Opinions on e collars.

Doberman1994

New Member
So with out last dog we used some kind of collar on Amazon it had a shock viberation and beep. Because it was cheap the shock maybe worked 2 then stopped working so we had the beep and viberation left. But it def stopped her from doing behaviors we were trying to correct. Barking at anyone walking outside , grabbing food from kids ect. When she passed i packed up a few things and can't find it and think we probably should look into an actual e collar that'll work. Alita is 10 weeks in 2 days now and I dont plan on using it just yet cause she's still so young but I had alot of issues with our girl rouge listening to me and taking me serious. She would 100 percent listen to my husband but the min he walked out the door she thought she was the alpha of the house. Alita had showed great work with just treat training. She knows how to sit and wait and speak and somewhat shake a paw. But I will be doing alot of obedient classes with her once she has all her shots to keep her under control.
 
I LOVE my dogtra IQ. I *think* someone here reccomended it to me, but my trainer also highly suggested it as well. It has 100 levels so really has all the in betweens and was super specific to find the right adjustments. Its also rechargeable, so no running through batteries!!
 
I LOVE my dogtra IQ. I *think* someone here reccomended it to me, but my trainer also highly suggested it as well. It has 100 levels so really has all the in betweens and was super specific to find the right adjustments. Its also rechargeable, so no running through batteries!!
When did you start using it. And what is the best way to teach with them
 
I use the Dogtra Arc and have had it for 2 years without issues. Not cheap but it has 127 levels of stim plus vibrate mode and a range of up to 1.2km depending on terrain. This more than met my needs and I have been really happy with it.

For me it was just to reinforce recall in situations where prey drive had kicked in so I did a lot of recall training in the quiet home environment so she was sure of what was expected before using it out in the wider world. I started training with it at 13 months when it became clear that she needed the extra tap on the shoulder to get her attention. There are quite a few different video clips on youtube to see how different people use an e collar, but, like everything, you need to adapt things for your own needs and dog.

I should add. I am not a trainer and have had no access to a trainer in my own journey with Jazz, so my info is from experience with one Dobe mix only!
 
A sportdog 450m is quality and all most would need. 7 levels of stim (knick or continuous), vibrate, tone. I suggest using the tone like you would a clicker for field training, its way better an application than the warning nonsense. Dogtra is quality. Sportdog tek 2 and Garmin Alpha are some serious collars. You can have the collar on them using tone and vibrate at any point, especially to get used to having it on, I would find their knick and steady stim level at 16 weeks and begin normal training.
 
I have used the mini educator, and currently have the dogtra arc. Definitely recommend the mini educator. Used that thing for years. Only reason I switched is because I broke the antenna and wanted to try something new. I regret my dogtra purchase. Theres another thread somewhere where I explained why. It works, but not like the educator.
 
I also use the mini Educator. But whichever one you choose PLEASE please work with an in-person knowledgeable trainer who is familiar with correct way to train with it. There's much more to it than just pushing the button.
 
Training is a must before and when using them!

Have had our last Dogtra 1902 2 dog model for about 10yrs. Did have to replace the batteries and the stem level potentiometer through out the 10yrs. Well they finally stopped working. Since we had good luck with Dogtra we bought the new Dogtra ACR 2 dog model.
 
Good to hear you are going to obedience class. This is the most important thing since everything should be taught on leash before pairing the commands to an ecollar. Does your obedience instructor also teach an ecollar class? I have used and helped people train with many brands but I personally use the educator collars now. Very easy to use, variance of levels from 0-100, and great customer service from ecollar technologies is the best. They are also a little bit cheaper than the other similar brands. Dogtra and tritronics are also great starter collars. There are a few others but they get up there in price. I used SportDog years ago, and have a few people who train with me that have them, but I don’t like there limited number of levels. They will work with sone dogs but I have seen multiple times where one level is too low but when you go up to the next level it is too high and can cause problems with training. My recommendation for first time ecollar people is either the mini educator or Dogtra 1900.
Mini Educator you can usually find for around $180 and the Dogtra 1900 is around $240.
Build a bond and train with the leash now, then if you need to use and ecollar the transition will be easier when your puppy is older. Age to start will differ between dogs and what you are trying to accomplish. Usually around a year old.
 
I wouldn't even worry about an ecollar now and focus on obedience classes. You have lots of time to work on it! You can start shaping behaviors you want now, even heeling. The classes will help you work on obedience with distractions, which in the end will help teach focus on you. Just keep working hard at the foundation training and you will greatly be rewarded. I personally don't use an ecollar for anything other than recall and that's ONLY when their recall is solid without it. Dogs do make mistakes so its merely a safety net. I think for most pet people with no behavioral issues and obviously not competing, this is an appropriate use of the ecollar. You don't want to jump to the collar too soon imo or it can become a crutch then good luck getting them to do the things without it if you never built the foundation first.
 
I wouldn't even worry about an ecollar now and focus on obedience classes. You have lots of time to work on it! You can start shaping behaviors you want now, even heeling. The classes will help you work on obedience with distractions, which in the end will help teach focus on you. Just keep working hard at the foundation training and you will greatly be rewarded. I personally don't use an ecollar for anything other than recall and that's ONLY when their recall is solid without it. Dogs do make mistakes so its merely a safety net. I think for most pet people with no behavioral issues and obviously not competing, this is an appropriate use of the ecollar. You don't want to jump to the collar too soon imo or it can become a crutch then good luck getting them to do the things without it if you never built the foundation first.
These are all good points and if you don’t condition the ecollar properly you can create superstitious behavior in you dog that will lead to more problems down the road.
 
I got a wee bit concerned when I read you don't want to use an e collar "just yet." A lot of training needs to happen before using an e collar.

I only use one to enforce commands that the dog has shown clearly that they understand and are capable of carrying out.

Maybe you already knew this.

It's kind of funny, but my e collar is one of the only things I have ordered from Amazon and it was back when some of the sense of "gee, isn't it odd that this book selling company is selling all this other stuff?" Kind of like MTV showing everything but music videos.

It was/is a Sport Dog brand and has showed tremendous durability. I've had to replace the battery in the receiver twice and in the transmitter once.
 
When did you start using it. And what is the best way to teach with them

We started using it around a year old. I did also learn to use it under the direction of a trainer- im not sure that i could explain the technique we used correctly, so im sorry i don't really feel comfortable trying to explain it! It should definitely only be used to help reinforce commands your dog already knows though, as others have mentioned!
 
Thanks everyone ! Yeah I dont plan on buying one for a while I just know I won't be getting the one we did from Amazon with our last dobe because we went through 3 probably within a year and half. Shes becoming a very smart girl and seems to catch on things fast the only issue we have right now is her biting the kids. I think because they are so small like her that when they go around her she thinks its play time like how she would play with her liter mates. Tomorrow we take her last bit of stitches out and take the cup off which will be nice !!! Once the stitches are out I should be okay to take the cone off her ? Everytime we take it off she goes to scratch her ears and because her stitches go low in to scared of her opening it . Update also on my crate issue we decided to move her big crate to her play pen because she felt more comfortable with the pkay pen then the crate in our room so hopefully she will get use to the crate and by the time she out grows the play pen we can move the crate back to our room and have no issues. She was using the small crate she came to us in and I think she's really enjoying the big crate now .
 

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Good to hear you are going to obedience class. This is the most important thing since everything should be taught on leash before pairing the commands to an ecollar. Does your obedience instructor also teach an ecollar class? I have used and helped people train with many brands but I personally use the educator collars now. Very easy to use, variance of levels from 0-100, and great customer service from ecollar technologies is the best. They are also a little bit cheaper than the other similar brands. Dogtra and tritronics are also great starter collars. There are a few others but they get up there in price. I used SportDog years ago, and have a few people who train with me that have them, but I don’t like there limited number of levels. They will work with sone dogs but I have seen multiple times where one level is too low but when you go up to the next level it is too high and can cause problems with training. My recommendation for first time ecollar people is either the mini educator or Dogtra 1900.
Mini Educator you can usually find for around $180 and the Dogtra 1900 is around $240.
Build a bond and train with the leash now, then if you need to use and ecollar the transition will be easier when your puppy is older. Age to start will differ between dogs and what you are trying to accomplish. Usually around a year old.
We havnt started classes yet because she hasn't got her second shots yet and no one will take her until she's fully vaccinated but I do have a trainer in mind who I have herd from a co worker he is a bit stern and strict but seems to get good results and knowing dobermans I know I cant just find any trainer cause they need more work and lots of training . My last girl was very smart but almost to smart were she didn't think she had to listen to me. I can already tell that she knows my husband is alpha in our ( pack ) lol but I need to make sure im at least second in command and not her !
 

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