Sportdog training collars

[Amber and the doods]

I tried searching and didn't have any luck but I'm wondering if any of you have experience with the remote transmitters and collars.  We're really struggling with counter surfing and dumper diving here and the fairly occasional "Oh I'm not listening to you right now" behavior and I'm considering trying one of these out.  I'm not looking for the shock factor, just the beep or nick to get his attention and then redirection from the bad behavior.  Thoughts?  Opinions?

[F, Calla & Luca]

I have Dogtra collars. We have had discussion on E-collars and you can search for them.

[Adina P]

I've used an ecollar for breaking Rosco of counter surfing.  It only took one stimulation to keep him away from counters.  BUT, it's not something I would recommend for a dog that doesn't have decent training already.  An ecollar for anything besides 'stuff a dog should NEVER EVER do' really requires just as much training as regular obedience training.  The ecollar, in my opinion, is BEST for things that you need to fix from a distance.  Think REMOTE for the TV.  It's not that you're trying to zap the TV harder, you're trying to give the tv a signal from a distance. 

We had Rosco wear the ecollar nearly every single day for a month before we did anything..so he would kind of 'forget' he was wearing it if possible.  So that he wouldn't be collar wise and realize it was only because he was wearing the collar that he got zapped.  We also had to set up a webcam so we could make him think he was alone in the house, otherwise he wouldn't have touched anything.  See, Rosco took 4-5 years to learn to counter surf.  He's huge and never touched anything on the counters for the first 4-5 years of his life so he'd had run of the house prior to his first offense.  And we were very careful in how we set up the 'trap' and aimed the web cam just right.  It takes some significant time to sit there and watch a web feed, waiting for something to happen.

The other thing is that in the meantime you have to be EVER SO vigilant to be sure he can't get to anything and mess up his training until you are sure he's not going to attempt another counter surfing adventure. I guess what I'm saying is it is a lot of work to do it well, so if you can keep him away from counters it is much easier to just do that rather than use an ecollar.  We ended up gating him in our mudroom in the end, just in case, when we are away or there is obvious temptation out and I can't be there supervising.   I just feel safer that way.

Also the 'I'm not listening right now' is BEST fixed through rigorous training.  A stronger correction won't make as big of an lasting impact as really good, careful training to teach him to listen and obey the first time. 

[Christine & Camus]

I have a Dogtra collar, but it is extremely important that it is used correctly, not as punishment!

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

I have a correction collar I bought for the same reason Adina did.  I had to correct Sasha once, I have used it on Oliver too and he just gets a beep and he is corrected.  I also put the collar on myself and in no way is it painful, it just feels funny.  You can just put the collar on and start correcting you really have to read the instructions and do as much research as possible.

[Amber and the doods]

Oh yes, I plan on doing all the training, reading, video watching that comes with the territory. In addition to the counter surfing and dumpster diving, which he does litterally dozens of times a day, and RIGHT in front of you, even after a correction, we have a cottage on a lake with a huge yard and no fence. Last summer he drug around a 30ft leash just in case he decided to go for a run. I think he'd have more fun and us too, if he felt more free. I realize it's going to be a lot of work, even before a correction is ever made, but I thought I'd just get some advice before I started the process. Thank you all for your responses.

[Adina P]

There isn't a whole lot of training that comes WITH the collars.  At least I don't think they are very useful or thorough. 

Contact this trainer, Karen Palmer, here: http://www.balancedcaninetraining.com/ -- if she is not near you, then she might have some suggestions for a good trainer near you.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

We have an e-collar for Murphy which we only use as our "safety net".  I do not use it for regular training.  His issue is reactiveness to other dogs when leashed.  We have a training approach which we use and it is successful 99% of the time.  However, there are some other dogs that just put him "over the edge" and in those situations I do use the e-collar to get his attention so that he can "remember and respond to" his other training.  I think these can be effective tools, but I agree with Adina that they are not a replacement for training.

[Amber and the doods]

I realize there is a lot of training that needs to take place BEFORE the collars are used.  He's had a bit of training and knows many commands already.  It's just he chooses when he wants to listen to them.  This isn't my first rodeo with a dog but it is using an ecollar.  I did search on DK for info but even after being told to search didn't find what I was looking for.  A lot of info on the medical ecollars/hoods/lampshades but obviously that was not what I was looking for.  To those of you annoyed with my repeat question, I apologize.  I was just looking for some useful advice from someone more experienced than I.  Adina, I will check out that trainers site.  Do you know her personally?

[Adina P]

Amber, I know the trainer from a training group I belong to online.  It's a yahoo discussion forum essentially.  From everything she's shared and written, she sounds trustworthy, knowledgeable, and effective.  I've been hoping for a chance to send someone to her but we just don't have that many members from Michigan that post.