I am sorry for posting a misleading link - just thought it was a helpful comparison chart - did not realize they called them "shock" collars nor was I intending to send business to anyone else. I thought the link I posted was simply a pretty detailed comparison chart to hopefully help someone see the options.

I only have experience with a few brands and a few different products from each of the brands but since there are so many different features, it is difficult to compare them.

And Will, while I completely respect the reasoning behind your mod, there is no reason to insult my intentions and get snappy. I was simply trying to offer an unbiased list of tech details, which obviously I was not looking out for any of those "trigger words" as you would b/c that is your job. I respect this forum and understand that it is difficult and sometimes challenging to defend a product b/c of lousy media and uneducated and improper use of a training tool. I do this with the public on a daily basis. I too tend to get emotionally reactive but realize that does nothing but further peoples' opinions about trainers who use e-collars. Your comment could have been sent through a private message instead of through humiliation techniques.

Angela, I certainly don't try to speak for another mod, but I do want to say that this: "... 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?" doesn't meet my own critera for "humiliation techniques."

Let's move on.

P.S. Welcome to the board! You are absolutely correct that we are careful about "trigger words" as well as bad or dangerous advice; the integrity and usefulness of the board is maintained partly through this diligence.

Lisa,

I've used many different styles and brands and what is most important is (other than the quality, durability, functionality, etc) that you are comfortable with the controls and find them easy to use w/o confusion. People are different w/ dexterity and as with anything in training, timing is essential. If you don't feel comfortable w/ the remote or it doesn't fit your needs (physically - say, you need something to fit in your pocket, etc) you will not be able to use it appropriately.

A fellow trainer allowed me to try out his Unleashed Technology GT-3 for a deaf dog I was training b/c I did not have one w/ just the vibration/pager function. I did not like the unlabeled buttons (all the same color just different levels of lightness/darkness). Yes, it is silly and I could've put labels on them but it just seemed too easy to hit the wrong button. After plenty of use, of course you'd get used to it but that means plenty of mistakes too. It was a clumsy feel for me. Also, I felt the difference between the first couple levels of stimulation were far too different. Going from level 1 to 3 was a GIANT difference and I didn't feel I had much flexibility in terms of a gentle eh-eh (nope, try again) to higher level eh-eh (used maybe for a distracting environment or for a less appropriate behavior being offered instead of what I asked for) I did use it for its pager function but slapped a different collar on for training.

Angela,
Your link included the word "shock collars", right in the link. I would think that anyone would see that immediately ( I did ) and I had no choice but to think that you had an agenda by posting something like that.

If a site is calling them "shock collars", it's not an "an unbiased list of tech details" ( your words ).

I'm sorry if your feelings got hurt over this, but the forum has to come first, and we closely watch what's posted here.

Will Rambeau
Moderator

The sad thing is, for every retail person like Angela that will actually take the time to give prospective customers some guidance, there are a hundred that neither know enough nor care enough to do so.
Which means that there are *many* people in possession of an e-collar without the knowledge to use them effectively.

I highly recommend the Leerburg Remote Collar Dog training for Pet Owners DVD, it's a great resource for both beginners and old hands at training alike.
http://leerburg.com/318.htm

I want to echo Will's recommendation of the leerburg remote collar video and carry it a step farther: Get and watch the DVD BEFORE you purchase an e-collar. If, after watching the video, you decide an e-collar isn't for you, you'll save some money. If you do decide to buy one, you'll be able to make a more informed choice.

I have and use the Dogtra 1900. It is easy to use and you can set the stimulation level in increments from 0 to 127. It has a pager feature which I have come to really appreciate. It works like a recall command for my dog.

 Quote: Rich Pallechio

I want to echo Will's recommendation of the leerburg remote collar video and carry it a step farther: Get and watch the DVD BEFORE you purchase an e-collar. .

Huge ditto!

http://leerburg.com/318.htm

(and of course http://leerburg.com/electric.htm )

I use the Dogtra 3502 NCP for my boys and we got the Dogtra280 NCP for my girlfriend's dog. Both have proven to be excellent. My neighbor introduced me to Dogtra, he has had a Dogtra 200 NCP for 7 years and got a 202NCP once he got another dog. The models that end in 2 mean they come with two collars and a remote that can control both collars from that one remote. All of his collars still work great, although his 7 year old one needs replacement batteries, as he has never replaced them. When I was looking for collars he let me use his 200NCP on my one dog at the time. Even though it needed a new battery it would still hold a charge long enough for one session and I had to charge it every night. Let me tell you that since I got my own, the charge lasts a very long time. An example of this is, I took my collars, fully charged, on vacation with me and the dogs on July 13th. I use the collars every day and have not had to charge them since. That is a month and a half without charging them with daily use.

I too recommend you read up and get video about e collars before using. I did not know much when I started using it on my one dog and I wish I had known more (That was before I knew of this wonderful site). My neighbor pretty much told me how to use them and my one dog is pretty strong headed so I think we did well in our learning stages. Whereas that dog can take a high correction without it phasing him, my other dog needs only a slight correction. Although, different situations require different stimulation levels. My softer dog goes crazy at these little dogs behind a fence, and the stimulation needs to be turned up in that situation.

Please learn as much as you can about these valuable tools before using them. Do not buy cheaper brands, as we have seen on here before that the level of stimulation can vary even on the same setting for those. I will never go without an e-collar again and i can tell you I was skeptical at first, but got over that after seeing how they work and two using it on myself and realizing they are not bad, when used properly.

What Keith said here about not buying cheaper brands is totally true.

Back when I was doing a lot of OB for "problem" dogs, many of those owners had already tried an e-collar with no success, and when I'd examine their collars, they were always a cheap pet store variety.
I'd put a Dogtra on their dog and Bingo! Instant OB - much to the owner's amazement. This happened *many* times in the years that I ran my dog training business.

The point of my rambling here is - use good quality equipment and you're more likely to have good quality results.