I am going to order a Leerburg electric collar for my English Shepherd who has discovered that recall when chasing deer is optional.
He has a pretty heavy "ruff" around his neck, long hair but not double coated. He is very trainable except for 1) he's beginning to chase cars, would like to chase cars (we don't permit this) and 2) deer.

Other dogs I have owned have given deer a little chase then given up and returned.

My dog probably needs to be castrated, but educated by Leerburg I'm trying not to.

So what collar should I order ?

I have a Dogtra 1900 (actually the 1902, which has two collars). I love it, but I know there are newer options available too. Mine is about 3 years old.

I recently purchased the Einstein 400TS and love it. I compared several different makes and models, and the features and price point of the 400TS fit my needs the best.

Things I love about it are: 3/4 mile range, lockable stim level, different ways to configure the buttons for momentary, continuous, booster button (for those situations with cars and deer), smaller receiver, and a light on the receiver that is either flashing or solid. Great for when you are out with your dog at night!

Betty- I hear ya. Deer are very tempting for many dogs. I'd recommend perusing gun dog forums for tips on breaking a dog off chasing deer. Many bird dogs or rabbit hounds must be trained not to run deer. I don't think it's so much a trainable or not issue or anything to do with whether the dog is attached to the owner, as stopping the chase from being so hugely self-rewarding. For a couple of my dogs, chasing a running animal is the height of fun and reward and drive fulfillment. It can be a challenge to break that and you have to be very consistent and fair.

Not sure castration would help, though it might mellow the dog down a bit. My spayed 8 year old female GSD would still enjoy a good chase if I let her. It's like their brains turn off and instincts turn on. It can be trained, for sure, and remote collars are the way to go. I'd recommend any of the Dogtra models, choose one with 1/2 mile range. If you had spare cash, I'd recommend the Garmin Alpha with GPS/e-collar in one that would let you keep track of him around the farm property and correct when you see a chase starting.

Good luck!

Sounds like a drivey teenage dog thing more than an intact male thing. How is his recall off of stock?

His recall off stock is great as long as the stock isn't running. Or he isn't too far away.


He is very territorial. I have no coons anymore, no possums, no moles near the house. I also have no deer anywhere near the house -- they used to come out and graze every evening, Pinker would never chase them too far.

This dog will notice and chase out anything within the pastures in the valley, like 1/4 mile he claims as his territory. Even crows.

It's deer hunting now, any dog seen running deer can be shot. So we are keeping him close to the house. But a few days ago just at dusk he noticed a big buck and a doe about 1/4 mi from our house along the woodline. The leaves are off the trees now, and I was horrified to see him chase this pair straight up thru the woods, like a coyote or a wolf, I thought he might actually catch one, and they had a huge head start. I called but he didn't come back for a long time.

So, I need an e collar.

The ecollar will solve the deer running. Especially if you need a quick fix. But it really sounds like he could benefit from a lot of self control work, NILIF and physical boundaries - out of sight out of mind. Revoke his privileges and treat him like a puppy again. He doesn't have a choice to chase critters off. Chasing begets chasing so it just adds to his territorial behavior and blowing you off.

After the deer incident I brought him into the house and basically he's been laying on his mat whenever we are not actively doing something. He had been in "farm dog mode" i.e. essentially outside, sleeping in the garage in his crate.

Thinking back to the days when I did farm calls and every farm had one of these "collie-mutts" to help with the cows and control vermin, I'm reminded that on about every 1/3rd farm the dog was chained up.

I think my guy is descended from those! Your advice is right, Mara. My dog needs more attention from me, more training and control in all aspects, not just the deer. I'll have to be careful with the collar too, to introduce it correctly and be certain he understands what he is supposed to do before I "push the button".

One thing I really loved about the Michael Ellis e-collar videos was his way of dealing with situations like this. Basically he says to not stim/correct the dog for chasing the deer/car/squirrel whatever. You stim/correct the dog for disobeying an order from you. He wants you to be sure you have a rock solid recall, and the dog knows what he is supposed to do 100%. That way, you can give the recall command and if he disobeys it, he gets a correction. That way, in the dog's mind, he is being corrected for disobeying you on a command he knows how to do.

Re: dogs just hanging out on farms. Dogs either hung out around the farm or met an early demise. I suspect a decent percentage of "troublesome" ones never made it to their 2nd birthday.