Quote: keith larson

I have a Dogtra 1700 with the Vibrate/Pager

I have a question on training the "Come" with the pager button.

Do you:

1) Give the verbal command then press the button?

2) Give the verbal command and the button at the same time?

3) Give the “page” and then the command?

You have to teach the dog that the page/vibrate means to come to you before you try to page the dog to make it come to you. I page and say Here! at the same time, only holding the page for around 1.5-2 seconds. I reintroduce a super uber tasty treat (pieces of chicken liver) for a reward, and keep the dog on a long lead as I would if I did not have the e-collar on. I do not correct with stim during this because I am teaching the page=a command(here).

I do this for several weeks, using the page every time I call the dog, and then after about a week I test the page only, if I get a recall (which I always have) then yay, but I still wait for at least 2 weeks before I consider the pager/recall to be a formal association. I intro stim into the equation after 3-4 weeks depending on the dog, which is after the initial 2-3 week period of acclimating the dog to the collar without any stim or page whatsoever. It usually takes 5-6 weeks from day 1 of never having an ecollar on, to teaching the page/recall to introducing stim as a correction.

edited to ad: I only use the ecollar/pager if the dog has already been worked on for recall, already understands the recall command.

I was thinking of using this feature for a down. I am assigned to the tacticle team for my state police dept. I was thinking of using it for when the dog is not looking at me for a hand signal or when I don't want to be yelling a command. Buzz = down where ever you are!! What are some thoughts for or against before I start.

Like any training tool out there...their uses are as diverse as the people doing the training. I'm sure the pager function wasn't meant to be used as a specific movement cue, but why not? as long as you stay consistent with this specific idea it should work fine.

The only problem with using the pager function for the silent down is that you will have reduced that function to a single task. Not the most efficient use of the pager button but if thats all you need it for then give it a go.

Howard

Dear Brent: I use my pager button in a different way. Bindi has already been trained to "come" when I call her. She usually responds well, unless the neighbors dog is barking at her. When the neighbors dog is barking at her she is slow to leave the fence and come to me. So, since she is new to the collar and so am I, I use the pager feature like this: I call her- Bindi come, if she ignores me, I say NO and them say Come, if she doesn't respond within 1.5 or so seconds, I page her. She is a very sensitive dog and this alone makes her jump and she runs to me. I want her to ignore that barking dog and come. THat is how I use it so far. We are very new to the collar.
Do you have Ed's video on E collar training? It is excellent.
God bless you

This was just a thought. I am trying to think what the best use of the pager button would be. In a police/SWAT enviorment.

I have encountered training schools that are using the ecollar not the pager button but the regular function- on very young dogs, 11 weeks. They use it in regular training. I was wondering what the trainers on this forum thought about it.

Also,
My dog Cody eats rocks and I was thinking of using it on him- just the pager button- to stop him going for rocks. He quickly scoops up tiny ones as we walk. He is a terrior mix just turned 5 months old. about 11 lbs right now.

Thanks

Dear Dave;
I think it's a great idea to use the pager for the silent down command in your situation. I would introduce the pager with a piece of food, luring the dog into a down, just like you would when initially teaching a position. Sometimes, the dog can over react to the pager and the food seems to "bridge the gap", and also clears up any confusion. I would then add your down word, for clarification, and then you can fade your word. Good thinking. I normally use the pager just for checking to see if the collar is on or deterring the dog from some unwanted nusiance behavior. It can really bother some dogs and you can't change the level. Great "out of the box" thinking.

David,

When I got my Dogtra 1700 and tried out the pager button I thought "Cool! What is it for?" I haven't seen any guidance from the company on what the purpose of the pager button is, so I figure, what, the heck, use it for whatever. I started using it to get my dog's attention and he treated it like a recall, so that's what I use it for. I think using it for a "down" is a great idea.

My general thought about this is that the pager would be useful for off leash situations when you need to get the dog's attention. Either return to you or go into a down. A down makes sense to me because you may want the dog to stop whatever he is doing, but not put himself at risk where there is the chance he may run out into traffic. Not a real consideration for me, because the only time Hans is off leash is in my backyard. But for your situation where you have him out and about, it may come in very handy.