Posted: 10/13/2008 11:34:24 AM EDT
| I would like to start training my lab mix to go off leash when we are out and about. We are taking him to obediance now and training him with a choke collar. I have no clue on where to start when it comes to selecting an electric collar and training with one. What are your recommendations? |
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The best thing would be to find a very skilled trainer to teach you how to use this training tool. The problem with that is there are very few pet trainers that know how to use the e-collar correctly. The 2nd best thing would to buy the DVD in the below link. Remote Collar Training DVD Jason Sidener www.vonsidener.com |
you can and should properly train a dog to be off leash all the times without a choker or electric collar. in fact, if your current trainer uses a choke collar, or recommends an electric collar, i would get a new trainer. you should have a cotton collar so you don't hurt the dog. these tools are the result of lazy training techniques and can be harmful to the dog. to train a dog to be off leash at all times just requires training and effort on your part. find a quality trainer. the trainer will train you, not the dog. it is your responsibility to train the dog. the trainer should come to your house to be in your environment. if the trainer is not in your home s/he can not properly asses the whole situation. my 3 dogs are between 150 and 200 pounds. they have not been on a leash since they were 6 months old (6 years now) and we go for walks through town daily. i even take them into some stores. we were in home depot yesterday. my wife and i were trained by a quality trainer and so were the dogs. remember you will get out what you put into it. if you don't put in the quality, ... well you know the rest. |
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Before going off-leash, its important that you gave "come" firmly ingrained. You can work on this in the house, and in the yard, but remember that dogs are sensitive to environment -- "come" in the house may mean one thing to them, but "come" in the park may simply not be recognized in that environment. What I have done is to buy a cheap 50' length of nylon rope and made up a long leash. The dog goes "off leash" on this initially - until "come" is understood in the off-leash environment. It doesn't take long. Once "come" is understood and working (80% of the time or better), you can think about an electric collar. I suggest one with two modes - audible signal and shock. I have found that when "come" is ignored, an audible signal followed by "come" often works. If it doesn't one more audible signal, then a shock. With my dogs, after the first couple of shocks, I almost NEVER have to use the shock again, the audible signal is enough. Some training manuals suggest that you can use the audible signal to reward good behavior and the shock to punish bad behavior. My preference is that the audible signal is a warning that whatever they are doing is not acceptable, and if repeated more than 2 or 3 times will lead to a shock. It VERY rarely gets beyond the need for a single audible warning. DO NOT use it as a replacement for spoken commands - its a supplement. After 6 months or so, if you still need the training collar, except perhaps in a totally new environment, something is wrong. |
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The best e-collars come from Dogtra and Tritronics. We use a Dogtra 1700. They are not inexpensive.
There are many ways to train with an e-collar and it is very dog-dependent as to which methodology works best. A lot of trainers get stuck on only trying one methodology so beware of that. Typical methods include but are not limited to: using the lowest momentary setting that works and giving negative corrections as needed (I call this "death by a thousand papercuts"). Another is to use a constant correction until the dog starts to do what you want ("escape training"). Another is to use larger but fewer corrections (I call this "whack on the head" :-) They all have their place in the training repertoire. The most important thing however is to make sure your dog has some basic understanding of what you want by using leash or long-line training FIRST. You must be fair to the dog this way. You can't just yell "come" (or whatever) and start wailing away with the e-collar if the dog doesn't have some clue what you want. There are plenty of DVDs available from the collar makers or places like Leerburg if you can't find a local trainer to work with (and you won't find such trainers at Petco, etc.) IMHO e-collar training is the best training there is. It is MUCH easier on the dog and is perhaps the closest you can come to simulating a nip from the pack leader as it were. It generates a wonderful sense of freedom for both you and the dog. We use it almost exclusively on our dog. |
| Well after doing a lot of reading and using the live.com cashback on ebay to purchase a really nice collar we have had a really peaceful week with the dog. I decided to purchase a Dogtra 2300 because of the muliple levels of stim and the lithium polymer batteries. I got the collar last week and started out with our dog just wearing it around the house for a few hours a day to get used to it and to not become collar shy or smart. After a few days I found his sweet spot for stim and the training began. Right now we are using the collar to correct bad behavior such as barking and stealing toys form my son. Also I'm using it to keep him from jumping. So far the results have been great. We are very rarely having to enforce our commands with correction and when we do the result is imediate. The best part is that when he steals toys we are not having to make it a game and chase after him to get the toy back. I can't wait to start training recall and reinforcing general obediance with it. |
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Overlord––that's great! The Dogtra is an excellent collar. The new 2300 is just like the 1700 we use but with a better battery and collar on/off switch.
When people ask us "What is that thing on your dog's collar" we say "It's an e-collar, just like an e-fence but we control it". Everyone seems to understand that (we live in suburbia and there are a LOT of e-fences). Hunters will know what it is straight away. A few more tips...I don't care what "they" tell you to do, all dogs get collar-wise, the only question is do they care? Our dog is happy to come over and get her collar because it means FUN! The only people who need to worry about collar-wise are those who compete in competitions where the collars are not allowed. Don't forget to combine negative reinforcement with positives (toys, food, praise). Getting the collar to fit just right is a bit of a trial and error exercise. Too tight and you can get sores. Too loose and it doesn't work consistently and consistency is the key to training, of course. Also, try to position the collar in different places to avoid rubbing the same place all the time. Wearing it more than 8 hours a day is probably too much. Don't be surprised if your training methods and timing need to evolve a bit over time. Both you and your dog are learning and testing each other continuously. Finally, watch out for the e-collar haters and don't let them get you down. It is by far the most effective and humane training method in comparison to other alternatives. When you are with your dog in public and he is complete gentleman, heeling perfectly and sitting by your side all OFF LEAD and the lady with the dog that acting stupid at the end of it's leash is giving you crap just say "So, how's your training method working out for you?" Keep us posted on your progress... |
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I cant give advice on using one to train off leash, but, I have used them with a jack russel, and it was a effective training tool.
Make sure to get one that hase a variable discharge, and also a non-discharge noise only feature. The unit we bought included a dvd that explained using it as a training aid. I recomend getting one with something like that and using it. good luck! |
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Quoted:
Yea, we called it his bad boy collar. It got to the point were we just said bad boy coller and he would calm down, at least for a minite or two. I'll never have another jack. I adopted a beagle, the only problem I have with him is wakeing him up. Funny. We call ours his "good boy". As in, "Lets put your good boy on." Just putting the collar on him he calms down and is much more responsive. He also likes putting it on because I have largely associated it with getting to go in the car. He LOVES riding in the car. |
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I would only use e collar for something extreme, such as poison-proofing a dog.
The step before off-lead is the 50' lead. Come is the only command that results in a treat after petting. All other commands just get 'good girl', and after a few 'come/sit/stay', get pat on head/chest. Then 'no! come' is hardwired, no matter what,to stop what doing and come to your side... I do that w/ thick headed dogs, would figure the lab would be much easier. I don't even own a choke-collar, etc. w/ protection dogs, only heavy-thick collars. consult a pro, to find out the downsides of e collars.... I'd say if they advocate spraying dog w/ water, choke collars, or e-collars.... I'd find another 'pro' |