The E-collar i'm using with my dog is a dogtra with the linear level system. it goes up to 100 which is a very powerful shock, i shock my dog between the ranges of 20 and 50. 20 90% of the time and when he gets to distracted or doesn't respond i'll up it to around 40 or 50. i recetly found that he has scabs underneath his neck which the collar is. Is this normal? also my dog has really sensitive skin he has to eat science diet it's the only thing he can eat without breaking out.

Daniel,
You answered your own question.
If your dog has sensitive skin - you need to make certain that you fit the collar properly and that he does not wear it for extended periods of time. These two factors being the ones that will contribute most to any form of skin irritation.
Place the collar up high on his neck and fasten it so that it cannot be moved side to side.
As far as how long your dog can wear the collar start out with short periods of an hour or so and go from there.
Also:
1) Never attach your leash to the remote collar - have a seperate collar for this.
2) If your dog gets wet during training - always take the collar off afterwards to allow his neck to dry well.
Good luck,
Nick

Good information frpom Nick. A couple more comments. Put the collar on 20 minutes before training and take it off 15 to 20 minutes after training.

Switch the dog to an all-natural diet. Read about this on my web siute in the list of training artticles. MAKE SURE THE DOG GETS Vitamin E and 6 or 7 OMEGA 3 pills (from Sam's Club) ever day - this will help skin problems.
Never vaccinate your dog again - except for Rabies.

Nick makes a good point that the Ecollar needs to be put on tightly. If your dog is wheezing, that's too tight of course, but if it's within 2 or 3 holes of that point, you're in the right neighborhood.

You can get away with leaving it on longer, my dogs wear theirs all day long, if you call them over every couple of hours, pull it away from their neck and then move it to another place. After a few hours it will wind up back in the same place so you'll need to move it again. If you can move it easily, it's too loose.

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> Why would an e-collar leave scabs on a dog's neck? Do they actually damage the skin of average dogs? Can an e-collar hurt the dog at all?

As mentioned previously, I am going to get an e-collar once I have had a lesson being shown how to use it...

Now that I read this, I'm wondering what if my dog is going to actually get hurt when using one? Or is it all in the *way you use* the tool...
If I use it properly what chances are there of hurting my dog?
Thanks <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Some dogs are more sensitive to the metal used in the contact points than others. My bitch will get scabs from wearing a collar if it is left on too long. (I learned that the hard way and felt like a heel) <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> This is a dog that rarely ever gets a stim, and when she does it is a very low level. It is not the juice that causes the scabs for most dogs, but a combination of the reaction to the metal and the lack of oxygen to the skin under the contact points.

Same thing can happen with a prong collar if the dog is sensitive to the metal.

Salli,
The remote collar doesn't hurt dogs unless it is used improperly. There is a huge difference between a tap on the shoulder, a poke in the ribs and a 2x4 over the head. The difference is in how you choose to or understand to articulate things.
By design the collars are very flexible - having ranges of stimulation that begin lower than you can feel on your hand and going higher than you would care to feel. That is due to the fact that every dog's threshold for pain & discomfort are different.
The bottom line is really very simple - the people who do best with remote collars have a sound understanding of dog behavior and training and understand where and when and how to apply the collar. Good collar trainers are technicians really - in the truest sense.
Most collars come with at least a basic video - which is usually helpful (at least a little) but align yourself with an expereinced trainer who can guide you through the steps.

The skin irritations are not caused by the stimulation - this is a common misconception. It is caused by the problems mentioned in the earlier posts in this thread.

I started out trying to position the e-collar on the top of the next as best as i could, only to find out as soon as he starts walking it shakes it's way back down under his chin. and i can't tighten it anymore because he starts weezing, theres no happy medium. are there other ways to keep the e-collar high on his neck?

Daniel I think that you misunderstood Nick's advice to keep the Ecollar high on the dog's neck to mean that you should keep it on the top of the dog's neck. I'm pretty sure that's not what he meant. The "box" that contains the electronics will almost always wind up on the bottom of the dog's neck, although during "point of contact" training this can change, but only for short periods of time.

The advice to keep it as high as possible is so that when the dog puts his head down to sniff the ground, or just carries his head low, it doesn’t slide to a smaller part of his neck and lose good contact.

Your problem may also be due to using short contact points. I don't know what kind of dog you have or what his coat is like but if the coat is very thick, it can stop the points from making good contact. Your manufacturer may offer longer points that help get through a longer coat. One thing that helps sometimes is after the Ecollar is on, kinda wiggle the box while pushing it into the dog's neck. This parts the hair and gets the points against the skin.

I found that poor contact may cause intermittent function. I use the longer prongs and if your dog is really hairy you can shave a patch on his neck.

I tried my collar on my thigh on its highest setting. It causes involuntary muscle contraction but was not painful.

I always page first and then shock. I have to shock less now.

Good luck,
BG