Mark wrote: I currently use a TT Pro 100 while on duty with my patrol dog. I'm looking at buying a new collar for duty use. Lou, I'm sure you are reading this since it has to do with ecollars (lol). You mentioned that you have been testing the Dogtra collar and seem pleased with it. Have you also tried the new TT Sport Series? Which of these units do you feel will be best suited for on duty use? I'm concerned with durability, battery strength, customer service, stim. levels, and size of the remote. I know that you promote the use of ecollars in the field so your opinion is valuable to me before I make a purchase.
***** Here’s the age old answer, “it depends.” I need both collars. The Dogtra is far better for teaching new behaviors or polishing old ones, because of it’s ability to change stimulation levels continuously depending on the dog’s need at any given moment. It allows me to communicate more clearly to the dog what I want from him at any given second.
***** I’ve been using the Dogtra 1200 NCP since they sent it to me for testing. It's quite a bit smaller than the new Tri–tronics Sport series but it's built much heavier. It feels like a small tank in my hands, very sturdy. It uses NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) batteries in both the TX unit and the collar. These batteries can be recharged at any time. They don’t develop a memory as do NiCads. It has three buttons for momentary, continuous and "page." The last is a vibrating thingy just like a silent alert on a pager or cell phone. Some use this for deaf dogs as an attention getter. Some use it the same way that they use the Tri–tronics "tone" as a silent recall or other OB command or as a "good boy."
***** But the pager really is totally silent. I've used the Tri–tronics tone as a recall during training of PSD's and later had the decoy tell me that he heard it. That won't happen with the pager.
***** With the Tri–tronics Sport and Pro series only the collar is “water resistant.” (Manufacturers aren’t allowed to use the word “waterproof any more.) The TX units aren’t water resistant. They should be shielded from rain and never immersed. Dogtra says that BOTH their collar unit and the TX unit are “water resistant.” That is they will withstand immersion.
***** One drawback to the Dogtra system is that it needs to be turned on by pressing, and holding down for one second, a button on the collar. The Tri–tronics units can be turned on and off from the sending unit. There’s a flashing red LED to let you know that the collar is active.
***** I own the TT Multisport 3, the three dog model (It’s one of the Sports series.) It’s convenient when I have all three of my dogs out to just have to carry one TX unit. The Sports series is convenient because of the small size of the TX unit but it’s limited in that you only have 6 levels of stimulation available, ½ – 5. The Pro series has 18 levels and you can switch from low to medium to high in a flash. The drawback to the Pro is the size. It’s about 7 ¼ " tall and 1 ½" in diameter with an antenna that’s about 7" long. (Some put on a smaller antenna.) The Sports Model is 4 ½" tall, 1 ¾" wide and 1 1/8" wide with a 3 1/5" tall antenna (measurements approximate.) TT says that the battery in the Sports series should last for six months to a year. They haven’t been out long enough for that to tell. Of course, that will depend to some extent on use.
***** I’m not impressed with the TT Sport series for on duty use. We (in police service) are too rough on equipment. (Note, it’s not that police are careless or intentionally rough on gear, it’s just that often we have other things on our minds.) The case is plastic and while I haven’t bashed mine into anything I know that in service use it’s just a matter of time before it happens. It just doesn’t feel heavy enough to inspire confidence that it will stand up to that abuse. But if you’re careful with your gear that shouldn’t be a problem. And it shouldn’t be a problem for the average person using it either, just us, in LE. I have bashed the heck out of the Dogtra, not intentionally trying to break it but just putting it to the abuse that we dish out.
***** I think that the Dogtra is built solidly enough for service use but there is a problem with it. Because the power knob isn’t click–stopped, it moves quite smoothly, it can change power level just by rubbing against something. If you carry it in a pocket or a load bearing vest during a search and need to call or correct the dog, you won’t know what power it’s on unless you look down. If it’s dark you’ll need to light it up, not wise tactically. You can of course, turn the power knob all the way down and then to whatever level you need but that will take a few seconds and by then the stimulation may come too late.
***** It’s much easier to preset the pro series on the necessary level and then just reach up and press the low, med or high buttons as needed. The larger size of the Pro series makes it easier to find in a hurry. I know many handlers carry their TX unit on a load bearing vest or in a cargo or flashlight pocket on their pants. The smaller Sports series will get lost in those areas, unless you build a special pocket for it.
***** I’m told that the Dogtra folks are working on something that will fix the “brushing the power knob and changing the power setting” problem. But until that happens here’s my bottom line.
***** The Dogtra is the better collar for teaching new behaviors or polishing old ones. The TT Pro series is better for a police officer who’s deploying with a collar on the dog and the Sport series is best for those for those who need a 3 dog model. The Sport series is also good for those whose dogs are Ecollar literate and aren’t going to teach many new behaviors. It’s relative lack of a wide range of power settings limits it’s abilities there.
***** That being said, you can do Ecollar training with any of these devices. Some are better for some things than others and that means that the training will go faster. Keep in mind that we used to get training done by switching plugs at the collars. The advances that TT has made; smaller, lighter TX units, interchangeable contact point sizes, the ability to turn the unit off and on from the TX unit are Evolutionary. The change that Dogtra has made, linear progression of the stimulation, is Revolutionary. It takes a whole new way of thinking to achieve maximum success.
***** Also remember that if you’re a bozo who either isn’t coordinated enough to chew gun and walk or if you can’t read a dog worth beans, stay away from using the Dogtra as a guidance system. You can still use it by setting it on the dog’s working level, on continuous or nick mode but you have to be able to see when the dog is feeling the effect of the stimulation to successfully use the guidance system.
Lou Castle has been kicked off this board. He is an OLD SCHOOL DOG TRAINER with little to offer.
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