When starting e collar training, should the collar be worn at all times, or taken on and off, as was done in getting the dog familiar with the collar ? Thanks, Ronnie

Our new e-collar arrives in the mail this week. I'm looking forward to reading what folks say is the best way to use it. This one will be a bark collar. I have another one that is operator activated. Barking and jumping up are the problems with my 5 yr old 13 lb poodle. She is too small to give her the usual knee correction. I'll be watching for a lot of great advice.

Barbara, I too am new to this type of training and need good advice from people with knowledge. I have read books, forums and have Ed's DVD on e collars for pet owners. I highly recommend this DVD. There is so much info, that I can't remember everything. This is why I joined this forum. I'll just keep looking at the video and Google all I need to know. My 6.5 mo old GSD is very smart, but also is bull headed. I hope we both benefit from e collar training

Ronnie,
Actually, it's best for your dog to wear the e-collar for a month *before* you use it for training, that way the dog will be used to the collar and not associate wearing the collar with corrections.

I will be starting Radar on e-collar training and have also heard about waiting for at least a month of the dog wearing the collar before even using it. Fortunately the issues we're having that have made me decide to use an e-collar are manageable until it's time.

I've also heard that you should have the collar turned ON, since many dogs can tell the difference between an e-collar that's on or not by the way the electronic doo-dads sound and smell. I had a dalmatian a while back that did something similar. She was terrified of cameras when the battery was in regardless if it was turned on or not, but when it was out she was okay. She was okay with the battery by itself, and the camera by itself. I'm assuming that since many digital cameras keep time updates even when turned 'off' she was able to pick up on the difference somehow and decided to have an extreme phobia about it.

I really have no idea how you could have a bark collar turned on and it not give a correction, but it's easy enough with a remote training collar. Just don't turn the remote on, take the batteries out, or just put it away until you're ready to use it that way no accidents can happen.

BTW, jumping up on people can be easily solved by having a drag line on the dog. You just step on the leash to do a self correction when she jumps and reward her for all-four-on-the-floor. Since my dogs LOVE to jump on people, I taught it as an extra special reward on cue. They know that when I pat my stomach and say 'come on up!' that they're allowed to put their feet on me. Now since I made it a positive thing, instead of something that causes stress or frustration, my adult dogs never jump on people without being invited up.

Hello
The best piece of advice I will give you is buy the Pay Per View Michael Ellis On Ecollar Therory.
Way better than the others on the market
Good Training Brent

... "the Pay Per View Michael Ellis On Ecollar Theory.... Way better than the others on the market" ...

It sure is!