My Pup's Friend

E-Collars are often considered a controversial tool. This is often due to them being called “Shock Collars,” when they actually use a static correction similar to that of a tens unit/muscle stimulator. When used appropriately, your dog will have full understanding of the tool and what we mean by it. It is not to be used in a fear-based way, but rather a way that we can communicate to your pup!

Education and acclimation are key to using any training tool, especially one like an E-Collar. With that being said, it is crucial that we acclimate your pup appropriately to it AFTER they have learned everything we will be using it for consistently! This is because, we need to be able to give the E-Collar meaning upon acclimation. Without this step, your pup will never truly understand what we are trying to communicate with it!

In addition to education, brands play a vital role in choosing an E-Collar appropriate and safe to use for your pup. I will only utilize E-Collar Technologies branded items, as they are a reliable brand in the dog training community and have wonderful customer support. The biggest thing here is that they are reliable, as when working off-leash, this is our safety net (aka pseudo-leash).

The most important piece of advice when using an E-Collar is to not trust your pup too early. It is something we need to give meaning to and work with them before we can trust it as our sole tool off-leash. Remember to make training fun and if your pup is struggling make it easier, which will make it fun for everyone!

Acclimate

Properly acclimate your dog to the E-Collar and know their working number! It is also important to keep using the tool regularly!

Practice

An E-Collar does not guarantee your pup will listen. You must work with your pup with this tool consistently for reliability. There is no substitution for practice!

Heel/Come

Start by mostly utilizing the E-Collar for Heel and Come commands. These are our two most important commands and what your pup knows best!

Structure

When using the E-Collar make sure we are utilizing the proper structure to give meaning to what we are asking.

Be Strict

Utilize the ability to give instant feedback in a meaningful way to your pup, but do make sure they have understanding of it!

Give Meaning

The most important part is to ensure we are giving meaning with our corrections. It is not just tapping a button!

When your pup does not listen to a command, we will utilize the same cadence as we do with a leash, however, our correction (tap of the button) will be when we say “No.” This is to give meaning to the “No” so they can focus on the commands as we repeat them to reset them. See the example below:

If you place your pup in a “Down/Stay” and they get up and walk away, we will do the following:

1) As soon as they get up, we will say “No” and press the E-Collar stim button.

2) “Heel” them back to the spot where they were in a “Down/Stay”

3) Tell them to “Down” and then “Stay” again. 

4) Whenever you are ready to release them, you can say “FREE!!!”

This process will be very similar to the correction process with a leash, however, we will be utilizing the “E-Collar” stim when we mark the behavior with “No.” See the example below:

If your pup jumps on you or the counter, you will:

1) Say “No” and press the stim button to give the correction.

2) Get your pup to sit (do not say “sit”, but use butt-pressure if needed)

3) Set it up again to work your pup through it.

Placement: Placement of the E-Collar is important, as without proper contact, the E-Collar will not work and your pup will not receive any correction. Ideally, you want to place it at “7 o’clock” or “4 o’clock”, as this is the ideal positioning. Avoid letting it sit on the trachea.

Rotate: Dogs trained with E-Collars will often wear them a good portion of the day. Because of this and the contact points, every 4 hours you will want to rotate it to keep your pup’s neck healthy.

Know the Level: Knowing your pup’s working level is important, as this is how we make sure we are being fair to them! Some dogs have a wider working range than others, but we will always start with the lowest level possible. If your pup is not responding, go up in levels of 3-5 until they do. Remember, pups change their drive and ability to ignore the E-Collar in distracting environments, so it is not uncommon to have a level for inside your home and one for outside/new environments, but always be sure to adjust to the lowest level your pup is responding to!

Vibrate: The vibrate function often scares a pup more than the stim and this is why we typically do not use the vibrate function. It is useful for the “Come” command in certain situations like hunting, etc.

Range: The E-Collars I use are typically 3/4 mile range. Be sure to know your range of your E-Collar and keep your pup within that range, while understanding that buildings, trees, etc will decrease that range.

Charge: Make sure your E-Collar is charged. If you are using it daily, it is not a bad idea to charge it nightly to make sure it is ready to go!