I am a newbie in the ecollars. I have finally decided that I want to go with an Ecollar, probably the Dogtra 1200NCP. I currently have a 8 month old Male Bouvier. I will be getting a female puppy soon for a future breeding partner as well as all around dog. Bouviers can be very stubborn, my male certainly is. Would it be better to get a collar system that can handle 2 collars, or should I get 2 seperate systems? :rolleyes:

Thanks in advance.

Papa

Tony I'd suggest the two-dog system. It's less expensive to buy and one less part to carry around. It's quite rare that you'll need to stim both dogs at the exact same moment. But if you know that will be a common occurrence in your training situation than two complete systems will be needed. But otherwise, the two dog unit will do just fine.

The 1202NCP (that's the designation for the two dog unit) you mention, is a top quality model.

Tony Hi

I have the dogtra 1202ncp unit. And have had no problem what so ever. It just takes some getting use to flipping the the toggle switch from one collar to the other when needed. And no doubt you will forget at sometime or another. Then you are gonna feel real bad cuz the dog who is just laying there gets stimmed and looks at you with a look like what the heck did I do?

But you have a while before both dogs will be old enough to wear them at the same time.

Other than what Lou Castle mentioned about both dogs needing stimmed at the same time. One thing that pops up for me, is if I take off with one dog and the wife has the other mmmmm bet you can guess who gets to use the prong collar! But that doesn't happen very often.

Mr. Longworth,

I use a two collar system that has a control with a panel strip of four choices for each dog that range from only a tone to a tone followed by a serious stimulation.

Works good but I only use it on occasion. And when I use it now I only use the tone choice, or leave the collars deactivated. Merely wearing the collar has the effect of focusing the dogs attention. The dogs figured out the tone could be followed by a stimulation very quickly.

Each dog responded differently but both figured out the tone/stimulation relationship very quickly. I should note, I used the stimulation in both cases to stop a bad habit and not to routinely train.

In the one instance it had to do with the female taking off after a cat and not stopping when I commanded 'no.' One zap and she got the relationship. The other had to do with the male just taking off at a dead run to play with a dog up the street. He got about 100 yds. when he got stimulated to return to me - he did.

The tone approach works for me... But I only use the collars now about once every three or four months for one session, and when I'm trying a new bunch of training stuff. The collars focus the dogs attention and provides a means for building - thats my story and I'm sticking to it.

I have a neighbor who decided to use an e-collar. He decided to use the collar to accompany his every command. Of course, he has a very casual command structure in that sit can mean down can mean come-sit can mean stay... His dog is often the very picture of a confused creature. I think he abuses the collar, if not the dog.

Two more cents...

Thanks guys for the input!

Lou has been great in consulting with me via email, thanks Lou!

I had the luck of finding a 1202NCP at a National Sportsman Warehouse that had been nicely discounted!

Sorry Lou! I have to say here that had it only been 10% or 15% off, I would have still bought from Lou. His support is definitely worth every penny when you buy a collar from him. But at the price I was able to get the unit at, and the ability to use it BEFORE I paid for it, it was just one of those things.

I have been reading every article on Lou's web site. I watched the video that came with the collar. I am now ready to get started. Is there any other resources I should confer with before getting started? I have read about all kinds of horror stories as far as really messing up a dog with one of these collars. I usually starts out with the person not even reading the manual. I just want to be as informed and educated as I can be before starting.

I do have one question that I did not see specifically answered. Exactly where should the electrodes be on the dogs neck? Also, since you are not supposed to use the same spot day after day, is there some method of "rotation" as far as moving the collar around as so the dog does not develop any sores or irritation? Keep in mind I have a Bouvier and they have some serious coat!

Thanks in advance for the help!

Tony
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