shock collar question

[walleyewacker]

I just bought a new collar. For some reason it does not hit my dog at all on any setting. It has juice and I can tell it is working when I pull it off of her. I have it plenty tight on her neck and even tried shaving a spot on her neck for better contact but it just seems like I cant get any contact. Do you think buying the longer contacts would work here or is there something else I need to do?

[JDM]

That is the first thing I would try.

[delmuts]

just don't test it out on yourelf!! ( not me!! a buddy!) when they first came out, he got one for his lab, it seemed to have little effect on her, so he decided to try it himself. low setting, little tickle. so he put it on high!! another buddy found him on the floor!

[JPowell]

Is it a possiblity the range is not long enough? maybe the dog is to far out. my other thought is that some dogs get so hypt'd up that they run though anything. his/her mind is so excited and focused that it needs a higher setting. just a thought.

JP

[marine_man]

What did you get for a collar, and what breed are you using it on? I've got a Dogtra 1200 NC and the points it came with are sufficient for my lab...

Are you sure you're getting it tight enough? It should be located right below the ears (so up high on the dog's neck) and tight enough that you can only slip two fingers between the collar and your dog's neck...

marine_man

[Barony]

I actually used conductivity gel when I first got a collar because I had the same problem. I ordered it from some trainers in CA that recommened it. I also wet my dogs neck down so the fur was out of the way and then it worked fine.

[Farmboy1]

Does the dog know why it is being corrected? I have seen some people who hit the dog with juice while yelling a command. The dog does not know what just happened, but it is going to run away from the pain.

I am not trying to be argumenative, as I don't know how well trained your dog is, so please do not take that as a shot to you as a trainer.

[walleyewacker]

I have two year old, about a 65lb lab and a sportdog 450. The dog is overall very well behaved, very docile, and has well over 200 retrieves this year so she knows what is going on. When I say that it has no effect on her I mean it doesnt hit her, its not that she doesnt know whats hitting her, I have tried the collar and it works on all settings with the indicator light it came with, its pretty easy to tell when a collar works. The only reason I still keep one on her is because when pheasant huntin in conditions where she cannot hear me or see me she gets out a little too far once in a while and I just want to tap her very light to remind her because sometimes she gets her head in the game and forgets to check up, she is not running crazy, I just like one one for assurance. I hear what you are saying farmboy, but to say we do a lot of hunting might be an understatement, the dog is pretty top notch and for the age one of the best behaved dogs I have been around and I guide for a lodge over her. There is no question it is tight enough. My dads tritronics I was borrowing before worked just fine for the same purpose.

Where could I get some conductive gel to try? I think I will order the longer contacts to try out but we will see. Wetting her down might help too but would it do any good if it freezes? Thanks for the imput.

[Farmboy1]

That makes a little more sense! I would try the gel, or get the longer probes. I also tried my shock collar on my hand as well. I could not see hitting my dog with something I was not able to take. Call me stupid, but I am a little partial to my dog, and don't want him hurt. I figure if it is really hard on me, it is too hard on him.

Good luck

[JPowell]

You say that she gets a little to far out when you can not see her. I don't think that the Sportdog 450 has the best of range. and i also know (because i have the 1800) that if it is not fully charged or if you don't hold it up in the air sometimes that it doesn't always hit my dog to. Does it work if you are just around the yard and you nick her or give her a lite stimulation?

JP

[Barony]

I bought the conductivity gel ($7) from Dobbs and put it on the contacts. I've since purchased a new Dogtra 1600 and do not have any problems with this one. The other one was a Dogtra too.

[walleyewacker]

What I meant by when I cannot see her is when we get into groves or thick sloughs, not distance. I really dont think its a range thing because the rep told me it should be good to a few hundred yards or so and we havent come close to that. Batteries are brand new and always charged. I think I will give that gel a try and see how that goes. Thanks for the input guys.

[LABS4ME]

Range is measured at the factory under IDEAL cicumstances... ie: NO COVER, wide open flat ground, 100% charged batteries, no interference etc.

If your dog is in heavy cover and their neck is between the reciever and transmitter you could easily knock that down to "long" hunting conditions (80-100 yrds), then if your batteries are only at 3/4's take a little more off. I have no idea about Dogtr collars and their capabilities by model... or if this is a couple hundred yard model. Most shorter distance models are not generally used in field circumstances. I personally would never hunt with an 'obedience' collar which is primarily used for yard work. In the three times I've bought collars, I made sure there was a minumum of 1/2 mile of range, in the past I've had 3/4 mile and 1 mile models also. I have run blinds with dogs out to 300-400 yards and with terrain change and half charged batteries, I did not get a correction on every tap, this was with the 1/2 mile collar. This was in a field goose hunting, so I didn't even have to take into account 'cover'. Generally I fully charge my collar and transmitter every night... that way you go into the field each day worrying about one less thing going wrong.

Simple test, go out in the field, turn your collar down to low and carry the probes on the palm of your hand, walk out 100 yards and keep the collar in the cover 1 1/2' off the ground with your body between the transmitter and collar... have a friend tap the button... can you feel the correction? If not it is not recieving the siganal from the transmitter. If it is, what setting are you hunting your dog on? Is it enough to correct him? I increase my setting at least one full notch over what I train on as the excitement of the hunt usually will allow the dog to 'run' through collar corrections.

Good Luck!

Ken

[walleyewacker]

Tried it. The collar works on all settings way past what I ever need it for, I did not go to the max. Weird thing is that the same collar works on our other lab just fine. My dog has a more skin and a thicker coat around her neck than the other one by far but I wasnt sure if it could make that big of a difference. Thanks labs.

[MikeSan]

I own a sportdog collar that i was having the same problem with. the prongs are coated in plastic and just the very tip of the prong is exposed. I tried every thing I could think of but eventually switched to a dogtra collars because the prongs are much more exposed. No problem since

[setterguy]

Every dog is different as too what correction level will get them to respond. I have one dog that will yelp on the very lowest settings, and one that would run throuh a high setting with no reaction at all. If the dog is young, and the temptation is high, sometimes they will disregard the discomfort.