Introducing the Electronic Collar

Recently there has been a great deal of discussion on the message board about Electronic Training Collars or E-collars so I thought that re-visiting the subject would be a good idea.

To begin with the E-Collar is not a cure-all, silver bullet, magic fixer of all dog problems.  Over use as well as improper use can have devastating effects.  A professional trainer I know even suggests that since virtually anyone can now purchase an E-Collar, his business has grown based largely on the fact that many well-intended amateur trainers have improperly used E-Collars.  The result of which is a growing number of clients in need of help to resolve some pretty serious problems.

Ask any trainer, professional or otherwise and they will all tell you that an E-Collar was never intended to teach a dog to do anything.  Imagine the result if we decided today that we are going to teach Fido to come and after strapping on the collar, hit ‘em with the juice!!!!  As comical as this may seem it does happen and I can assure you that Fido does not find this scenario the least bit amusing.  Same with teaching the retrieve.  Upon commanding "Fetch" slapping the voltage to Ol’ Lightnin’ will do little more than send him streaking to the next county.  So, with the latest model of the Dog Zapper 2000 with the in hand where do we begin????

One way that’s always worked well for me is to put the E-Collar on pup before any actual training ever occurs.  This gets pup used to wearing the device and also helps prevent pup from becoming collar wise.  Collar wise is the situation that occurs when pup figures out that if the collar is not on, he really doesn’t have to be a good citizen if he doesn’t feel like it.  This is equally bad as no one really wants to go through life with a remote controlled dog, especially if hunt tests or field trials are a future possibility.    Many E-Collar manufacturers offer dummy collars however I’ve had pretty good luck making my own by simply using duct tape to wrap a “D” battery to a collar.  Just swap the dummy collar with the real one before training.

I like to begin pup’s relationship with the E-Collar with “Come” as it will serve as a foundation for future training sessions meaning that as your dog learns “Come” he is also learning how to be the student and recognize you as the teacher.   Besides, “Come” is a safe command to use when introducing the E-Collar as there are no birds to bump other potential distracters that could occur and risk causing a severe set back in pup’s training.. 

Starting with a check cord, work with pup until he is familiar with the “Come” command.  To do so, give the command “Come” and literally reel or pull pup to you.  The amount of time required to meet this milestone will of course vary however you should not attempt any short cuts at this point as doing so will only create bigger problems later.  It’s also a good idea to check cord pup in a local park or other hub of activity so pup learns to focus on you, no matter what is going on around him.  Imagine how excited pup will be when running off lead and if he can’t concentrate and do as commanded in a busy, crowded park how can you expect him to follow your instructions when there are birds and guns around?  Repeat this process until you’ve made certain that pup understands the command.  The next phase will be reinforcement with the E-Collar, which will very likely be pups first experience with stimulation provided by the collar.  Remember reinforcement is our goal so it is absolutely imperative that pup understand the “Come” command before we ever go near him with the voltage…..

Begin with pup on the check cord and then command come.  Verify just for peace of mind that pup is indeed familiar with “come” by calling him to you.  Keep in mind when giving the command not to repeat yourself over and over and overwhelm pup with incessant chatter.  In pup’s mind when he hears a string of noise coming out of your mouth, it’s much harder for him to discern what it is your telling him to do.  So apply the keep it simple mentality and call his name, which gets his attention and lets him know you are about give a command and then command “COME”.  Using the check cord guide pup toward you however keep in mind that he is supposed to be coming to you with little or no assistance.  If at any moment pup stops or attempts to deviate, apply stimulation until pup is at the desired position by your side.  Praise lavishly.  As a point of fact the praise part of this process is probably the most commonly overlooked or neglected.  Pup needs to know that he did a good job and you need to be the one to tell him.

After pup is responding well to the “Come” command, try working him off-lead or without the check cord.  There should be no difference in pup’s willingness to comply without the check cord as once you give the command “Come”, pup should do just that.  Also, try to work him into situations where distracters are present.  It’s important that pup be able to follow instructions no matter what is going on around him.

Lastly, it’s important to keep in mind that there is no set number of iterations for this exercise, which is to say pup will learn at his own pace.  Just like people, some learn faster than others.  So, keep the focus each session on quality and remember the E-Collar is only good to reinforce a command pup is already familiar with.

Good luck,

Andy