Just wondering how early you can start training using a prong and e collar?
Thanks

i will be corrected if i am mistaken but i think that about 6 months old or so

you can start earlier but would not correct just get em used to having the collar on at that stage.

personally i don't use corrections until they are like 9-12 months old but i will make them wear the collars well be for that.


but like i said i think the general consenses is that 6 months is a good age to start using corrections and correction collars

I generally have heard 6 months for the prong, but older for the e-collar.

Though, you really can't go by generalalities. It depends on the dog. I put a prong on Ripley at 5 months, but he's a hard dog. (I never once even got a yelp out of him when shaking his scruff. Even when I had him off the ground and shaking with both hands.) Now, I only put the prong on him at that age to stop him from dragging me down the street when heeling. I also just let him self-correct. It worked and he's in great position heeling now. (He's only had the prong on for 2 weeks.) I also put my female, Roxy, on a prong at 5 months because she too is a hard dog. With my old GSD, Chelsey, I didn't introduce the prong until she was about 8 months old because she was a soft dog.

Vicki. It would probably be helpful if you let us know WHY you're asking the question.

The definitive answer is . . . it depends.

Some people say six months, some say one year. I believe that if you use the tool in a "correction only" mode at high stim levels then those numbers are correct. But if you use my techniques for teaching with the tool, at low stim levels, you can go much younger.

I've used the tool on a dog as young as ten weeks but that wasn't my choice. The owner was going to use it whether I helped or not so I did to keep any problems to a minimum. It worked out just fine but I don’t recommend going that young.

Stacie,
I need some form of correction for pulling on walks, chasing my cats in the house, and I'm having problems with excessive barking while he's in his cage.

How old is your dog? What breed? Why is he barking in the crate? Boredom? Wanting to be let out? Cat in front of it?

I think age is not the issue. My belief is that it has more to do with proper correction level, proper timing, the pup's knowledge of the command...

For behavior modification, in my view, it's the same as if you use a scruff shake, a yell, a tug on a prong, etc. etc. except better...you're not doing the correcting; it's the behavior. An e collar is really NO BIG DEAL...it's just as easy to mess up a dog with prongs, chokes, newspapers, leash hits, and everything else. An e collar is just a tool...and a very good one.

Careful with the levels.

Vicki.

As I said, I put a prong on Ripley at 5 months for pulling on lead, but I let him self-correct. (If he runs to the end of the lead and tries to pull, he ends up correcting himself.) I did also use the prong to discourage chasing the cats. I let him drag a line (attached to the prong) in the house. When he chased a cat, I would step on the end of the line while saying "no". That seemed to work well. In only 2ish weeks he's not pulling and not chasing the cats.

As for the behavior in the crate. Ripley acted like a crazy fool in the crate for weeks! I tried sitting in front of the crate, I tried sitting near the crate, I tried covering the crate with a blanket, I tried leaving a marrow bone in the crate....nothing worked. The only thing that worked was waiting it out. I got him just under 9 weeks old and this behavior continued until he was about 4+ months old. Just make sure that your not inadvertantly rewarding the behavior. IGNORE him while he's in there barking and praise him like crazy when he stops. ONLY let him out of the crate when he's calm, then praise the heck out of him!

Lou,
I have a 5 month old male GSD. He only gets crated when "all eyes" can't be on him or when we are not home.
Thanks,
Vicki

I certainly wouldn't tolerate nonstop barking in a crate for nearly two months. Ignoring and hoping it will stop only work if the behavior is not self rewarding. Barking is self rewarding. I'd use a bark collar on a dog who did this. But before I spent the money, I'd try the things that have been suggested by other posters, including spraying with water when the dog barked. But if those failed, the bark collar would probably work. The longer this problem continues, the harder it is to stop. I'd have exhausted those other methods in about a week and then gone to the Ecollar.