E-Collars Effect on Different Dogs

Dakotazeb

Dakotazeb

Well-known member
Never before have I noticed such a difference in the effect of the same E-collar on different dogs. My buddy from Colorado was here to hunt for a few days. He had along his 1 1/2 year old male Brittany, Louie, that is out of the same sire as my 4 year old Elle. This was Louie's first hunt. His TriTronics collar wasn't working so I put the extra collar from my Dogtra 2502 T&B on Louie. The intensity on my collar goes from 1-127. With it set at 30-33 I can make Elle respond. It's just enough to get her attention. Now Louie is a different story. 30-33 didn't make him even flinch. Nor did 50, 70 or 90. In fact I had to crank it to the Max to make him respond at all. Once in a while he did give a yip but rarely ever vocalized.

I had sold my friend my older Dogtra 2-dog collar and he said they were not strong enough to get him to respond so he has been using an older TriTronics Sport collar which had been working until this trip. He needs a new collar and really liked the Beeper function of mine. While I love my Dogtra I think he should probably try one of the new TriTronics Sport Upland collars with the beeper. I know there are other brands out there but lets limit the discussion here to TriTronics and Dogtra, OK? Any recommendations?
 
Intensity

I have a Dogtra 1900. On the dial 30 would be putting serious pressure on my dog and probably a vocalization. 10 to 14 is a good range for my dog in most training scenarios. I have been happy with the Dogta, it doesnt have a tone but a vibrate feature, I like the vibrate because in the lae season I can try and stay quiet. I think the Dogtra comparitively is harder to keep good contact on the Dog, I have to put the posts right behind her ear, pull back the skin, and really cinch it down. I think the posts are shorter on some other collars including the Tri-Tronics. It seems like people that have the Tri-Tronics are usually happy with the product and if you look at the reviews from customers the Tri-Tronics people would appear a llittle happier. THE next time I buy a collar I am going to give one a try.
 
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I guess the first question would be was the collar on tight enough? I will assume that it was. Longer contact points would be the other.

I have a Dogtra 2002 T&B 2 dog unit and any dog that can take 100 (highest setting) and hardly let out a whimper is one tough SOB. If anyone doesn't believe this setting is stout, i challenge you to hold on to it and let me zap you...:D

Don't know what to say Zeb other than somehow the collar wasn't making good contact with the skin somehow???
 
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Yes tight enough is offten the case. Some dogs have thicker fur then others. Charge? And it is not uncommon to see a dog act that way on his first time in a hunt with a collar. Intro to collar should be done first before the hunt. Put the collar on your arm and crank her up to 90 and let her rip. If you jump through the roof, your collar was fine. I saw a dog go do the same thing with a TT on full bore before. A friend did the same thing. Bought a collar, strapped it on and put him on birds. It made the dog yip and keep going, yip, yip, yip, right over the hill and gone. Bad idea.
 
I have the dogta 1900's. Both my pointer and lab respond very well to setting 5 if I use it, usually just the page option to get their attention if need be. I always have the collar on them but rarely use it, if at all.



I did see a military working dog (Belgian) take 2 tri tronics at their highest setting one time trying to get him off a bite. Needless to say that dogs career was short. Very intense dog.
 
Collar Recommendation

I know we were asked to limit our discussion to Tri-tronics and Dogtra but if you are looking at the Upland collar from Tri-tronics for the dog location functionality, then for just another $100 you could get a collar and GPS in one unit.
I just picked up the SportDog TEK 1.0. The collar functions as an e-collar and a GPS. I have used it twice and have fallen in love. I also own a Tri-tronics collar and my dog responds just as well with this collar. I only had to shock him once, my dog responds well to the vibrate function on the collar.

Good luck collar hunting.
 
I have a tri-tronics and a dogtra. I run the dogtra now because I run two dogs and this collar lets me run both dogs on one transmitter. It runs up to 127 on the dial and I run it around 105 on my two golden retrievers! I like the option of the vibrate because I can usually get their attention with that. Sometimes when the birds are thick I have to switch to continuous instead of just a nick to grab their attention and let them know that they are hunting for me! Most collars will work fine if tight enough to the skin. Once in a while I do see a really hard charging dog that needs the ear flap raised and a little stimulus under the ear. The trick with e-collars is that the dog must first learn the command before you ever start the stimulus! The collar isn't a trainer, just a re-enforcer of what has to be taught with good old fashioned hard work!
 
You use your dogtras on 105? Your gonna laugh when you hear what I run mine one. Usually 5 unless I need to get their attention then it's maybe 10 or 12. I try not to use that setting often so they won't get used to it.
 
duckn66 said:
You use your dogtras on 105? Your gonna laugh when you hear what I run mine one. Usually 5 unless I need to get their attention then it's maybe 10 or 12. I try not to use that setting often so they won't get used to it.
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You want to know something funny. I had it on my neck at the GameFair a few years ago and someone saw the number it was on and they were angry with me! I said sorry, that is what these dogs need. I felt guilty that fall and tried running it around 65-80 and it was like they didn't have the thing on!!!! That is why I like that collar different dogs respond differently. The only problem is that both dogs get the same juice unless you want to constantly adjust the dial depending upon which dog needs stimulus. That is too much thinking for me in the field.
 
I use a Dogtra on my male Gsp 1yr old, stubborn SOB 60-70 gets his attention anything less is a joke every dog is different id say males in general especially pointers are a bit more stubborn at first to respond !
 
I have the same issue with my setters. I have the dogtra 2502 and (when it is actually working) my female setter responds to about 25 and my male I have to go to 127.

My main issue with the dogtra is the range is so incredibly poor. It is advertised as 1 mile range. In a flat open field, it generally doesn't work over 300 yards, even when I hold it above my head. I have the 7002m as well and have had to send it back to dogtra twice for full replacement, so I should have known better than to buy another. I just got the dogtra for about half the price of the tritronics.

The only benefit I see with the dogtra is you don't have to buy batteries like with the TT beeper.
 
jeffstally said:
I have the same issue with my setters. I have the dogtra 2502 and (when it is actually working) my female setter responds to about 25 and my male I have to go to 127.

My main issue with the dogtra is the range is so incredibly poor. It is advertised as 1 mile range. In a flat open field, it generally doesn't work over 300 yards, even when I hold it above my head. I have the 7002m as well and have had to send it back to dogtra twice for full replacement, so I should have known better than to buy another. I just got the dogtra for about half the price of the tritronics.

The only benefit I see with the dogtra is you don't have to buy batteries like with the TT beeper.
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Geez Jeff, I'm on my second set of Dogtra's and have been very pleased with both. Currently have the 2502T&B and couldn't be happier. But the reason I started this thread was to see if others had experienced what I had with the collars effect on different dogs. And it appears many have. While 30 gets the attention of my female Brittanys it was taking 127 to get the attention of my buddy's male Brittany. I do think the contact points do have something to do with it as the male had a thicker coat than my female. I forgot to set it back one time and hit my female at 127. She almost did a back flip. My bad! :eek:
 
Dakotazeb said:
Geez Jeff, I'm on my second set of Dogtra's and have been very pleased with both. Currently have the 2502T&B and couldn't be happier. But the reason I started this thread was to see if others had experienced what I had with the collars effect on different dogs. And it appears many have. While 30 gets the attention of my female Brittanys it was taking 127 to get the attention of my buddy's male Brittany. I do think the contact points do have something to do with it as the male had a thicker coat than my female. I forgot to set it back one time and hit my female at 127. She almost did a back flip. My bad! :eek:
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How far do the Brits range? Range has been the issue with both set of my collars. Not even 1/3 of advertised distance. Everything else has worked fine other than a bad battery in a transmitter.

I have done that same thing and accidentally hit my female on 127. She yelped and just laid down in the field and wouldn't move.
 
jeffstally said:
How far do the Brits range? Range has been the issue with both set of my collars. Not even 1/3 of advertised distance. Everything else has worked fine other than a bad battery in a transmitter.

I have done that same thing and accidentally hit my female on 127. She yelped and just laid down in the field and wouldn't move.
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My younger dog is a big runner but I rarely have to use the collar on her. I doubt she has ever been over 300-400 yds. out. Where the heck are you hunting that you need a 1 mile range? Certainly not in MN or even SD.
 
david0311

Dakotazeb said:
Never before have I noticed such a difference in the effect of the same E-collar on different dogs. My buddy from Colorado was here to hunt for a few days. He had along his 1 1/2 year old male Brittany, Louie, that is out of the same sire as my 4 year old Elle. This was Louie's first hunt. His TriTronics collar wasn't working so I put the extra collar from my Dogtra 2502 T&B on Louie. The intensity on my collar goes from 1-127. With it set at 30-33 I can make Elle respond. It's just enough to get her attention. Now Louie is a different story. 30-33 didn't make him even flinch. Nor did 50, 70 or 90. In fact I had to crank it to the Max to make him respond at all. Once in a while he did give a yip but rarely ever vocalized.

I had sold my friend my older Dogtra 2-dog collar and he said they were not strong enough to get him to respond so he has been using an older TriTronics Sport collar which had been working until this trip. He needs a new collar and really liked the Beeper function of mine. While I love my Dogtra I think he should probably try one of the new TriTronics Sport Upland collars with the beeper. I know there are other brands out there but lets limit the discussion here to TriTronics and Dogtra, OK? Any recommendations?
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George-- --did you try switching collars between dogs?
 
Dakotazeb said:
My younger dog is a big runner but I rarely have to use the collar on her. I doubt she has ever been over 300-400 yds. out. Where the heck are you hunting that you need a 1 mile range? Certainly not in MN or even SD.
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My male setter will often be out at about that same range and the collar does not work. I am not in need of a 1 mile range, but they advertise that and 400 yards is only .22 miles. It should be in range, but is not. My 7002m is supposed to have a half mile range, and it is actually about 125 yards. I will probably sell them and buy Tritronics in the spring. I wish TT had a 4 dog unit with beepers.
 
Had some more Dogtra problems this weekend. My 7002m was just turning on full stimulation to the orange collar out of the blue. I was walking along and the transmitter starts vibrating and my female is yelping. It took me a minute to figure it out and turn it off. The dial was set at 30 but she was getting the full jolt. The rheostat dial did not turn off the stimulation. I had to turn the transmitter off. J-U-N-K. The unit is going back to dogtra (again) and will be sold after repair along with the 2502. Gonna try TT.

I honestly gave dogtra a fair chance and even bought another unit, but enough is enough. Maybe I just got a couple of lemons.
 
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