HELP Blue Heeler threatened

[FlyingNunFarm]

I'm hoping people can chime in on electronic collars for dogs.

I have a 5 year old Australian Cattle Dog. She was pepper sprayed Monday afternoon by a guy walking down the street. He then said if he had a gun he would have shot her. (Super nice guy)

I could go into the whole story but it boils down to I'd like to keep my girl from being killed. On 30 acres I can't fence her in. It wouldn't be fair to tie her up. She used to running free.

I'd like something that I can remotely get her attention. I'd rather not shock her but if it's that or be shot...

Anyone have recommendations for a collar?

I've looked online and reviews are opposite ends of the spectrum for the same item! I don't have a ton of money to spend but I don't want to buy something cheap and it doesn't work when I really need it or zaps her half to death when I wanted vibrate.

Any other ideas? I'm at a loss here.

HELP

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I use a SportDog brand collar for my hunting dogs. I rarely have to use it now though as I have them trained and experienced well; it is more of a long distance immediate reprimand during the training phase.

All I can say is a lot of people will tell you that they are cruel but I disagree. Use it as a training tool, not a punishment tool, and you will find that soon you will not need it 99% of the time. Like I said, it serves as immediate feedback to them when they are out of range of normal methods, such as you grabbing them to hold them back. Using them right is imperative, though. Teach them what is right FIRST (the command and desired result), then start implementing the collar to correct errors as reinforcement.

I did a lot of research before buying my collar. There is a lot of good information and recommendations from gun dog supply http://www.gundogsupply.com/dog-training-collars-buyers-guide.html

You can usually also find a lot of lightly used ones for sale on some of the bird hunting websites.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

@SunHwaKwon
Thank You! I will check out the web site. She is usually good but I don't want to risk her life on an off day. She's smart so I'm hoping it won't take long to train her. I've never had to buy one of these before so I'm looking for people with experience. Again Thank You.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I completely understand. I also live on property that would be unfeasible to try to fence in, and though we rarely have pedestrians on our street we do have the occasional jogger or cyclist go by and sometimes my dogs run out, which frustrates me, but if they don't have a collar on there is not much I can do other than call them back. It is counterproductive to call your dog back and then punish them, because then they will learn to hesitate or even refuse to come to you when called for fear of punishment, and that is why something like an e-collar is so helpful. They get the correction at the time they need it, which is at the time they are doing the incorrect thing. If you have any more questions or find one you like but aren't sure, or have questions about training or using them, just let me know.

 

[dainerra]

your girl will be perfectly happy in a smaller space. Fence in an area or use an electronic fence. Key in the latter would be to have the area far from the road and sight of passers-by. That will help lower her chance of running through the correction because she is over-excited because she sees someone.

an e-collar can also help but first you will have to train her to the collar. Also, it will also work only if you are out there with her and give the correction at the right time.

 

[Bunnylady]

your girl will be perfectly happy in a smaller space. Fence in an area or use an electronic fence. Key in the latter would be to have the area far from the road and sight of passers-by. That will help lower her chance of running through the correction because she is over-excited because she sees someone.

an e-collar can also help but first you will have to train her to the collar. Also, it will also work only if you are out there with her and give the correction at the right time.

This. If you are out of sight of the dog and she sees someone on the road, she may challenge them. Dogs do not understand property lines; unless you are right there, in sight, able to see what's about to happen and correct the dog if necessary every moment that she is outside, the odds of her challenging someone else at some point are pretty good. You didn't say what your dog did that made this guy think he needed to defend himself with pepper spray, but your dog may feel that he attacked her while she was defending her territory, and may get even more excited the next time.

 

[dainerra]

that is another aspect of using an e-collar (or even an electronic fence) - if the correction comes at the wrong time, you can increase the dog's aggression. Or make them fearful.
If not given at the correct time, the dog will view the correction as an attack by the person they are focused on. This will cause them to either try to avoid people in the future which can bleed over to other situations or it can cause them to view humans as "I'm going to get you before you get me"

 

[TeeMom]

I agree with the other posters. I understand your frustration, but having been on the other side, I also understand your passing person's frustration...there's a reason he's carrying pepper spray and that's because he's had problems before. We only have 7 acres, but we've installed an underground fence on probably only an acre of that. We are using a Sport Dog system and have been very happy and so are the dogs. They still have plenty of room to romp, they guard our chickens and around our house and people, horses and other dogs on the bordering road are all safe from any potential threat. It's an affordable way to keep our dogs consistently in check.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

She had a short play session with 2 dogs who come to the property. We made it to the porch of the house when she saw him. She has been very good about not going after people. I think with the excitement from playing and pent up winter energy she ignored me.

We don't play in front of the house in view of the road. I always supervise while outside. I couldn't run after her due to the sloppy mud hole our yard has turned into. She has never bitten anyone but stands close and barks. I even asked if she bit him. He said no. She is generally timid. If a strange person comes over and she barks all they have to do is act tough. She's really a big chicken. I can't say I blame him, it could have been much worse for him or my dog.

My plan was to train her with the beep and vibration function to come when called. And right away. I don't know when or if this guy will be walking again. I'd rather train with her a while and be safe then sorry.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

I cannot fence the yard. Believe it or not I rent on 30 acres with two dogs, two cats and chickens. (Really awesome landlord) I can't afford to fence a yard and he's not going to pay for it. I really think the collar is my best option for distance attention getting.