I bring this up because I have never used E-Collars on a dog. I am considering using the E-Collar on my new pup, but not sure if it is the right thing to do or not. There are a lot of pros and cons out there. Some say they only use the e-collar on very hard dogs, others say they use it in all aspects of there training, while others say that they would never use an electronic collar.

I would not hesitate to use an e-collar in training but you must know how to use it correctly. Various tapes are available to show the basics. I started using it on my dog when he was about 1 year old to re-inforce my off leash commands. I however taught the commands first, without the collar then use it to remind my dog what and when he needs to comply. You also have to teach the dog how to turn off the collar before employing it in training. I'm sure there are many more experienced e-collar folks out there than I who can give there methods.

I will definately purchase video tapes, but I would really like to attend a few seminars on E-Collar training, as I can learn more from a hands on approach than watching videos.

Any suggestions on some quality seminars coming anytime soon?

Used correctly, the e-collar can be one of the best tools in one's training arsenal. It can work on most dogs, from the softest to the most hard. Here's one caveat: make sure the dog understands what's going on, i.e., the commands, why the stimulation is on, etc. The e-collar is fantastic for teaching TOUGH dogs (e.g., KNPV, NVBK) to out off objects. This can be accomplished with relatively low levels of stimulation.

I have found that working with the E collar
on my more sensitive dog works better than
a leash correction. It's non emtional for him and he doesn't feel like it's coming from
me. He can take a much harder correction off
of the E collar than he can the pinch collar.

Karmen,

What you say is very true. One of my dogs is a Dutch Shepherd rescue (ASR I) that is the most soft AND sensitive dog that I have ever seen; however, he is one hell of a good working dog, too. The e-collar worked magic on him. My other dogs (a PH1 Mal cross/very hard, and a nontitled NVBK Mal/average) have benefitted greatly from the e-collar as well.

Hi,
as with all things they are trying to ban e collars and pinch collars in the UK. The police will have to control it under the guise of animal cruelty. The use of e collars is such a taboo subject over here it's like admitting that you married your own sister or something.
I have a Tritronics bark collarna d I will be interested in purchasing a remote trainer in the future. I thought that Tritronics were the best, but someone on a gundog forum has just told me that the top guy at Tritronics has started up on his own with a company called DOGTRA. What are peoples experinces of the different brands and do you really need to go for the all singing and all dancing model?

Ian..
I have been using collars for years.. and have tried many different brands..and I always go back to my tritronics. I find they are the most reliable..and consistant. They are coming out next month with a new model that should be really nice. Adjustable levels at the transmitter..the transmitter is smaller..rechargeable..and the cost is 1/2 of what the pro series is. So,, my vote goes to Tritonics.
Jody

Ian,

I have used all three popular collars (Tritronics, Innotek, and now Dogtra). The Dogtra 2000 NC, in my opinion, is the best as far as quality goes, i.e., not sending the wrong level of stimulation or false stimulations. Unfortunately, it is not quite powerful enough for some really hard dogs, like my PH1 Mal cross. For most dogs, it would be fine.

Tritronics collars are excellent as well. I believe Innotek to be of lesser quality, but I still use an Innotek Trasher on my PH1 because he is a real tough guy.

I use the Dogtra on every other dog that I train. Obviously, the lowest stimulation that gets the job done is what one should use.

I use an Ecollar on every dog that I train, whether it's someone's pet, a SAR dog or a dog for police service.

There is nothing that will give you results faster with less impact on the rest of the dog's work.

For working dogs that use their noses, I use an approach that uses very low levels of stim. And very low levels of distraction.

Someone wrote that their Dogtra didn't go high enough for some dogs. If that's the case, I'd suggest that the problem isn't with the highest setting on the Ecollar it's with the manner in which the Ecollar is being used.

Most people use it as they would a leash. If the dog doesn't sit when told, they pop a correction on the dog if he still doesn't sit they correct again, only harder. The corollary to this, with an Ecollar, is giving a stim if the dog doesn't sit when told. If he still doesn't sit, cranking up the stim level and giving another correction.

There are many problems with this style of training, and you've already pointed out one of them, some dogs just won't respond to the higher levels of stim available.

I do things a bit differently. Instead of dialing up the stim level, I dial down the distraction level and introduce it another way.

I prefer the TriTronics brand of Ecollars but Dogtra is supposed to be sending me a unit to test.

Regards,

Lou Castle, Los Angeles, CA
(Uncllou@aol.com)