E-Collar, what am I missing???

[Usa-alex]

During my ongoing online search for dog tricks and training advice, I kept stumbling over lots of articles concerning E-Collar.
As far as I could gather, those e-collars deliver a very low stimulation (depending on type and adjustability). This stimulation is neither painful nor does it hurts the dog, it's rather a bit irritating to the dog.
So either a continuous or an very short stimulation is given to the dog until the cue is followed and executed.

Now, dogs are a very smart species, they learn so fast, good things and bad things, they adopt so quick to new environments etc...
Wouldnt this lead to the conclusion that the dog will know very soon that the irritating sensation only takes place once it has the bulky collar strapped around its neck.
Consequently, would the dog ignore the cues once he feels that the bulky collar is not wrapped around his neck?

So, what is it that makes the E-Collar an effective training tool even if it is not attached to the dogs neck?

[barry581]

You are correct in your assessment. Every dog is different, so not every dog will figure out that when it's off, they can't be corrected. E-collars are like any training tool, and they will work miracles with some dogs, and do nothing with others, and a whole lot in between.

My Sophie is about a stubborn as the come. I used an e-collar with her, and she learned to ignore it when she chose too. I conditioned her as recommended by people here, video's I watched, and info that came with the collar. Once she figured out that it wasn't going to kill her, she would just put up with the stim and do as she pleased. I'd press the continuous stim, on max, and could see her twitching, and she'd still ignore me. After a month I gave up and really started using NILF 100% of the time. She's still stubborn, but is doing much, much better.

I did put the unit on my arm set on max and nicked myself with it before I ever used it on my dog. It was unpleasant, but I didn't find it painful.

I'm sure others will comment. I think that depending on your situation, and the goals you have for your dog, using an e-collar could be very beneficial, or a complete waste of time. It's up to you to decide.

[emma_Dad]

I have never used an e-collar, but yes some dogs notice when the collar off and don't listen. They call them caller-wise dogs. It;s not an instant fix and in the wrong hands you can ruin a dog with an e-collar. the tool is only has good as the person using it. There's a trainer on here,kellymccoy, who uses them. She post a lot of video of the dogs she's worked with you could check out. She'll probally chime in here too.

[AlexS]

The way to avoid this is to have them wear it and not use it for a period of time. The biggest thing about them I always tell people is that you only use it to teach something the dog has already learned and if they vocalize when you are using it then it is too high. I have used mine for a quite a while and my dogs get excited when I get them out because they know we are going to go out and run around. I rarely even have to use it on them.

[kellymccoy]

people seem unable to grasp the concept of using an electronic collar to communicate dogs quickly and easy learn that a pager on the collar is you communicating not correcting the low level stimulus method for pet dogs is at best a moronic method and makes no sense what so ever I cannot get over how stupid it is to use that method!! the reason they work is because they can be used to create choreograph refine define and reinforce desirable behaviors there is no other way to create the fluid muscle memory you get with remote tools

[Georgia]

Sam is trained on an E-collar. It was a godsend. I spent months getting drug down the street by an over exuberant lab. I tried multiple training collars with little success. Than we found Sit Means Sit training. They train with an E-collar. I swear after one session with the trainer and the E-collar and Sam was no longer pulling. He walks on a loose leash now and has a totally reliable off leash recall. To me a quick correction with the E-collar is much better than having a dog pull and choke when walking on other types of collars.

[beth101509]

My mom used a bark collar on her Yorkie that LOVES to speak ALL the time. Anyway, she quickly learned that if she did a lower, quieter bark, the collar wouldn't shock her. She also learned that as soon as my mom took the collar off, she could bark as loud and often as she wanted.

I think e-collars/bark collars can be good training tools if used right but I do think the dog learns that the collar is the communicator and once it is off...

[BogeyBaby]

The e-collar was the ONLY thing that saved me from returning my dog back to the rescue. We did basic obedience (which he aced) but he was horrible about other things. We had to tie him to the bumper of my husband's Jeep just so we could dish his food (otherwise he'd jump and paw at us to get to the bowl before we had a chance to put it down in front of him). He chased the cats relentlessly. He had to be on leash and tied to either a door or myself while in the house. It was a horrible 6 weeks. He was 1 1/2 years old and had been found and picked up by the humane society and then turned into the rescue.

In short, I heard about a trainer who promised me he could work wonders. A week later he returned with the e-collar and we went through 5 or 6 weeks of lessons--each lesson made him a better dog.

In answer to your question, yes. He knows the collar is on and he's more likely to follow my instructions when he's wearing the collar. That said, he hasn't worn it for months now. Sure he has his moments when he's more interested in smells outside and less interested in my calling "come." But I have a pretty obedient dog who patiently sits while I dish his food (and won't start to eat it until I say OK). He doesn't chase the cats (much--there is one of three cats that still gets him to give chase once in a while). He doesn't leave the yard or go into the street.

[Annette47]

I've used an e-collar for recall training (Chloe) and to perfect an Obedience exercise (Mulder) before. The advantages I found are that you can give a better timed correction than if you have to run after the dog and correct it, and it can also break through distractions and get the dog's attention better than (for example) a verbal command given from a distance. The collar did help them learn more quickly (as compared to Scully who was taught both those things without a collar) but wasn't a miracle cure. When you first start using the collar though, you should have them wear it around the house, yard, etc for at least a week or two without using it so they get used to the feeling and don't necessarily associate the correction with the collar.

In Chloe's case, she did want to please but would run off so fast and far that she didn't always hear us calling. We haven't had to use the collar in years and she still has a fantastic recall - she has learned not to go out of range, LOL, so it was more a case of the collar helping her learn what was expected by getting her attention than being used to enforce a command. Mulder on the other hand continued to attempt to get away with the behavior whenever he could, and while he never associated the collar with the correction, he did learn to associate the remote with it, so I had to start hiding that in my pocket so he wouldn't know I could "get" him, LOL.

[SCDoug]

Has anyone tried used a vibrating or whistle type paging collar with any success? It seems like it might be a middle ground and something to possibly try for minor issues that need to be corrected.

Lola is a great dog and we can comfortably take her anywhere. She stays when we tell her to, is a dream on the leash, and we often take her with us to dog friendly restaurants. The glaring problem is recall. We did some one on one trainining on recall with a trainer. Naturally, she performed to the point where the trainer said "I don't see a problem." We work on recall all of the time, but it's not improving.