Shock Collars?

[Jimmy from Cottage Grove]

How does everyone feel about shock collars? I have never used one. Yet will be training a new puppy in a few weeks here. I am sure you don't use them for the first couple months. Do you think that it is something that is needed to train? How hard is it on the dog?

[PikeBayCommanche]

Depends on the dog. If he is hard headed, hard charging dog a collar would help a lot i am sure. I know guys with softer dogs that preferred not to use them. Without a collar it might take a little longer.

Main thing to do is to not use the collar unless you understand how to use it. They need direction but you don't want to ruin the dog by over stimulating it. I have seen dogs that have been ruined by poor training and they become very skittish and nervous all the time.

It helps if you know what other dogs from the same bloodlines have turned out to be.

[Northland Sportsman]

As long as they are not abused and used the way they are intended I think they are a great tool for training. I don't think it is any harder on the dog then other forms of correction out there. It is also great in the field to remind them of things things when they forget what they are supposed to be doing. I wouldn't go without one anymore.

[jigging-matt]

I would be interested in what others here have done with them also. I have a young Britt and everything I read said not to use an E-Collar till they are close to or at 1 year old. I have seen the benefits of them, when used properly, and have also seen when used improperly and the dog refuses to get near the collar.

[LABS4ME]

Many times, "soft dogs" respond better to training with a collar vs. traditional methods. Used properly (correction vs. discipline) it is an annonuymous correction. The dog thinks it "did it" to itself. They can't comprehend that you pushed a button and they got zapped. Thus it takes "you" out of the equation. They end up not losing confidence in you which can happen when you formally correct them without the aid of an e-collar. Get a good book on e-collar training and read it before you purchase or use it. Try the Tritronics book by Jim and Phylis Dobbs.

Good Luck!

Ken

[LABS4ME]

Never put the collar on and immediatley begin to use it. Then the dog will never be able to put 2 and 2 together.

I learned a trick from a trainer years ago... get the collar out, put it on the dog and throw a ball 2 or 3 times for it so it equates putting the collar on with fun. It will literally stand there with it's neck stretched out waiting for you to put it on...

Remember, dogs can't reason. Meaning this, if you associate the collar to fun, they can't reason that the collar is doing the correction. The series of events is the collar = fun... they can't put the stimulation they are feeling on the collar as the seires of events had a break in it between putting the collar on and the correction. When I trained dogs for trials, we put the collars on at home and they rode in their crates in the truck with them on. Putting the collars on meant they were going for a truck ride. They had no idea it was doing the corrections an hour later.

Good Luck!

Ken

[jigging-matt]

Ken, Great Information. At what age do you generally start using the e-collar?

[ReelTimes]

For those interested, there was a related topic posted on E-Collars if you go back to posts around 3/31/07. There were a number of posts on the pros/cons of collars.

I'll throw my 2 cents in on age. I don't really think it is as much an age question as a judgement call as to when you think your dog is ready. For me, thats based upon how far along the dog is in their training, maturity, personality, and also the breed. I have introduced them at various time of my dogs age, depending upon when I felt they were ready and when we were at that point in training where I felt it was beneficial. I have used them for training on all the labs I have ever owned. I also have had a couple of english cockers and didn't use it on my first one and have on the one I currently own. Variable intensity has been around for a long time but I think that was a revolutionary change in terms of the ability to use the right amount of stimulation, which I believe at least initially is enough stim to get their attention and let them know an incorrect response and yet not so much as to damage their spirit. I think this is also a subject where there isn't necessarily a right answer and the opinions you will find are quite varied.

[ricbak]

I picked up a female short hair pup and last year I sent her to a trainer at age 9 months, anyway it was real interesting working with him and the pup on the e-collar training end of it. We went out into the field the first day with her and his first statement was that this collar is used for "CORECTION ONLY NOT DISIPLAN", I have also heard the saying that one should put a collar on his own neck with the dog before going out in the field so he doesn't get to carried away with the e-collar, not sure if I'd want to go that far. I guess you would have to judge how the dogs back yard manners are with out a e-collar and go from that, as it turned out my pup was pretty soft and I only needed to put the collar on and she was all business after that.

[slotlimit]

I wouldn't own a dog without one.

[goose52]

Shock collars are great training tools and useful in the field. As stated above they can wreck a dog if used improperly. For age i think it depends on the dog, but around 1 year is a general guideline i use. i have a 10 month old that i'm going to start using the collar on, as she's ready in her training for it.

[JDM]

I use the e-collar, but I have quite a bit of experience. If you do not have access to someone who can teach you the basics, or the funds to have a pro condition your dog, I would take Labs suggestion and buy the Dobbs book. It will give you the basics. For those out there who just strap it on a dog and go, the potential for problems are endless.

As far as the age of the dog, it really depends on the individual animal and what you are trying to do with it. I personally like to teach things manually and then introduce the collar later. At low intensities though, the training can be far less traumatic to a soft dog than traditional methods. Good luck.

[duckbuster]

The collar should be put on the dog at a young age just like you would put on his/her normal collar. Like LABS stated the dog needs to adjust to having it on before stimulation starts. When you do start the conditioning of the collar start with very low stim.

When you are looking for an appropriate response each dog is different in the amount it will take to get such response.

Collars are like guns, collars/guns don't hurt dogs/people, trainers/people hurt dogs/people.

If you train with malice you will in most cases affect the dog to a negative degree.

GOOD LUCK!!!!