My question is:

When can I put on ecollar on to start getting her used to wearing it? I don't want to put it on and on day one and use it on her. Is it okay if she is 5 months or 6 months to just put it on day after day as I do training with her?

Thanks

I'm not an e-collar fan although I will admit they can be an excellent tool when used correctly.

No reason that I know of not to get the dog used to it as you mentioned but be sure and move it around at the very least daily. It can easily rub sores on the dog's neck where the contacts hit.


More experience folks can offer better advice.

Okay thanks. No I meant to put on for outings and walks and then remove it. Not leave it on like a bark collar. Just so she thinks of it as nothing.

Hello Daniel,

How and when do you plan to use the e-collar, and with what goal in mind?

I have used e-collars for many years, but never as a regular training tool. I use collars with a tone setting that I teach my dogs to respond to as a recall, and they wear them when they are off-leash with me in the backcountry around here. I do this so I don't have to shout over wind and water if they get too far away from me on the trail, and the correction (which I rarely have to use) is there as backup to remind them that crittering (or more seriously around here, chasing game or disappearing off trail and potentially disturbing a bear) is forbidden. When the e-collars come out, the dogs get really excited as they know this means we are going to hit the trail somewhere and have fun.

Personally, I would not put an e-collar on a dog less than 6 months old. I understand what you mean about getting your pup used to wearing one, but I find this only takes a few days - dogs quickly adjust to wearing the new lighter collars. More seriously, I would suggest getting much further along working with your pup before deciding to use an e-collar, and then think carefully about what you want to achieve with an e-collar that you cannot do by other means. IME, knowing your dog's temperament is important when considering e-collar use - I had one very soft dog several years ago that I never put an e-collar on under any circumstances - he would have had a complete meltdown.

The Leerburg videos on using an e-collar are very good - highly recommended.

Sarah

 Quote: Sarah Ward

Hello Daniel,

How and when do you plan to use the e-collar, and with what goal in mind?

I have used e-collars for many years, but never as a regular training tool. I use collars with a tone setting that I teach my dogs to respond to as a recall, and they wear them when they are off-leash with me in the backcountry around here. I do this so I don't have to shout over wind and water if they get too far away from me on the trail, and the correction (which I rarely have to use) is there as backup to remind them that crittering (or more seriously around here, chasing game or disappearing off trail and potentially disturbing a bear) is forbidden. When the e-collars come out, the dogs get really excited as they know this means we are going to hit the trail somewhere and have fun.

Personally, I would not put an e-collar on a dog less than 6 months old. I understand what you mean about getting your pup used to wearing one, but I find this only takes a few days - dogs quickly adjust to wearing the new lighter collars. More seriously, I would suggest getting much further along working with your pup before deciding to use an e-collar, and then think carefully about what you want to achieve with an e-collar that you cannot do by other means. IME, knowing your dog's temperament is important when considering e-collar use - I had one very soft dog several years ago that I never put an e-collar on under any circumstances - he would have had a complete meltdown.

The Leerburg videos on using an e-collar are very good - highly recommended !!!

Sarah

What Sarah Said IMHO, it's Always Best to get all of your dog's ON-LEAD basic obedience well-proofed First B-4 Starting your e-training -- THEN it will go Amazingly Fast !!!

I have used e-collars on all 4 of my W/L GSDs for a little short of 11 years. I don't put one on a dog until it is a year old & already well train in all basic OB & very used to working in different venues & under distractions. I want a solid dog before I use an e-collar. (My dogs are all marker trained from 7-8 week old pups....with corrections added as needed in later training)

My use of an e-collar is basically for a back up...not instead of a well trained dog. My dogs work everywhere & anywhere & go to the beach, hikes etc, etc,etc & I want to be sure that I can have a back up in case of anything that can happen. I want to be sure that I have total control at all times no matter what. The e-collar gives me that assurance.

I will also say that in all the years that I have used them...I can count on 1 hand the amount of times that I have ever had to
use it as a back up.

I have done SchH/IPO & PP with my dogs.

Everyone trains & has different expectations in training. This is what I do.

I will also add that pretty much all dogs will figure out an e-collar from other collars eventually no matter what you do to try to prevent that.....the smart ones pretty quickly.

My dogs know that when I pull out the e-collars that they are going for an outing & are totally nutso happy. They have NO negative feeling about the e-collar AT ALL. That is the response that I want...rather then worrying about if they know it's on or not. But that's just me. Others may feel differently. The response was the same in all 4 of my dogs...so I guess my approach works for my dogs.

Your pup can wear an e-collar to get used to it as soon as the collar fits and the box isn't so gigantic that it's in the way. My cattle doing started wearing an e-collar(mini educator) at about 3.5 months old.

How about removing the prongs from the e-collar, then it doesn't hurt the skin, and the dog gets used to the weight.

 Quote: Michael Soldwisch

How about removing the prongs from the e-collar, then it doesn't hurt the skin, and the dog gets used to the weight.

And check out the "Educator Comfort Pad Contact Points" here...

http://leerburg.com/EducatorComfortPad.htm