Need Electronics Help for sons lab

UGUIDE

UGUIDE

Active member
My son has a 1 year old black lab that he plans to use for pheasant hunting. We want to get an electronic collar but have no idea which one my be best suited for his purposes.

A friend of mine uses on Innotek on his German wired Haired and likes it. Seems simple and reliable.

Any suggestions and/or expereinces would be appreciated.
 
When looking for a collar you don't need to find one that will completelly put the dog on its back, you are only looking for one that will reenforce what you want. It is also important to get one with a good range but since it is a lab I wouldn't think it needs to be too big of a range. Also get something with an interface that works for you since you will be using it. An e-collar really isn't needed unless you really want that added piece of mind, I would say that if the dog is obedient and you have no problems with it listening and following commands you don't really need one. If you do however want/need one I would look for an innotek, tri tronics, dogtra, and sportdog. I think sportdog would be good in this application because they offer smaller ranges and are considerably less money and simple to use too. Whatever you choose I hope you find one that works well for you. Happy hunting.
 
Uguide, I have some hard and fast rules about e-collars. I have been using one for more years than I care to remember. Rule one and foremost. Make sure the dogs know its commands and does them. BEFORE going afield with it. Rule 2 have a good system of giving such commands. VOICE COMMANDS in the field in most cases never reach the dog. Wind and weed noise are killers to the voice. Plus the dog is doing an act of love hunting, they don't really want to hear at times. I have my dog trained 3 ways in obedience; Voice, Whistle and Hand. Rule 3 make sure the dog is NOT ON A BIRD. Sapping him with the collar at such a point could ruin it. Rule 5 ALWAYS use the lowest possible setting. Unless you have an extremely bullheaded dog you should not ever have to make them yelp in pain.

Last year I wanted a new collar, Tri-Tronic gave me the best deal. I Innotek and it didn't last a week before it broke down and I shipped it back for a full refund Sportdog for the money is a very good deal. My son has one and their warranty work is outstanding. He had his 3 years, something wasn't quite right with it. He called them and they shipped him a new one. I hear this is common for Sportdog.....Bob
 
UGUIDE,

You are asking which brand of e-collar to buy. I've had Innotek, TriTronics and Dogtra. In fact I had 2 different Innotek collars and both were junk. I have seen many a discussion regarding e-collars on various hunting and dog sites and most people will agree with me on Innotek. And I've had hunting buddies that started out with Innotek. No one has theirs any longer. Your friend may have had good luck with his but I would advise you to steer clear. Both the TriTronics and Dogtra are excellent.

I'm not so sure there hasn't been a thread on this site on the subject. But maybe it was on the old PC site.

Zeb
 
UGUIDE said:
My son has a 1 year old black lab that he plans to use for pheasant hunting. We want to get an electronic collar but have no idea which one my be best suited for his purposes.

A friend of mine uses on Innotek on his German wired Haired and likes it. Seems simple and reliable.

Any suggestions and/or expereinces would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

I've had very poor luck with Innotek collars also. I had 3 in a 5 year time span and all 3 eventually quit working. The only reason I kept getting another was that I had an extended warranty and each collar that failed was replaced free of charge with the latest version. the warranty ran out and the last collar just quit, so I moved on to Dogtra and have never looked back.

In my opinion, the best collars out on the market today are Dogtra and Tri-Tronics. I'm also hearing some good things about DT Systems from Trainers that I know who use them, but no personal experience.
 
I haven't chirped in awhile, hope all is well with you UPHers out there. I'll keep it short, Innotek is junk. The one I had lasted maybe 6 months before it needed warranty work. Currently, I'm using SportDog and the dog and I are satisfied. Eddy's been swimming a lot with it and nothing has shorted out. He wears it on any excursion we have (hiking, hunting, camping), and it works the way you want an e-collar to work. Like a loooong leash. The collar is 2.5 yrs old.
 
eCollars

I now use a Dogtra after using EDT. The Dogtra is much nicer with better features, especially the three separate buttons on the transmitter for vibrate, nick, and current.

Good luck.
 
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I have a tri-tronics, sport 60 and that thing has been amazing. I believe it was $249.00. I have had it for 6 years and have not replaced a single thing on it. I still can't believe the battery is good on it. I use it weekly though when I take my dog to the park, so I think by using it alot, that helps a batteries life. I will definately get another Tri-tronics, but I'm hoping mine lasts another 5 years.
 
Deal done

Guys, boy and I ended up going with the SportDog 800 from Gander for $199.00.

We charged the batteries up, put the collar on her and nuked her good a couple times to let her know whos boss:D J/k.

Boy is in charge of implementation and I encouraged him to spend some time going through the DVD before doing anything.

Thanks for all your help and I will let you know how it goes.
 
Good choice, I'm sure you will be happy with it. If it should give you any problems call Sportdog and they will take care of it pronto......Bob
 
Excellent choice. That DVD is very user friendly. I put it in last night just to get a little spark for the upcoming season and to get Eddy back in shape.
 
Britchaser (or anyone else for that matter),

What is an EDT? I gotta get a collar this year and I'm not sure what I would be better off with. I would definately like to get a deal on 1 transmitter and 2 collars. The vibration feature would be nice. I'd like to give them a warning before they get the "juice".
 
kansasbrittany,

If you are looking for a two-dog collar for your Briits I would highly recommend the Dogtra 202NCP Gold. I've had one for 5 years for my Britts and couldn't be happier. The 2-dog unit retails for $310 but if you look around on the internet you might be able to find a better price. But they are worth every penny.

I especially like the fact that the collar receivers are smaller and fit better on my Britts. The transmitter is also quite small and carries easily around your neck on a lanyard. The transmitter has a rheostat (0-100) to control the intensity. Two buttons, one for "Nick" and the other "Constant". Plus a Vibrate button on the side.

Once my dogs were trained with the collar I can generally control them with just the Vibrate mode and rarely have to actually shock them.

I've attached a picture of the 202 for you. Or you can jump up a little and get the 282NCP for $335 that has an LED screen that tells you the intensity level and battery strength.
 
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Yes, I collar trained them myself. Really not much to it. The dogs catch on real quick. But I'm posting a quote from BritChaser from an earlier post on this thread. He said:

It can't be over emphasized how important it is for the dog to know its commands before employing shock. In addition, shock is used only after the dog has had one or two opportunities to obey the command. Wind and cover noise in the dogs ears makes it difficult for the dog to hear voice commands so it is a good idea to have whistle commands as alternates to voice commands for "come" and "whoa/look at me."
Click to expand...

What BritChaser said is absolutely correct. The e-collar is not a substitute for a dog not knowing his/her commands. I train mine to both voice & whistle commands. Only, and I stress Only, after the dog is not obeying the commands he or she already knows do you apply any shock. And then only apply enough to get the dogs attention. If the dog vocalizes when you shock him/her you have it set too hot.

Every dog is different. The male Britt I put down a year ago needed several "reminders" every time in the field and he could tolerate a really hot shock. My 6 year old female is collar trained but I rarely need it on her and if I do use it I can control her with only the "Vibrate" button. I also have a 9 month old female that I have already trained to the collar. She also only needs the "Vibrate" mode. I think they really aren't able to distrinquish between a light shock and the vibrate. But remember, only resort to the collar after the dog has disobeyed a command that they already know. I've found that once or twice in the field with the collar and they have it figured out.

I'm afraid that there are guys out there that buy a collar and try to use it for their lack of training the dog. I'd like to put the collar on them and turn the intensity up to 100% and give them a blast.

The collar is a great tool if used properly.

Good luck.
 
A little searching on the internet and I found the best prices for the Dogtra collars on the following web site: http://www.dogtra-ecollars.net/

The 202 is $281.99. Free shipping.
 
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