bored lab

[Dahitman44]

Hunting was a little slow on sat am so when we shot and missed Copper saw four swans out in the middle of the pond and went in after them. It was kinda funny. The swans starting honking at him and he got really close before they moved.

Tried to zap him to get him to come back but it was no use. He was pretty jacked up.

[bhs91]

Just my opinion, but you need to make sure he comes back EACH time. Before I had collars, I lost my springer after he took off after deer while I was pheasant hunting in MN. I ended up finding him the next day, but that was an anxious night. Same thing happened down in Iowa and I said [PoorWordUsage] on it and got a collar. Has never happened gain, nor will it since i make sure the collar is snug and the setting is enough to get his attention. I also have a 2 year old lab and she responds each time I use the collar. A collar along with a check cord are good to have as well as just working the dog and letting your buddies hunt. Each time that I went to a game farm and Iowa last year, I made sure that I justed work with her.

[Dahitman44]

He does not always listen to me even after being zapped on level 8 pulse.

[tealitup]

Quote:

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He does not always listen to me even after being zapped on level 8 pulse.

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Thats one hard headed dog! You could get me to sit having an 8 pulse on my neck.

[Dahitman44]

He listens well when he is just srewing around, but when he is after something -- even though we all missed he doesn't feel a thing.

[trailratedtj]

dotn worry if i have one problem with my dog it is that he feels the urge to break when ever he sees the neighbors or another dog. This has been an ongoing saga for Duke and I. I can Jack the collar up all the way and if i dont catch him right before he bolts its game on. He starts running wide open with a big kink in his neck from the constant zapping, but never checks up untill he gets close enough to the person to stop and start wagging his tail. Then it settles in on him that he's doing wrong. Then! finally he starts yelping and decides he needs to come back over into his yard.

[Dahitman44]

Trail --

That sound RIGHT on the money. He is just too excited to notice the ZAP.

Does everyone have this trouble when they are pups? Any idea how to break it?

[JPowell]

I guess it sounds to me like maybe you could try two things. I would first check and make sure that the collar is actually tight around his neck. sometimes when they are sitting it is tight but when the are running it is loose and not touching the coat. I know you said you have a sportdog 1800 and i have that to...so you could possibly buy the extended prongs for the collar or try going to the next 8 levels. I belive you can adjust up all the way to the 16th level. I would not go that far myself. not sure if that helps you are all but i guess that is my two cents. My Yellow has a pretty thick coat and i was thinking about getting the extended prongs for the coallar.

JP

[bhs91]

I would try the extended prong and make sure the prong are snug to the neck. Then I try to set up as many similar situations to those that bring out the behaviors. I understand that it is a fine line, but control of your dog is important from a safety stand point. I would also make sure that hunting, for you, becomes secondary and when you are in blind or in the field put the gun away and jsut concentrate on the training for a few outings. I know this stinks in the short term, but you will have this pup for the next 10-15 years so it will be worth it.

[311Hemi]

It's very possible that your dog dose not know how to properly respond properly to the pressure ("zap").

Was he vocal when you hit him with the "zap"?

What program did you use to collar condition him?

My dog did this also but I now realize that it was a lack of proper pressure conditioning and that he did not know how to respond to the pressure in the given scenario.

[Dahitman44]

Bass --

Good idea on the prongs I think that would help.

I have the extended prongs on the yard fence deal and that helped.

[Dahitman44]

Bass --

Where do you get the prongs?

[JPowell]

If you go to the Sportdog web site you can order them off of there. not much if i remember. I think that this might help.

[Dahitman44]

I am going there right now. I don;t know why I didn't think of that -- thanks.

BTW -- has the bigger prongs caused any skin irritation on your dog? I have heard that it can.

[311Hemi]

Any prongs can certainly cause skin irritation on a dogs skin if left in the same place to long.

How tight do you have the collar?

Do you move the collar around a little bit once it's tight on the dog to ensure the prongs are resting on the skin?

I have a hard time believing that longer prongs is your solution to this issue with your dog not returning, especially if you say you have times that he wont return when hitting him with a number 8 setting. Your collar conditioning process is a more likely reason that the dog does not come back when burning him after disobeying a "come" command. Not saying it is for sure but I think many people over look how important that process is in teaching the dog how to respond to pressure, and not just burning them once they get the proper response using low stimulation in a back yard setting when first introducing the e-collar.

Although I guess it's possible if the Sport Dog collars have very short prongs and you have a really thick coated dog.

Have you tried a number 8 setting on your arm to know how much of a shock it actually is? Obviously different dogs will tolerate different levels of correction. You may need to find this level and condition him to respond to the pressure in higher drive situations.

[10,000 Casts]

hitman,

I am not a trainer by anymeans but I have been having really good luck with my 10 month old yellow lab. It sound like you just need to work with your pup more. Collars are fine but if you are on level 8 with extended prongs and he is not comming back then you might want to go back to some old fashion training.

Just an idea...

Call or zap only once. If he doesn't come then go get him and be forcefull. If I have to I will pick my yellow up high in the air over my head and walk her back. Or drag her back to the place that I was calling from. It doesn't sound like your dog knows that you are the boss and that can be dangerous. My lab was doing the same thing that yours was and the more she dissobeyed the more forcefull I was. Every day she gets better and better.

Males Labs can be hard headed! Don't ever give him an inch anywhere and that should translate into the field.

Just some thoughts.