E- Collar works miracles - Page 4

The E-collar is a tool and like all tools its effectivity resides on the skill of he who wields it.  I find that such harsh measures should be used sparingly and at the very lowest setting that "derrails the dog's train of thought" so the dog responds to it but does not become desensitized to it. If the dog favorably "responds" to the "vibrate" setting, that is the one I'd use. 

Those who rely on E-Collars too much probably would love "the Koehler method", but (IMPO) if you go this route, you run the risk of damaging the dog's temperament and diminishing him as a whole while only improving a small facet (competition performance) of him.

Prager,
  In the very beginning of training my mentor put a prong collar on my leg and gave it a whack. ( by the way the regular ole choke chain was the worst!) Same thing with the e collar.... your opinion of training takes a radical change at that point. :)  I still use prong and e but with a very different point of veiw LOL

I recently spent spent over $1300.00 dollars getting my GSD trained by a professional trainer, he had dog four weeks, dog worked good as long as he was on a leash, off leash he was still as wild as ever, a friend who trained Police Dogs sent me a E-collar that i can control, this solved my problem in one afternoon. (dog is 16 month old)

"The competing these days is not about the man and dog, but it is about ego of the competitor."

Don't know how I missed this the first time...what a profound statement.

Congratulations, I'm glad the ecollar has given you such great results. 

It's not the tool, it's how you use the tool that determines whether or not a correction is inhumane and unfair.   I have seen more people deliver poorly timed corrections  and overly harsh corrections and nagging corrections  with pinch collars and even with  fursavers than I have ever witnessed with ecollars.  Of course this could be because I train with experienced people and people who are smart enough to seek out advise and help prior to ever putting an ecollar on their dog.  We use it primarily for fine tuning, but the ecollar has many, many different applications. 

When people make blanket statements about ecollars being inhumane it only tells me they are unaware of how to correctly use the ecollar.  The ecollar has NOTHING to do with a persons relationship with their dog, and to suggest anyone who uses ecollars does not have a good relationship with their dog is simply not true.  I'm pretty confident in saying the people I know that use ecollars have at least as good a relationship with their dogs as anyone who doesn't, since using an ecollar has nothing to do with someone's relationship with their dog. 

Caution : there are a multitude of pitfalls using the e collar ... and most often if you mess up .. there is nothing left to fall back on .. and for those that need those points for competition .... if you use the e collar .. you better know your dog , as your self . : quick yarn to share ; an acquiatnace had a GSD french ring three , not a rookie in e collar use [ IMO ? expert, that's beside the point ] , used quite a bit within that club .. dog had much experience and again right at the trial , before the persons turn , the handler put the e-collar on the dog to fine tune ! YYYYYYikesSSSSSSSSSSS %&$$#... the dog turned around jumped into her , onto her arm and began to feast !! many ran to her rescue - well the french ring judge was not impressed , voiced a reprimand and dsispleasure !! moral : dogs ARE NOT STUPID ... especially the GSD .. they are pensive problem solving canines [ and one of the best at that !!]. that was a major error [ i also read between the lines here too ] ... but again ... there are many, many , a  mulitude of avenues small & major for a handler to screw up in using the e collar . i won't voice my belief or philosophy , except . CAUTION .... i have found the best trainers , many don't fully understand the Intelligence of the GSD [ or other breeds] . if you use it one best  be an expert and have full understanding ..

Hello Alphapup,
I suppose the person with the French Ring GSD was not so much of an expert after all.  A very good example of how the collar should not be used.  I agree dogs are not stupid and will react to inappropriate corrections.
Jim

slamdunc .. correct-a-mundo on all three points !! so .. i however contemplated : how many times was the dog corrected in exactly that fashion to ellicit that type of response - i don't know the dog .. but .. Hmmm. made me  contemplate about the training : an electric collar as we know can be even more kinder  than a harsh word or leash correction .. or very very cruel as to ellicit a ferocious fit of aggression .

Alphapup,
That is very true.  Any pain induced correction can increase aggression, just like a prong collar or actually hitting or kicking a dog can cause a violent reaction. 


Jim


 

hi slam i am NOT ASKing this question because i have ever hit or kicked or abused my dog i never will i am into positive training now with clickers i only use corrections as a last resort


I just had a question though do most working shepherds have a breaking point where they will only take so much corrections or abuse before they turn on their handlers? i imagine most will only take so much crap.