How to introduce e-collar to dog?

nbd13

nbd13

New member
Hey guys,

I'm finally getting an e-collar for my 14 month old vizsla.

We just started to get serious about training to hunt, so I figured it was time to get one.

How should I go about introducing it to him as I do not want to scare him.

I know you start it out on the lowest setting and go up from there. I mainly want to use the vibrate function of the collar I got to get his attention if he is not listening. I do not think he would take well to getting a shock if he is not listening. I got a collar that does shock, vibrate and tone...and I think the vibrate will work best for him. If he is not listening to a command the first time it's given he will get the vibrate. I guess trying to extend the leash in a way. To let him know I am always there sort of....

Also, I know the dog must know the commands before the collar can be used.

He knows sit, down, stay, come and we are working on heel and whoa. He knows the meaning of whoa, now we are just practicing it and developing it. Same with the heel, he knows what it means and is actually progressing well with it I think.

My main question is when I get the collar, what do I do? Just put it on, start at the lowest setting and start a training session? If he doesn't listen he gets the vibrate to let him know he needs to listen? Slowly work the vibrate up in intensity until he responds? What am I looking for with the response? I know if it's set too high they will bark and jump sometimes. Do I know it's at the right level when he starts to listen?

What does everyone on here do? I want to condition him to the collar in the proper way.

Thanks in advance,

Nick
 
I read through the owners manual for that model and did not see anything about varying levels of vibrate but maybe it has it.
 
I think they call it "Stimulation" - which is a nice way of saying electrical shock

It was confusing to me for awhile as well

Chuck
 
Hey,

Interesting, I got the impression that there was different levels of vibrate from gundogsupply. Maybe I was wrong? I will have it tomorrow and let you know.

I understand the shock/stimulation. I will not be using the stimulation/shock feature of the collar. Just the vibrate feature.

Anyone have any tips on introducing the collar to the dog?

Thanks,

Nick
 
You will probably want to use the stimulation. If you want a great example of how to set the stimulation level of the collar, get the Perfection Kennels dvds Perfect start and Perfect Finish. If you don't want to get them, set the collar for the lowest setting and keep adjusting up until you see a slight reaction. It won't be a whine or a yelp or a jump. Maybe just a slight tilt of the head or a shake. Using the stimulation of a training collar correctly is a very humane way of enforcing commands.
 
Nick,
I have the SD 1825 and just got a second collar for my 6mo pup. I use tone more than anything else. I started with a whistle for recall then put the collar on and use tone for the same thing. I doesn't have varied amounts of vibrate but its a great function if you want to hunt quietly and still get your dogs attention.

Basically I use one pip for stop, 2 pips for change direction and 3 for git yer butt back here, which I reinforce by giving them a quick shot of water so there is a reward element involved. I rarely have to nick my dogs. Hold the collar on your hand and feel the stimulation levels. Level 4 is plenty for my dogs but if they don't respond I just dial it up. Do check out the videos.

best of luck,
C-dad
 
When introducing the collar to your dog you want to let the dog wear it for a while to get used to it before actually using it. I too have a collar that gives tone, vibration, and stimulation(shock), and I very rarelly use the stimulation. Not so say I haven't because I have and there are different situations that call for it. I will say this though your dog will let you know when you are on the right setting and only your dog will know not your hand. What I like to do and I do this with all my dogs is start by letting them wear it around to get used to the new weight and bulk of the collar on thier neck. After a week or so I then turn the collar on and just let them go about thier business doing whatever and starting on the lowest level I shock them until I get that reaction of "that was weird" from the dog. You don't need to go any higher than this to train with since you know they know it is there. If done properly you will not need to set the collar any higher at any time as the dog will realize that this little inconvienence means they did something not liked. Depending on the dog though however over time it may become more hard headed and ignore the collar to some degree, in these cases I would suggest raising the level briefly and following up with a sturn command. The e-collar is not a cure all like some think, you must first have the basics down before trying to train with the e-collar. If your dog doesn't know something he isn't going to magically learn now that he is wearing some electric collar. Also a suggestion to you is use the smaller prongs since your dog has a thin coat and also your breed tends to have thinner skin this will help with not developing any tendernous under the neck. Try not to let the collar be on too loose either as this will create a rubbing motion and rub the neck somewhat raw. Place the collar fairly high and quite snug. I hope you and your hunting partner get some good training accomplished and have a great season.:)

Corey
 
I agree dont just go out and hammer him with stimulation as soon as he does a small thing wrong it will ruin him and you dont want that my lab was burnt once and it cost me a field trial win worst thing I ever did was let someone else introduce her to e-collar or pretend to train her at all
 
I didn't check out the link but Steve usually does a nice job with his info on Gundogsupply....

The simplest way to break down introduction of e-collar stimulation (stimulation = shock) I know of would be like this:

1) the dog wears the collar most of the time for weeks before any of the features are used.

Collar prongs can damage a dog if worn for long periods of time so I generally restrict it to anytime my dogs our outside--or out of the kennel. That way, wearing the collar is associated with fun for the dog right off the bat.

2) Find out the dogs stimulation recognition level. After #1 has occurred for awhile--and you can get the dog in a situation where you can closely observe it--slowly start from nothing and turn up the shock intensity from nothing to higher until you start to see a reaction from the dog. Usually it will turn it's head, or lift a paw to scratch it's neck by the collar. If it yelps or jumps dramatically you moved up too fast! Just do this until you get a mild reaction.

This is the level of shock that your dog recognizes. For work from here on, you should use a level at or just slightly above this for most training. The objective is not to hurt the dog, it's to get it's attention.

3) Make sure the dog has had training without the collar on 3 actions--whoa or stopping in place and staying there--going forward, and and coming back to you. This is where a lot of people fall down--you need all three. I use whoa, the kennel command for going, and come for coming to me. A dog knows all of those first--this is key.

Then you slowly work on these commands used together with the e-collar. I.e. if you use verbal whoa, at the same time you say whoa you hit the e-collar at that low level they recognize or slightly above. After a while doing that--no need to be in a hurry, this might take days and if so is just fine--you can start to not use any verbal commands and just hit the e-collar and they should stop. With me I like to be walking with a dog and stop myself when I say whoa and hit the collar, then transition to walking and stopping and just hitting the collar--and sometimes we get to just walking and stopping and the dog--who cues in on me--will stop on it's own.

Do the same thing for kennel commands, and come commands. I like to start with whoa but not sure order is important if you run through all three.

This is all done first in the yard or around the house by me--I eventually move to strange places and then to a field where birds might be found. You have to train in multiple places and especially around birds for a command to truly sink in. Some folks just jump right to a bird field--w/o birds in it--for training right from the start.

Note when you start getting into real tempting situations you may need to ramp up the intensity of shock a bit to get a reaction, they will blow right through the lower intensities when really excited.

And whatever you do, do NOT hit the stimulation button on a dog that is working a bird. After training has progressed it's ok to do so if the dog flushes and chases the bird--but only then, never before. You never tell the dog to stop on a bird by hitting the e-collar--it needs to learn that from birds.

More details needed but that should get you started.

I like pagers for some dogs, I think they actually are a bit more startling to a dog than lower levels of shock. But I'd still run through something like I explained if you only intend to use pager. The problem you have is that the first time you hit the pager it's going to react and maybe a bit stronger than you might like, esp. with a V. I don't think there are any vibrating collars ith intensity settings for vibrate--it's all or nothing with them. If you get a strong reaction with vibrate don't keep doing it, I'd move to the e-shock first and then insert pager later if you want.

I'm writing a book here but the other thing I should say is not to comfort the dog if it shows a strong reaction to a collar. That just reinforces the idea that it went through something bad and should be scared....

Go slow, think about your set up for training before you do it, and you'll be fine. Don't be in a hurry, esp. with a V. It may not react well at all and if so I'd just give it a few months and try it again.
 
Last edited:
Dobbs dogs .com has all you need to know. He is the best in the nation as far as collar instruction, in my humble opinion. I could go on and on but it would be better for you to get some of there video instruction. I don't believe there is a better collar out there and the lowest levels of stimulus you can find on the market. There is some great reads there as well.
 
I for one do not believe the E-collar should be used until you know positively your dog know its' commands. Then when it disobeys, use of the collar for correction is warranted. There are exceptions, like jumping on people, chasing deer and such that need immediate correction.........Bob
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top