E-Collar Training
The Fit
I recommend an use E-Collar Technologies "Mini Educator Remote Dog Trainer ET-300" for most dogs, it has 100 levels to communicate with any dog in any situation and helps getting right level for your dog in any situation. the collar has a 1/2 mile range, is super affordable, and the company has fantastic customer service.
Please review the manual for e-collar and familiarize yourself with the functions. I only use the e-collar on the Continuous mode.
Place the collar in area between the trachea and 3 or 9 position.
Here is a video on setting up the collar, from a Larry Krohn who wrote a great e-collar book I highly recommend ,
The collar should fit snugly. It shouldn't be able to spin independently of the your dog’s skin. If you can move the collar around your dog's neck, it's too loose. With the proper fit, when you move the collar a bit, the neck skin should move with the collar. Obviously there's too tight as well, but most owners tend toward too loose rather than too tight.
The best placement of the e-collar is high on the neck, around 4 and 8 on a clock. The collar shouldn't be straight under your dog's neck (throat), or coming out the sides like Frankenstein bolts. If you place collar low on your dog's neck it will likely move higher at some point and become loose due to the taper of your dog's neck.
It’s essential that you get good contact if you want to successfully use the e-collar. One of the most important components of getting great contact is the "nestling" process. This is the process where you hold the receiver box with one hand and pull your dog's skin/fur up and then down repeatedly (gently) to help get the contact points through the hair. With longer coated dogs you can use your fingers and part the hair to create a seam of visible skin. Place the contact points/receiver on this seam. Take an extra 30 seconds to ensure this is done right (every time!) and you'll be happy you did. If at any time your dog seems to not be feeling the collar as normal, double check the nestling and redo.
Dogs often swell their neck muscles when you're putting the collar on. Be sure to check the fit a few minutes later to ensure it's still right. Oftentimes the collar will be loose and totally ill-fitting when you recheck it. The change in fit can be amazing once your dog relaxes.
Here is the Bungee Collar Straps I mentioned
Martin Deeley (One of the trainers I learned from) has a great video series on YouTube you can check out too
Here is Martin Deeley's Introduction, this is a different collar then I recommend, but how he explains using the e-collar is wonderful
Conditioning the dog to the collar:
Here is a Larry Krohn talking about How he uses the E Collar, I couldn't have said it better
First start with a hungry dog. I use Natural Balance or Red Barn food roll for training. Put the dog on a 15 foot line. Put a piece of training food in front of the dog and get it to follow it a little before marking with a YES and reward. Do this for a few minutes so your dog associates the marker word with the reward. The collar is already on at this point. After a few minutes you can now start conditioning with the E Collar.
Conditioning with the nick button: With your dog on a long line,(15ft.) give the come command and immediately AFTER tap the nick button and give a tug on the line at the same time. As soon as the dog turns to head your way use the marker word(YES) and reward the behavior. Remember to mark or say the marker word the second the dog starts your way. Continue to practice this for 5 to 10 minutes at a time.
Conditioning with the continuous button: With your dog on a long line, press the button FIRST and keep it pushed down. Give the come command and a quick tug on the leash right after you give the command. As soon as the dog starts to move toward you release the continuous button and say YES rewarding the dog’s movement toward you. Make sure to present the treat for your dog to see. The reward should immediately follow the word YES. With the continuous button the dog is turning off the collar stimulation by performing the command. Continue to practice this for 5 to 10 minutes at a time.
You should keep it simple and condition your dog this way for 1 to 2 weeks depending on the dog’s learning ability. Five to ten minutes a few times a day is better than 30 to 60 minutes at a time. Keep it short or the dog will lose interest in training. When possible train before instead of right after meals. The hungrier your dog is the more rewarding your training food will be.
After your dog is conditioned to the collar, continue to use it as much as possible for several weeks. Remember to always give command first then follow with a tap on the collar immediately after the command, nick or continuous, it does not matter once the dog understands both. After a few weeks you will use the collar intermittently, meaning tap the collar every other command, then every third command. This is how we start weaning the dog off relying on the collar. The main goal is to have the dog listen to the verbal command, not just the collar stimulation. This is how the dog learns to obey weather or not the collar is on.
Make sure the Transmitter is on “Continuous” you should see a “C” on the screen. you can change on the back of Transmitter.
Let your dog get used to wearing the collar around the home and on walks, let him eat with it on and off for a few days.
Turn the Transmitter on and use then turn the Receiver on by matching the two red dot contact points to each other, I roll it over. I usually press the Vibrate or “T” button to test it
Start by pressing the Continuous (Black S) button and see any change in your dog, such as a looking for something, ear twitch. We do not want a big movement something subtle.
That becomes the “Working Level”. You may need to adjust the working level up or down depending on environmental distractions
Always look at your dog’s reaction not the stimulation level (number) on the transmitter.
Layering the E-Collar to the Recall:
We press or tap the Transmitter and give a little leash pressure and reward with praise and food/reward.
Then we start by tapping the button then saying your recall word “Come”
Keep practicing and rewarding to build her reward history to the behavior, in a low distraction area before trying with high level distractions
If she does not respond you can repeat and and tap the button again, if she does not respond tap the 3rd time and hold, if you still have the long line on help him with a tug as well.
Later in the process you can raise the level if she is not responding.
Remember the collar is used to communicate “do something different then you are doing now” in this case “Come”, later it can be paired with other cues.
Escape/Avoidance technique
If your dog is struggling with this method here is the other method we can work on:
With your dog on a long line, press the continuous button FIRST and keep it pushed down. Give the come command and a quick tug on the leash right after you give the command. As soon as your dog starts to move toward you release the continuous button and say YES rewarding your dog’s movement toward you. The reward should immediately follow the word YES. With the continuous button your dog is turning off the collar stimulation by performing the command. Continue to practice this for 5 to 10 minutes at a time.
You should keep it simple and condition your dog this way for 1 to 2 weeks depending on your dog’s learning ability. Five to ten minutes a few times a day is better than 30 to 60 minutes at a time. Keep it short or your dog will lose interest in training. When possible train before instead of right after meals. The hungrier Carolina is the more rewarding your training food will be.
After your dog is conditioned to the collar, continue to use it as much as possible for several weeks. Remember to always give command first then follow with a tap on the collar immediately after the command. After a few weeks you will use the collar intermittently, meaning tap the collar every other command, then every third command. This is how we start weaning your dog off relying on the collar. The main goal is to have your dog listen to the verbal command, not just the collar stimulation. This is how your dog learns to obey weather or not the collar is on.