Dog training (shock) collar

[95XL883]

T On occasion we'll throw a rock or stick near him to break his scent "trance" he gets into and respond to us.

When we got our Sammie, the trainer gave us three bean bags for similar use. He said most dogs don't have to be hit with the bag, just the sound of it hitting the ground and especially near them gets their attention. He also gave us a whistle. We're supposed to use the whistle first and then add the bag if she doesn't respond. In our house or yard we use the bag instead of the collar. We seem to forget the whistle so we have "replaced" it with "Hey". If the "Hey" doesn't stop what she is doing, the bean bag is coming. We use the "Hey" when she has the collar on as well. As DRSSG says, we like our Sammie responding to our voice (and hand signals when she is looking at us.) We use almost all positive reinforcement. (I still feed bad about the couple of times I accidentally shocked her.) HTH.

 

[N80]

One two occasions I have thrown my shoe (rubber Croc) at our new Lab when he was not obeying. The first time it missed him. The second time it bounced once and then grazed him. In other words, the shoe never hurt him. Now, if I even act like I'm reaching for my shoe in anger he behaves immediately. If I had seen this behavior first I probably could have skipped the shock collar.

 

[teejk]

One two occasions I have thrown my shoe (rubber Croc) at our new Lab when he was not obeying. The first time it missed him. The second time it bounced once and then grazed him. In other words, the shoe never hurt him. Now, if I even act like I'm reaching for my shoe in anger he behaves immediately. If I had seen this behavior first I probably could have skipped the shock collar.

Look...I'm not saying that a shocker should be used as the initial trainer. In my case dogs have gone through basic training for the basic commands (come, sit, stay, heel and one even mastered the "roll-over") and they obey them well as long as they are on a leash or lead. Take them off the leash/lead and the story changes. The shock collar IMHO is nothing other than an invisible leash/lead.

 

[N80]

Look...I'm not saying that a shocker should be used as the initial trainer. In my case dogs have gone through basic training for the basic commands (come, sit, stay, heel and one even mastered the "roll-over") and they obey them well as long as they are on a leash or lead. Take them off the leash/lead and the story changes. The shock collar IMHO is nothing other than an invisible leash/lead.

Agreed. That's why we got the shook collar. And it was very effective. We just needed some way to 'project power'. The shock collar did the job but the shoe might have worked just as well. Hind sight is 20/20 but given the circumstances I'm still glad we got the collar. He is a big, happy, healthy energetic dog that loves people and thinks that at least one of them has lightning bolts in his hand. :laughing:

 

[95XL883]

The shock collar IMHO is nothing other than an invisible leash/lead.

I agree it is that but because it can inflict pain it is more than just a leash/lead. On the positive side, its range is much greater than a physical lead or how far one can throw a bean bag, shoe, etc. Still, I just use the vibrate mode.

 

[teejk]

Agreed. That's why we got the shook collar. And it was very effective. We just needed some way to 'project power'. The shock collar did the job but the shoe might have worked just as well. Hind sight is 20/20 but given the circumstances I'm still glad we got the collar. He is a big, happy, healthy energetic dog that loves people and thinks that at least one of them has lightning bolts in his hand. :laughing:

As I mentioned previously, it didn't take long with the "lightning bolt" before our dog figured it out. They are dogs and as such they would love to be at the top of the power chain (that's what dogs do). The collar served to let him know that he was not at the top (but still pretty high).

 

[Rustyiron]

This is a good discussion, thanks. Now I need my wife to read through it. This is our little big dog.

 

[teejk]

I agree it is that but because it can inflict pain it is more than just a leash/lead. On the positive side, its range is much greater than a physical lead or how far one can throw a bean bag, shoe, etc. Still, I just use the vibrate mode.

If it works for you, then good! And btw, our collar had a variable "zap" setting on the remote. In our case I don't think we ever used more than level 2 (no where near bringing the dog to his knees). And we always preceded the zap with the beep so after 2 days that's all he needed to hear. Every dog is different though.

 

[TimberHole]

An e-collar is a pressure implement just like a heeling stick, pinch collar or other pressure devices. I do use an e-collar to train but only after learning and understanding how to use it fairly. In my opinion it isn't fair to use pressure from the collar unless you have previously taught the dog how to turn the pressure off.

As an example, pressure conditioning to the here command uses continuous pressure, beginning very low, and is turned off when the dog gets to the handlers side. To guarantee success, this is done with the dog on a check cord. This teaches the dog that as soon as it reaches your side the pressure is turned off. A lab will often learn this in a couple of good sessions. I've not had a Jack Russell so I can't help you there.

It seems that many that are opposed to collars do not understand the correct way to use them. A collar is not for punishment and isn't used to hurt the dog. My dog is my buddy and wears a collar every time we train.........and that's every day.

 

[TomSeller]

Maybe I'm lucky, maybe I am persistent with training and voice control. I have called both my current Heeler and Border Collie dogs off of a rabbit at 5'. I have called them off of deer, squirrels, etc.

Neither was obedient when I got them as rescues, each had 2 or 3 years of bad habits. The Heeler was particularly head strong but lots of work and bonding resulted in a great dog.