Remote training collars and bark collars.

[Tripmomma]

My pup is too young now, but I wanted to get thoughts on these collars...and recommendations on brands and models. What age do you intro the training and bark collars?
Thanks!

[Raven]

I don't use remotes, so I'm no help. I like to ask folks, though, why they consider remotes, especially if behaviors aren't "calling" for them. (It's hard to make questions like this sound non-judgmental...no judgment...just curious. Remotes have become commonplace enough now that folks sometimes automatically assume training includes them.)

[Tripmomma]

I just like it as a tool. In my previous dogs we never used the collar until we were 100% sure the dog knew the command and was being disobedient willfully. Usually just the beep is enough to get the dog back on track. Her breeder had collars on all his dogs, and most of the owners at the IPO club also use them...so I just figured they are a helpful tool.

[cordeliandemon]

ive never used a bark collar but koda does need a beep/vibration/static one on her now and then. i think i started her with it when she was 18months and tested the very highest of every setting on myself before i let it near her. introducing them to it is a slow process and you need to start from the very lowest settings and gradually increase them over time untill you get a response, then stop increasing. if you get a very negative reaction i wouldnt use it, or maybe you have the settings too high.
for koda all i used with her were the beep and vibrate settings for the first 6 months before any situation presented itself that needed the low static setting for immediate correction (trying to attack a horse when she was off leash in the woods)
im no expert but id recommend reading into it farther and thoroughly paying attention to the safety guidelines that come with the collar. ive been told some people start using them at 6months where necessary.
theyre something you have to be very careful with, in the wrong hands you can easily ruin a lovely dog.

[Tripmomma]

Thanks...I will keep reading up.

[Owned-By-Hendrix]

I use a Sportdog no bark collar when we're traveling and have it set to increase but reset once barking stops. My guy is fairly soft when it comes to ecollars so I don't need to get super duper strong models. I would say gauge how your's does with any type of negative reinforcement - collar pops, pinch, fursaver, etcetera. If it takes a lot for a correction to sink in start looking for the super super strong models. If it doesn't take too much you can get away with a lower model. I'm in love with the Educator (400 model) as it's remote is simple, the stim is super effective, and it works. I know a lot of people favor the Dogtra 1900 or the Educators (800 model for dogs that need more correction).

[Tripmomma]

Thanks! I have been reading up about the Dogtra's so far.

[johninny]

there is a good discussion of e-collars in product REVIEWS and i think it references an even better ''how-to'' discussion by the forum's best minds aimed at the likes of me that you can hopefully do a search-bar search for and find - probably in ''whatever''.

never seen a discussion of bark collars, but intuitively i view that as punishing a dog's communication in general. i would think better to train situational and obedience behavior.

[LyonsFamily]

If you're looking for a bark collar, I would get the Garmin Delta Sport (formerly tritronics) as it is an ecollar with a build in bark collar function. I will use an automatic bark collar, very selectively during training, but not on a dog while being left unattended in a crate, for example. It is helpful for non-fear based reactivity to help with a handler with poor timing. It also allows a handler to focus more on reading body language, properly holding the leash, and watching the dogs thresholds as they're not busy worrying about timing a stim and finding the button.

I do like to control the stim most of the time and only use it for corrections after the dog has been given an alternate behavior as I do like my dogs to bark when they feel the need, but they need to be quite after I tell them to. I like the Garmin collar because you can switch back and forth rather easily.

For example, when working inpulse control on something like the public part of the BH, if you have a female that's very controlling and wants to herd and correct other dogs and loud people *cough *Elli *cough, you can put it on the regular ecollar function as you put the dog in a stay and walk to the other end of the side walk, correcting for breaking the stay, a command previously taught and known. During a point where you need to speak or interact with another person or dog, you can put it on the bark control function, so that you're consistent with always correcting for the dog barking even when you're too pre-occupied to do it 100% correctly on time.

If you're looking for just a basic ecollar to fix a few behaviors, the sportdog 425 works great and is enough for most pet owners, as is the Dogtra IQ. I personally use the SportDog model for my own dogs to and some board and trains to mainly work recall and stays. I'll say, I don't utilize the ecollar as much as I really should because I'm limited on time and don't dedicate enough time to train my own dogs because I'm constantly with clients. My mainly positive reinforcement training has holes in it that are confusing or not complete enough for my dogs, and a low stim ecollar program would have them farther along in competitions than we currently are. I plan on getting a more sophisticated ecollar as Elli is moving to the advanced levels of obedience and is preparing for her PDC.

The educator line (formerly Einstein) is the most promising for modern dog training, in my opinion though and will be my next ecollar. I have a code for a free trial since I'm a trainer, but I haven't cashed it in yet. If you want to make a good investment that can really help fine tune your dog's training, it's the best option, hands down. It has many levels of stim, a great easy to read remote, and digital read out for help in the dark. You can put the stim at such a low level that works perfectly for your dog and it works a NRM much like a clicker does for PRM. I would get that model for anyone looking to compete at high levels and is really dedicated to consistent training and really knows how to take full advantage of an ecollar.

[Tripmomma]

Thank you...excellent info!