E-Collar training questions *****UPDATE ITS HERE*****

[SundownWaterfowl]

I just purchased an e-collar yesterday and was wondering if anybody (dog trainers) here have any advice about boundary training with an e-collar.

Thank You.

 

[lamoka]

What type of collar did you get? I conditioned my Eng. Pointer with Sit, Come and heal first, once he got those three commands down I would just consistantly call him back when he whent near the road or property line. Honestly he picked up his boundaries very quickly and I hardly had to use the shock collar after I had him conditioned. Take it slow and get the first three commands down solid and they are a great fondation for everything else you will want to train your including boundries. I utilized a check cord in the early training to help reinforce what I wanted him to do. it was amazing how quickly my dog responded to the training and I never had to set the collar up over 2 and mine goes up to 5. I have trained several hunting dogs over the years and never used a e collar intill this last one but I have to say the training whent much quicker and with less stress on the dog and myself I would never train without one again. You have to try it on yourself first though so you have a proper understanding of what you are inflicting on your pup. Also you should never have it set high enough to make them yip overstimulation can make a dog very collar shy if the dog makes any yipping or really jumps turn it down you will be able to tell by watching them what is the correct level every dog is differnt. Good luck I am sure if you take your time you will have your pup trained to his boundries and anything else you will want.

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Its a sportdog collar. I think it has 8 levels. I will have somebody test it out first, to see how it feels. She knows sit and come, but once she sees the chickens moving, the come command doesnt work. I would like to boundary train her around the whole backyard, just not far back as the chicken coops are.

 

[Stevo]

I dont think it will work. I have a sportdog SD-800 I use on my GSP. I use it whenever the dog is loose on the property or hunting. You can train it to listen to commands but it will not associate boundries with stimulation. There are invisible fence products that would work. You could use it in conjuction with the e collar. Most of these invisible fences make the collar beep then if they dont stop a small stimulation is sent to it. Most times especially with larger breeds the stimulation is too light to stop it from crossing the burried wire. But.... if you hit the dog with a good whack from your sportdog as it hits the wire it will learn when it hears the beep and feels the light stimulation if it keeps going it will get a hard knock. Every dog is different. Some need almost no stimulation and it will stop and listen with just a beep. Mine on the other hand needs an almost head turner to get her to stop and listen lol. Start with the lowest setting and keep turning it up until you get the disered effect. Then use your beep first then stimulate. Most dogs will figure out when it hears the beep if it doesn't listen the shock will follow and listen well. Always associate the collar with fun. Put the collar on and dont use it at first just go play. The dog will soon learn when it sees the collar come out its fun time and will want it worn. These collars save dogs lives. Mine was heading for a busy road once while hunting and it stopped her in her tracks. She is 2 now and I hardly have to use it for her to listen anymore. As long as she has it on she knows she is on a long leash and I can reach her at anytime.

 

[Stevo]

Oh yea please dont test it on yourself LOL. I made the mistake of doing this. Stimulation levels will jump WAY up from like 4-5 if I remember right and it will knock you silly LOL.

You will be wearing a new hairdoo

 

[SillyChicken]

Absolutly test it on yourself. I do mine on myself all the time...helps you to be more aware of what you're doing to your dog. The one I have now also has an audible beep.... the dogs really respond to that (cause they know whats coming if they don't).


I am not sure this would be a good application for boundry training unless you'll be able to watch the dog 100% of the time. Consistancy and perfect timing is important with manual e-collars.

 

[saxet]

Like with all behavior, you first attach a verbal command to the wanted behavior.
If a dog is not to go beyond an imaginary point, call back and praise/reward for good behavior.
First use verbal marker if unwanted behavior is displayed (Uh or No or whatever you want to use)
Repeat the verbal command (No Rover, come back here) If that fails, give second warning, still verbally, and only if that fails, proceed to use lightest setting on e collar, followed by immediately repeating the verbal command. Do not forget the praise if wanted behavior (the return from the boundary) occurs. Increase setting on the collar only if needed (when corrections fail under no outside stimulance circumstances)
I would introduce the boundaries in sections, not all at once. Keep the dog away from future bounadaries if possible, until they get added to the list. Otherwise, I expect you would be confusing the heck out of the poor dog, since what was fine today (moving around the yard) all becomes punishable tomorrow.

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Well, the e-collar came yesterday. Charged it up all night. We also bought a pack of 100 orange flags at home depot to use as the boundary line until she learns where it is. Took her out, walked her all around the boundary line, when we got close I beeped, each time she got close I beeped and we ran back towards the middle of the yard. Then I put her on her long line, let her run around, she got close I beeped, and when she didnt turn around I "nicked" her. She turned right around and ran to me. We were out there for about 1.5 hours without a leash running and playing in the yard. She knows the boundary line now, took on pretty quick. (Though she will never ever be left alone in the yard) She didn't respond to number 1 or 2, but setting 3 gets her attention. I think its just the right setting for her. Then, while she was laying down, the cat entered the boundary. She took off after the cat. I beeped and zapped. Had to zap 2x but then she stopped chasing and ran back over to me. Seems like this is going to work. I also will walk around the yard, and if she gets close to the boundary I will beep and run back to the middle of the yard. I was told this by another golden owner from another dog forum, and so far its working. I LOVE it!

We got the Sportdog brand for stubborn dogs. I love it already. I also think she loves it, since now she doesn't have to be on a leash 100% of the time we are outside. She can actually run around free.

 

[Akane]

If used right and on the right type of dog I found it works very well. If you look close at the pics I've posted a few times of my akita with chickens you can see the orange band of the sport dog collar.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/aqh88/chickens/coop/SANY1036.jpg

I mostly only used it around chickens and a few other controlled situations. I found our property just has too many obstacles to be effective at keeping her from disappearing. She'll dash around a corner and then forget where I am and end up running the wrong way when she gets zapped. For stopping her from chasing things or enforcing recall in open spaces it works great and I was able to slowly wean her off it. When I went about 6months with doing nothing but the warning beep I started leaving the collar off and just warning vocally. I don't think I've used it in 4 or 5 months since then.

Now on my shiba it does not work at all. She'll run right through pain or choke herself out on any collar when she sees something. Since she's only 25lbs I worry about hitting her with the highest level of the collar so we are just going to do our best to keep her separate from all the animals and let her get her exercise at the dog park. We have a 300' retired rock climbing rope that I use to fasten them to trees when I want to let them out of the dog yard but can't watch them. I also would be very careful about using it on a nervous or fearful dog since it may be too harsh of a correction. Aside from when the akita is around strangers mine are neither and just stubborn brats with high prey drive.


Oh I saw that one company has develop a collar with moveable sensor and adjustable distances from 1 to I think 10' but I may be wrong about that distance. They are designed to keep a dog out of a certain area or away from things like potted plants but I'm thinking about getting a set and putting one on the cat, rabbits, guinea fowl (I don't have chickens anymore), etc... and then the dogs will correct themselves when they try to chase something. I'm not sure how big the sensors are though.

 

[arabianequine]

Where would I get a good quality ecollar....my saint puppy 8 months wont leave chickens, duck, "which wont leave her alone not fair", or the kitten.