Electric Collars - Tips Needed On How To Effectivley/Correctly Use?

That must have been awful for you.
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Surely if the sheep where not in their field (and running loose?) when your dogs killed it then your dogs shouldn't have been blamed! Or does it not work like that?
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I have a PAC (google search it) remote collar and it is the best thing i have ever bought. I learnt by using the training video and training Angus to respond to voice, then the "beep" and if he ignores that then "zap". However, the zap os on its lowest setting and feels no more than just a tingle (i tested it on my neck).

Now i hardly ever need to use the zap as he responds to the warning beep 9.9 times out of 10!
My dog never runs off now, doesnt eat his own poo, doesnt chase sheep/pheasants etc, doesnt harass my older dog, chase the cat, whine, raid the bin etc etc so it is amazing!

My collar and remote works up to 1 mile away

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LOL, Your dog sounds very similar to my wonderful lab!
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Up to a mile away
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!!
 
ha ha, well yes he is naughty insane setter!

However, when he was at puppy school he was awesome....got Silver good citizenship award!.......so he is clever but just cant help himself when it comes to badness!
 
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what a poo eating, cat chasing, bin raiding, noisy monster?!?!?!

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Yep that about sums him up to a T!
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Where can I get some killer sheep and a 10 tonne cat?!

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That was the old method wasn't it, tying the dog to a hurdle penned with a nasty ram!
 
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My collar and remote works up to 1 mile away

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Just a point my brother made, you shouldn't zap the dog if you can't see it as you don't know if the dog is coming back. You could be zapping the poor thing when it's on it's way home or even caught up or injured somewhere.
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The trick is to do it before they get so out of control you can't see them.

I think the people that object to electric collars have visons of owners putting 1000 volts through their dogs as punishment. No way should it ever ne used as punishment and unfortunately like all things in the wrong hands they can be used to inflict pain
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I am really very surprised at the number of people willing to use these devices above corrective conventional training and not as a last resort.

If my dogs exhibited this sort of behaviour I would look to myself to blame as I would have failed to lead my pack and control it's instincts to misbehave. I would spend time and money to correct that but that money would not be spent on gadgets. Dogs need rules just as humans do and understanding how to introduce those rules in a manner that the dogs understand and respect for me would always take precedence over resorting to these devices.

30 years ago your child would have been beaten for misbehaving at school, but now that seems abhorrent, yet it seems punishing a dog for what I would term human error is not?

However you look at these things they are a punishment and they inflict a shock and co-operation is achieved through fear of punishment. There are other ways to address these problems, dogs are smart and they will learn that when that collar is not on they can still misbehave, yet if you use psychology to control your pack they respect you as their leader and don’t push the boundaries if you don’t let them.
 



[/ QUOTE ]"Just a point my brother made, you shouldn't zap the dog if you can't see it as you don't know if the dog is coming back."

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Dont panic, i have never had to use it that far away! and even if i did, he wouldnt need a zap.......just the beep!

I know it would be stupid to zap when they cant see you!
 
Like KarynK I am dismayed to see how many people think it is perfectly acceptable to use a shock collar on a dog. Modern dog training promotes positive reinforcement as the way to train. Yes it takes longer but your dog responds to you because it respects you, not because it is afraid of the pain/ unpleasant sensation you might inflict if it does not do ( or understand) what you ask it to do.

Please everyone who thinks it is acceptable to use one of these collars, think again and look at more humane ways of training your dog.
 
No one is suggesting that these collars should replace conventional training, just that in some circumstances when the dog may be putting itself in danger by not returning it is an option. Not one person has reported using the collars long term or as a punishment but not all people have the knowledge to get their 'pack' to respond 100% of the time so provided they're used correctly I don't see a problem at all. I'm really against any sort of punishment that inflicts pain and I never smack my dogs but the collar can be set to little more than a tingle or even a beep used at a distance to bring a dog back under control.

When my last 2 dogs got on the scent of something nothing I did could make them stop and they were in danger of being shot but one short sharp shock on one dog stopped them both for good and that can't be a bad thing.
 
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Yes it takes longer but your dog responds to you because it respects you, not because it is afraid of the pain/ unpleasant sensation you might inflict if it does not do ( or understand) what you ask it to do.
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You may not have read the posts as the OP was asking for info on using them correctly, and if you use them correctly the dog shouldn't be at all aware that it's the owner causing the sensation and most of us who post on here are experianced dog owners so wouldn't use a collar if we weren't sure the dog understood what was being asked. The OP expressed concern about her dogs worrying sheep and we should never forget that dogs are only a whisker away from being wild animals and can change from being mr snuggles to sheep killer in as long as it takes to jump a fence. In the wild a pack animal that misbehaved would be scruffed or beaten up and put in it's place and a collar is no more unpleasant than that.
 
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No one is suggesting that these collars should replace conventional training, just that in some circumstances when the dog may be putting itself in danger by not returning it is an option. Not one person has reported using the collars long term or as a punishment but not all people have the knowledge to get their 'pack' to respond 100% of the time so provided they're used correctly I don't see a problem at all. I'm really against any sort of punishment that inflicts pain and I never smack my dogs but the collar can be set to little more than a tingle or even a beep used at a distance to bring a dog back under control.

When my last 2 dogs got on the scent of something nothing I did could make them stop and they were in danger of being shot but one short sharp shock on one dog stopped them both for good and that can't be a bad thing.

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Well said! Agree with all of it.
 
But replacing conventional training is exactly what is being suggested, people are using them as a quick fix because they don't have/want the time to spend training their dog. Shock collars can create more problems than you think they have fixed, if the 'zap' is given at the wrong time.
 
I know that the circumstances where I have seen these collars used have been when conventional training methods have failed. Nobody is suggesting that the dog be zapped with mains voltage, also the OP wanted to be sure she was using the collar as correctly as possible. I'd rather see people try this option than see their dogs shot for sheep worrying. I've lost 9 ewes this year to dogs, I'll happily post photos of the injuries inflicted and believe me they are horrific. I don't want to see a dog shot so if he can be discouraged from any interest in sheep then I would be happy to try this method, we now shoot first and ask questions later if we see a dog in with our sheep, that is our legal right and we will continue to do so.
 
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But replacing conventional training is exactly what is being suggested, people are using them as a quick fix because they don't have/want the time to spend training their dog. Shock collars can create more problems than you think they have fixed, if the 'zap' is given at the wrong time.

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Sorry but that's a bloody cheek! This is your first ever posting so I don't think you've earned the right to criticise members for the level of commitment to their dogs training
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No one has suggested that electric collars are the first port of call for unruly dogs, they are the very last, and the OP was being very responsible in asking our opinions and advise, and all the advise that was given was to prevent a zap being given at the wrong time. Many sorts of training can be administered in the wrong way and people can totally muck up even lead and heel work with the use of choke chains or cause their dogs discomfort with the wrong use of a halti. Electric collars are a one off, short sharp method to cure something potentially life threatening and should not be used to control a dog in place of proper training and nothing posted on this thread suggests otherwise
 
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Sorry but that's a bloody cheek! This is your first ever posting so I don't think you've earned the right to criticise members for the level of commitment to their dogs training

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First of all, I don't have an opinion on this issue either way but I'm a bit concerned with the sentence above. With the greatest respect - I didnt realise we had to have written a certain amount of posts before we could share an opinion.

Forums are open to all and therefore all opinions matter. We shouldnt dismiss people just because it's their first post.
 
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I didnt realise we had to have written a certain amount of posts before we could share an opinion.

Forums are open to all and therefore all opinions matter. We shouldnt dismiss people just because it's their first post.

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Sorry, didn't word that very well, I meant that the poster had not had contact or discussions with any member before as far as I'm aware and is therefore not party to all the thousands of discussions we have about the tiniest detail of our dogs care and welfare and is perhaps not in a position to judge. Her opinion of electric collars is a valid one but her post said the people who use them can't be bothered or don't have time to train their dogs properly which isn't true.
 
Hmmm....I really do think the OP is using this as a last resort.

Karyn and Teaselmeg, it is great that you have been able to train your dogs to such a good standard, well done.

I would maybe have thought the same as you guys before I came to own the dog I do now.

I got him at six months old and he has been the most challenging dog to own and train - I was raised with German Shepherds, I have grown up with them, I thought there was very little I didn't know.

I am not a big girl and he is a very big dog. He has a very strong, inbuilt prey drive which has been bred into him through generations of working lines.
I had to resort to using a prong collar, which I would have baulked at in the past. I was taught how to use it by a police dog trainer.
I know people don't like them, but without it, there is no way I would have been able to stop my dog from wanting to rip another dog's face off, simple as.

He is now coming on in leaps and bounds, thanks to this one item which I have only had to use a handful of times. He now sits quietly at training class just a foot away from other dogs - this time a few months ago, he would be trying to fight them.

Just go back and read Chevs' post about those poor dobes. When you are at your wits end and you are willing to do anything to save the life of your dog, I don't think we can judge the OP for exploring this as a last resort.
 
At the risk of being a sheep, totally agree with H-H. I was against electric collars until a friend used one as a last resort on her dog. This again was someone who had owned and trained GSDs all her life (and she is in her 50s) and qualified dogs in working trials. But her latest dog, although a beautiful worker had a serious dog aggression problem, and as she is only 5' she was really struggling . Her trainer eventually persuaded her to try an electric collar, which she did after trying it on herself, and he is a different dog. I have felt the shock this collar gives and it is less than that from an electric fence. It means she can now enjoy her dog rather than being concerned about taking him out, and he has not needed to have a shock in months, just very occasionally the warning beep.
In an ideal world we wouldn't need them, but all dogs are different and I think we all have to learn to be open to new ideas . Better a few sharp shocks than a dead dog .
 
Why is this different than all the posts asking about "upgrading" bits for x-c?

Absolutely, every horses should go sweetly in a snaffle in every situation but the fact of the matter is adrenalin is a VERY powerful drug and instinct, by definition, is not easily overridden by training. When a dog or a horse gets into that state the ordinary controls may not be sufficient to maintain control, or even basic safety. Extreme controls are sometimes necessary for extreme situations, which, by definition, means if they're being used for every day or have to be used more often, in more situations, they're not working.

Obviously we'd all love to be able to work our dogs in controlled situations with stock or game, but this is beyond what most people have the facilities to accomplish. Failing that, we'd love to be able to walk our dogs in areas where there is not threat. But if you live somewhere like the Cotswalds, say, this is almost impossible. So sometimes people have to make do.

Positive reinforcement is the most successful way of training animals. The problem is we may not always be able to manage circumstances to feasibly get that done. I think what people are discussing is ways to prevent a tragedy, not ways to punish and animal for "disobeying" - or at least I hope so.

Btw, for my dog a "puffer" collar has been enough, coupled with a paranoid level of recall training because we were so warned by experts on the type of dog. His lines have bred for hundreds of years to hunt, I'm unlikely to completely override that in a year or so, so I got some help for those situations where for me to have anything other than perfect control could literally mean his death.
 
I'd recommend the Master Plus spray collar personally over the electric ones,i have vast experience on all of them and this one managed to get a rather mental sheep anything killing husky under control!!!
 
I am sorry if anyone was offended by the wording on my posts and the fact that I have only just joined the forum. I work in the equestrian industry, and also in the last few years I have worked with 2 two dog behaviourists, and I have seen the results of a shock collars being incorrectly used. Dogs that have become more aggresive, have shut down etc. I strongly feel that unless you highly experienced in dog training, these collars can easily be used incorrectly. This article puts into words better than I can, the pitfalls of using these collars:

http://www.dogstrust.org.uk/information/poppysopinions/shockcollars/
 
Wow. That's pretty emotive stuff. I'm actually shocked at the tone of that article and some of the comments.

In fairness to the OP, again, it seems like this is the last resort and she is coming on here to ask advice on how to use the device correctly, she is not blithely running off to buy one and zapping her dog indiscriminately - and thank goodness she did, that's what this part of the forum is for.

Maybe the OP will explore a spray collar, or, as advised, get someone in to properly school her on the use of an electric collar, thanks to the advice she has received on here.

And welcome, BTW!
 
My mum has one of these on her dog as he is very naughty off the lead and chases sheep etc.
However with the collar he has never run off once - She gives him a warning with it and thats all he needs.

Can not recommend them enough!
 
personally,i it's not something i would use. why wouldn't you try the one that squirts water. I suppose all dogs are different and it is a worry when livestock are involved, anything is better than a bullet. It depends on the nature of the dog but i know that my dobermann would be completely terrified with an electric shock
I was under the impression that some mps' were trying to get the electric shock ones banned in the uk.
 
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