close to being that bad. With marker training, I almost never stimulate either dog. I do it when I know they deliberately disobey a command that I am 100 percent certain they know.

Good Advice! I wonder if it will work on my teenagers... Please I am just kidding, so don't call the police! LOL!!

*Mod Edit*
I'm sorry, but I'm not going to allow a link to a site that calls them "shock collars".

This is a reputable Working Dog forum, there's already enough bad publicity about a useful training tool like the e-collar, let's not contribute to the problem by using a name that plays right into the animal rights activist's hands , ok?



Will Rambeau
Moderator




Edited by Will Rambeau (08/28/2009 12:56 AM)
Edit reason: bad link used....

I recently purchased the Dogtra 1900 from Leerburg.com and I love mine. My dog is doing great with it. I wanted to know how it felt for my dog so I tried it starting at 1 of course and moved all the way to the highest setting. Just touched my fingers to the prongs. It made me realize on the settings I am using around 30 which is the working level for my lab, are very humane. And if I ever needed to use a high level for something I now know while not comfortable it is not the end of the world. I haven't tried the pager but think I will.