My two doodles are getting an e-collar from Santa!!!

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I write this after reading Laurie's precious tribute to our "Lucky Dogs" and how very fortunate we are to have these characters in our lives and of course us in theirs. However, I have mixed feelings about how lucky my two are going to be feeling after my package of dual/remote controlled, waterproof e-collars comes in the mail.
I find that when I mention this to friends and co-workers, they look at me like I have just committed euthanasia with my bare hands!
My children just had a shocked look of horror and possibly deja vu as the distant memory of my threatening them as little children with the use of a then called "Shock collar" appeared in their heads. I quickly denied ever saying that, but they both verify each other's memory, so I am outnumbered 2 : 1.
I have always thought of these collars as being right up there with hitting them with rolled newspaper or yelling mean ugly words at them. (with the dogs, not the kids).
However, in light of last weeks flour fiasco and the resultant sickness these past 6 days, I am rethinking my training methods and can see that whatever I have been using to discourage them from going into the kitchen, is just not nearly as affective as I'd like it to be and it appears that their health can be at risk if this continues.
We had the near fire just a few months ago with them getting on top of the flat touch screen stove top, and they now take dirty dishes out of the sink and carry the plastic containers off to eat them, along with wooden spoons should they have any residual food stuff on them. They must be constantly counter surfing when I am gone, as things are moved around when I get home and dish towels are strewn on the floor. So we either have very messy ghosts or two very mischievous doodles living here.
Actually our last house was haunted, by a very nice young woman, and even she never made this kind of mess, but that's another story entirely.
I have researched collars till I cant think of another thing I need to know about their use and will implement the training slowly and carefully, as described. I have never used a professional trainer and have done all their training myself through educating myself with books and videos, and I have as well trained dogs as I want them to be, except in this one area. Well, we did have the poop eating issue for awhile, but I'm not sure if training or time cured that problem.
And honestly, other than an oral hygiene issue, it never made her sick, so I didn't really give that training all my attention.
So, at the risk of making my two lucky doodles very unhappy, but eventually limiting their exposure to harmful food items or stove tops, I am going to be using the e collar any day now. I will keep you posted and if you have any helpful insight, please share.

[Janalle]

My mom got her standard poodle a collar bc she doesn't have a fenced in yard. I can honestly say it worked great.. She walked her dog around the perimeter so she could hear the beaping warning it makes when you are near the line and about to get shocked. The pup hit the line once or twice and is now aware of where she can and cannot go.. :-).

[Adrianne Matzkin]

Our Niña has an obsession with jumping the fence to go and investigate the 'woods' between our block and the block behind us. She totally turns her ears off and her nose is leads her. What's so strange is that the gate on the driveway is short but she only jumps from 1 spot which is higher! Maybe because that spot is by the 'woods'? Guess it makes no difference as to the why but that she is!

We have tried everything and we have concluded the only thing we can do to keep her safe is an e-collar. Can anyone suggest which collar?

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Good luck with this Sue. I have no advice and don't know a thing about e-collars but I can clearly see that your doodles are putting themselves at risk as things are currently. Let us know how it goes!

[DJ & Chance]

Good luck with this.

Chance is getting a citronella anti-bark collar for Christmas.  He has begun to see his yard as in need of constant vigilance and patrols and barks at most anything he imagines seeing there.  More often than not recently, he is  so much in watchdog mode that he won't chase after toys.  I want to try and redirect this behavior and so I've also signed up for a few more sessions with the trainer that help with his leash reactivity.

[Adina P]

Yeah I think remote collars work best as tools for distance correction rather than as tools for a higher level punishment.  Especially in scenarios where the dog is really riled up.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I think the e-collar can work really well with some dogs.  We used it for awhile with Murphy when he was so highly reactive.  It worked for a short time and then he became "collar wise" and we had to keep turning it higher and higher until I was very uncomfortable with it.  He would even yelp, but would keep right on doing what he was doing.  Clearly it was not the right motivator for him.  Guinness can't reach the counters, and Murph has never even tried.  I do keep all food put away so there's really nothing there to entice them....I think they just haven't even figured out where "the good stuff" is.  LOL  Good luck and please keep us posted on how this works.

[Adina P]

Unless you don't care if they know the difference between having the collars of and on, I would keep the collars on longer than 1 week, for sure.  Also make sure they are on tight enough...especially for a furry dog.  I would probably only set up one dog at a a time and make sure the other one can NOT physically reach the item.  If they will ever be able to see you holding the remote, carry it around with you here and there randomly so they don't associated the remote to anything.  We were always out of the house when we did it.
Will you be in the house when you set them up?
How will you set them up the first time?
One thing I can remember my trainer advising me on (she didn't really advise that I should use a remote collar in the first place, but tried to help me make sure we wouldn't screw it up) is to make 100% sure there were zero opportunities for them to sneak food/stuff off counters/tables until you were 100% sure they were trustworthy again.  Because if dogs find that there is a chance they might get away with it...they may try and realize the rules are not consistent.

[Robin and Libby Louise]

I have used an e-collar on Libby - of course I also tried it on myself first and it is not painful.  It does seem to work, and just putting it on her makes her appear to obey more quickly.  She is such a good girl, but we have needed it on walks where she is apt to dislocate one of our shoulders if she sees a bunny, squirrel, or other potential meal/playmate!  Good luck!  It's better to try this than have Murphy or Bella become even more ill from something they ate!

[F, Calla & Luca]

 I have e-collars. Luca actually had some training with his. Calla is totally untrained on hers and I never use it on her. I use Luca's only on vibrate when he appears to have forgotten that HERE means here. But it works like  a charm in reminding him. My dogs are crated when I am out for more than a few minutes so I haven't had your messes. Well, except for Calla and the spaghetti sauce : ) Calla will counter surf if I am not there and an enticing tidbit, which means about any scrap of food, is left about so I am very careful about that.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Good luck Sue, I hope the collars work for you. I'm very lucky in that JD doesn't counter surf or take anything that isn't given to him. I had a foster who did, and the only solution was to not leave any food items on the counter at all when nobody was in the kitchen. Although I did leave a very large butternut squash on the counter and he left that alone, lol.