So Proud!

[GrandeLSM]

Rio's been training with the E-collar for about a year now, and we had our first test this weekend at my mother's house. He is normally tethered while we are there, but he was playing with her dogs and being the beast he is, snapped right through the lead, so the rest of the weekend was a nervous one, because he's never been completely off leash there.

The first night without the leash he see's a bunny, I call his name and beep him, he stops dead, I call "come" and nick him and boom he shoots right back on the porch. SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!

Second night, same thing, same result. So happy that the training is paying off. Doesn't always work when we are at the dog park with his brother, those two dopes just attack each other for an hour at a time.

Thanks for listening to a proud father's bragging.

[barry581]

Very nice!!! It does make you proud of them when all that time and effort pays off!!!

[POPTOP]

Consistent training does pay off. To be able to get him to stop chasing a bunny, very good.

[Maxx&Emma]

Good boy Rio, bunnies are so much fun to chase!

I am curious though, is an e-collar often used for this length of time? I have very little experience with one but it was only a few short lessons to correct chasing the Amish horse and buggies that appeared out of the blue. I do not even own my own e-collar, just borrowed one from our trainer for a short period of time. Maxx is normally very solid on commands and has a great recall, he has been in classes since 10 weeks, his horse chasing problem was a complete shock, he has been exposed to them since the day he came home as well as horses at my friends barn. It was very scary to think of the injuries he could have received had it not been corrected immediately.

[BILBO]

I've had our two on the e-collar for years. They have EXTREME selective hearing and will ignore commands. They are off leash 99% of the time on our property and if they see a deer, rabbit, etc. they are on the chase. I no longer nick them, just use the vibrate. There are times when we walk w/o the collars and that's when the "ignore command switch" kicks in. Most of the time, if the collar is around their neck, they respond w/o any intervention. Seems just having that extra little weight around their neck makes them better pups. If used properly, the e-collar is a great aid. I'm sure one can find numerous threads on this subject on this board.

Hope all is well,

[GrandeLSM]

I agree with Bilbo, I've never used the e-collar as a "corrective measure". Only to assist in being better listeners. The little "nick" just reminds him I'm giving him a command and he comes running. Most of the time he doesnt even need the "nick" (unless there are bunnies). Just knowing it is on works miracles.