Is an e collar too much?

[Kaiser2016]

I agree with all the advice. I thought we could get away from using an eCollar because Kaiser was 'older' when I finally bought one, but the collar has been a game changer and I wish we had started with it sooner. Think of it like a car seatbelt. You wear it everytime with the hope to never use it, but if you do need to use it, it will safe your life.

Our current trainer doesn’t use anything like e collar, prong collar, choke collar etc for ethical reasons.

No matter how good your trainer may seem, if they are against certain tools, that raises a red flag for me. I had one class where the trainer lost her mind when she saw Kaiser on a prong, yet he was fully under control. When I put him on a martingale, he was not under control and then she proceeded to complain about that too. A good trainer knows about ALL the tools.

My two see the prong and get excited to have it on because they know we are going somewhere fun.
When they see the e collar it’s an even higher level of excitement ...

Same!

 

[Two Dobes]

I have always used the E collar for off leash in open areas, and it is great insurance. I take mine out one at a time to our front yard to play ball, and they push each other with their heads when I get the collar out to put on one of them "Me First! Me First" is their expression

 

[Cranekc35]

An e collar when used properly is a great tool in training.
A prong collar as well is a great tool when used properly. It is far safer than a slip lead as it is self limiting.

We started using an e collar once they understood what you are asking of them.
I would rather give my dog a quick stim to prevent him/her charging an animal or running in front of a car and being injured or worse killed.

Any collar can be abused by the handler. Education on the proper use of these tools is vastly important.
A halti is not recommended in this breed due to stress on the neck. Dobermanns are prone to Wobblers Diseas and I personally feel a Halti places their neck and chest in an uncomfortable position that could result in injury and cause issues later on.

A prong collar is the difference between driving with power steering and driving a manual steering.
You have a greater control over the dog unlike a slip lead that could damage the esophagus and neck.

I would accept your parents gift and learn a different method of training that many times works better for this breed.
Positive only training may work for some but Dobermans are a strong breed and corrections are necessary.
I’m not trying to bash your positive only trainer at all.
It’s just Dobermans need a firm but fair hand in training, otherwise they will attempt to become alpha and control you.

As far as yanking you when they see a squirrel or other distractions learn to read their body language and defuse the situation before it escalates to a higher zone.
Give them a command and teach them that jerking and trying to chase something while on lead is not acceptable.
Many Dobermanns have a high prey drive so you must recognize the signs in their body language and correct immediately. Timing is everything in training regardless of the tools you use.

Good luck and keep up updated on your progress with Kanda.

I couldn't agree more. My dobie went through prong and ecollar training after obedience training. It was the best thing we ever did for him, if tools are used properly. He's listening and well behaved, and still the happiest, goofy pup we know and love. He's 10 months. We went through ecollar training last month.

 

[Milosh_the_dobbie]

Hey again, thank you for all the advice so far!

Some context (skip this paragraph if you want to get straight to the question): Kanda is 8 months old tomorrow and doing alright. He is no longer going to day care or dog parks for the foreseeable future and we are locking down on training. We have had about six sessions with one trainer that comes to my apartment and works with us in or outside. She’s been great and we have kanda crate trained, he knows sit, lay down, go lay down/go to bed, and is less anxious when I leave him during the day time. Our biggest issue is now leash training. He is super hard headed and only wants to pull! We have tried using his collar, a slip lead and a halti. Currently, the halti is the only thing I can safely walk him with, because on a harness or collar, he can nearly pull me over or rip the lead out of my hands if he charges a squirrel. We have tried training heel with treats and the halti, having him walk at my heel following the treat etc. I’ve had a little success with this method during sessions but it never carries over. He also doesn’t care at all if I turn him around every time he pulls. Our last 3-4 sessions were focused on leash training and I’ve been working with him at home and he’s still extremely difficult on a leash. I want to get him trained before he’s fully grown, one issue I have now is money. We have had nearly constant vet bills for a skin infection, diarrhea and now kennel cough. I’m financially getting pretty drained BUT he is very much on the mend and nearly perfect health wise once he recovers from his cough.

Here’s my question: is e collar training too harsh/too much? My parents have offered to gift me 4 sessions with a different trainer (off leash k9 training). Which is their full obedience package for $615. They do 4 private lessons, you do the lesson and then spend the next few weeks perfecting those commands then do another etc. they include a lead and e collar, so it is e collar training. Our current trainer doesn’t use anything like e collar, prong collar, choke collar etc for ethical reasons. This makes me question using an e collar method. The place has awesome reviews and seems very reputable. I’m just not familiar with e collar and don’t want to do anything that will damage my relationship with my dobie

We have had the same issue with our dobbie, i cant tell you how much money we spent on collars, including the halti (didn't do anything) he's so strong he would rip them in 2 days from all the pulling. Also tried the prong collar, that was better but its also almost a science on knowing how to use it the right way, because most of people use it wrong and it can hurt the dog. Also, on training, places such as Pet Smart and group training also didn't do anything for him. Don't get me wrong he is a great boy, we love him but patience is running out.
So, we took him to a K9 training place, has great reviews and we found out a few of our neighbors and friends trained their dog there too. They use the ecollar, i was very hesitant at the beginning, because of all the mixed reviews I would see online, sometimes that makes it worse (sigh). I thought it would change his natural way of being, i thought it would break him and he would lose the loving side of him. NONE of that, we dropped him off for 3 weeks, they did the training, now we have an obedient dobbie, that doesnt leave our side unless told so, his recall skills are top notch, he does test us, and with dobbies that is so natural, even the trainer told us he would, but with constant and regular training and age they get better. Training never stops of course. But, don't be scared of the ecollar, we even tested it on ourselves just to make sure it doesnt traumatize my dog. We're all still here lol.
The ecollar and K9 individual training was the best decision we could ever take.

 

[Dobiehighjinks]

Hey again, thank you for all the advice so far!

Some context (skip this paragraph if you want to get straight to the question): Kanda is 8 months old tomorrow and doing alright. He is no longer going to day care or dog parks for the foreseeable future and we are locking down on training. We have had about six sessions with one trainer that comes to my apartment and works with us in or outside. She’s been great and we have kanda crate trained, he knows sit, lay down, go lay down/go to bed, and is less anxious when I leave him during the day time. Our biggest issue is now leash training. He is super hard headed and only wants to pull! We have tried using his collar, a slip lead and a halti. Currently, the halti is the only thing I can safely walk him with, because on a harness or collar, he can nearly pull me over or rip the lead out of my hands if he charges a squirrel. We have tried training heel with treats and the halti, having him walk at my heel following the treat etc. I’ve had a little success with this method during sessions but it never carries over. He also doesn’t care at all if I turn him around every time he pulls. Our last 3-4 sessions were focused on leash training and I’ve been working with him at home and he’s still extremely difficult on a leash. I want to get him trained before he’s fully grown, one issue I have now is money. We have had nearly constant vet bills for a skin infection, diarrhea and now kennel cough. I’m financially getting pretty drained BUT he is very much on the mend and nearly perfect health wise once he recovers from his cough.

Here’s my question: is e collar training too harsh/too much? My parents have offered to gift me 4 sessions with a different trainer (off leash k9 training). Which is their full obedience package for $615. They do 4 private lessons, you do the lesson and then spend the next few weeks perfecting those commands then do another etc. they include a lead and e collar, so it is e collar training. Our current trainer doesn’t use anything like e collar, prong collar, choke collar etc for ethical reasons. This makes me question using an e collar method. The place has awesome reviews and seems very reputable. I’m just not familiar with e collar and don’t want to do anything that will damage my relationship with my dobie

I used canine off leash training with my very rambunctious now 16 month old Doberman. Oohrah is perfect in the house knows many many commands which he has known since he was about four months old but once we step out the door, his level of excitement is through the roof. I worked with a great trainer when he was a puppy we did end up going to a prong collar, but even that was not that helpful with him. My dog has been leash reactive since I got him at about 13 weeks. I did months of turning away when he started to get excited treats, etc. with not much success walking him on a leash. I finally ended up doing E collar training through k9 offleash and had a wonderful experience with them. My dog is much better off lead and responds perfectly wherever we are with the E collar. Walking him on lead is still a challenge but much much more doable. Oohrah is a very lovable dog, but definitely need lots and lots of exercise. If the color training is taught correctly, the color is used more as a communication tool than a punishment that being said when I am walking him on a leash I do still have to correct him. When he is off lead, he is darn near perfect. Your dog sounds a lot like mine, and the E collar has opened up the whole world for us. He goes everywhere with me.