Buying my First Training Collar.

[SouthernKansasGSP]

I have a 2.5yr old GSP female. I have ran her for 2 seasons now with no collar but as she starts getting more and more Birdy as well as building more drive I want to get her trained with one. I don't take her out with other dogs at the moment because she is REAL timid around Big males and all the guys I hunt with have Males. Plus she is intact for breeding reasons. How do I go about training an older dog for a Electronic collar...?

 

[oldandnew]

I have a 2.5yr old GSP female. I have ran her for 2 seasons now with no collar but as she starts getting more and more Birdy as well as building more drive I want to get her trained with one. I don't take her out with other dogs at the moment because she is REAL timid around Big males and all the guys I hunt with have Males. Plus she is intact for breeding reasons. How do I go about training an older dog for a Electronic collar...?

To late! I'm not sure you need one anyway. If you do you will need a remedial class of yard training. A dog at her age should be pretty much at her preak. Exposure and repetetive training will help the most. Take the dog hunting, enjoy it, be light on correction, you'll enjoy it and so will she! when she see's the light that birds are successfully brought to hand, with a staunch point, and effective retreive, she will make it happen. The shyness is a symptomatic display, as she knows what is going on hunting wise, she will have that to fall back on, and it will make her bolder in other ways. Shock collar doesn't sound effective to me.

 

[SouthernKansasGSP]

Thanks

To late! I'm not sure you need one anyway. If you do you will need a remedial class of yard training. A dog at her age should be pretty much at her preak. Exposure and repetetive training will help the most. Take the dog hunting, enjoy it, be light on correction, you'll enjoy it and so will she! when she see's the light that birds are successfully brought to hand, with a staunch point, and effective retreive, she will make it happen. The shyness is a symptomatic display, as she knows what is going on hunting wise, she will have that to fall back on, and it will make her bolder in other ways. Shock collar doesn't sound effective to me.

I appreciate that. My whole idea from the very beginning was NO SHOCK COLLAR!....Not that they are bad I just wanted a more "old School" dog. One that I can take out with a whistle and know that she is going to listen to me. She has a tendency run out to 75 or 80 yards if she is getting frustrated. IE : No Birds or REALLY Dry. Other than that she likes to work around 50 yards at the MOST! I am still really new to all this and she is by no means PROFESSIONALLY trained, But it is SO much fun to go out and watch her do her thing. Sometimes I get more caught up watching her than HUNTING.

 

[crockett]

I held out on using a shock collar on my lab (flushing) for 4 years, and then finally got one for her and trained her on it. It was the single greatest improvement in my enjoyment of our hunting together. So from a flushing lab point of view, it's not too late. However, it is perfectly likely that there are things about pointers, or GSPs in particular, that I don't know that might be different. I found it incredibly easy to train her. Because of all my efforts over 4 years to train her, she KNEW every command inside and out (she would just decide to temporarily ignore them when overcome with an intoxicating snoot-full of phesant scent!). I basically turned up the settign until she just barely twitched her head/ears when I hit nicked her (no yelp, no cowering, just "annoyance" that might come with a pinch). I then used the "continuous stimulation" button (not the nick) to train her to "turn off" the collar by obeying QUICKLY, and then eventually, to avoid a stimulation at ALL by obeying IMMEDIATELY. I simply got her attention, then pressed the continuous button (on that same very low setting) a moment before saying the command (in this case, it was whistle sits). As SOON as her rear end hit the ground I released the button. In a single session she was sitting IMMEDIATELY to beat the simulation. I then repeated with the "come whistle" (hit the button, give command, and release button as SOON as she started moving towards me). That wsa pretty much good enough for me. The result of a very few training sessions was that I went from a lab that I was constantly jogging after, and yelling, whistling, doling out milkbones etc etc etc... to a lab who I could stop anywhere, anytime, and have come back to heel, anywhere, anytime. In that first year I might have had to "remind" her wiht the collar a half-dozen times, but now I can't remember the last time I actually put my hand on the controller. Anyhow, for what it's worth, that's been my experience with teaching and old dog new tricks. That said, I've heard of some peoples' dogs responding very negatively to the collar, including my dog's littermate, who is now terrified of ducks because she thinks they are electric (that was a case of an e-collar being put into the wrong hands....).
Good luck
-Croc

 

[OldDublin]

Not sure what you mean by training so no help there from this quarter....but, using an ecollar for avoidance or reenforcement of command can be a plus at any age.
I would only caution low and seldom....and other training apart from that requiring voltage.
If 50 yards works for you then...ok.

All dogs listen....some, like us, do not always do what we just listened to.

Sounds af if the fun and wonder aspect is understood by you re a birddog...there is also fun in allowing a dog to stretch it's self and it's god-given talents a bit w/o a high level of concern over control.
Control can be overvalued, especially when incorrectly seen as indicative of lack of training.
Training, oddly enough, to me can also be overvalued if the dog becomes handcuffed in it's work.
Just a thought.
Enjoy your pup.

 

[greatlawn]

The video Perfect Start by Perfection Kennels has a lot of really good information on using a colar as tool not a punishment device. As far as collars go they are pricey but the Tri-Tronics Pro 100 is the best collar I have ever had. As long as you condition the dog to the collar they are not to old to learn.

Jeff

 

[BritChaser]

A basic rule is never punish your dog with a nick or shock until your dog is trained and knows your commands. Always try the vibration or tone first, before the electricity. If your dog does not know your commands, the nick or shock will be a random painful event with no meaning or purpose and could have a negative behavioral impact. Another way of looking at it is to do nothing that will destoy your dog's love of hunting.

 

[Gundog1]

I have trained labs for years with e-collars. Most of these have been pups and were introduced to the e-collar at an early age. However, I have had experience with older dogs as well. I see absolutely no reason that you could/should not consider using an e-collar. Training older dogs can be more challenging than training pups .... with or without an e-collar. However, I have yet to see an older dog that did not benefit from responsible training. Sounds like you are interested in using the e-collar for reinforcing commands at distance as opposed to using the collar as part of a more complex training program. I won't atteempt to describe the process for introducing the dog to the collar. There are any number of very good DVD based training programs that I could recommend if you are interested. Suffice if to say that the collar should be used to reinforce commands that you are absolutely certain the dog fully understands. Correction level should be the lowest needed to get the desired response. E-collars have gotten a bad reputation in some circles for at least a couple of reasons. One is that the first collars were very crude devices and inadvertant corrections .... timing and correction level ....were not all that unusual. Second is the nut on the transmitter. An e-collar on the higher stijmulation levels can cause a very painful shock. An e-collar on the vest lowest settings generally cannon even be felt. The trick is to work your way up to the very lowest level required to get the desired response. No different than a leash and choke collar. The correction can be anything between a slight tug that the dog barely feels, to a huge jerk that nearly takes the dogs head off. Too much of correction is counterproductive and can actually do damage to the dog. To slight of a correction and you are simply nagging. Somewhere in between is a correction level that works for your dog ... and it is not the same for all dogs.

 

[hunter94]

both my dogs have a combo e-collar/beeper.........i can't remeber the last time i issued a correction in the field....they just go crazy when i strap them on, because they know it's bird time.:thumbsup: