Installation Guide

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APPLICATION OF THE ELECTRONIC COLLAR
E-collar use has come a long way. The equipment is better and the many available programs for training with
e-collars are better. Some people don’t believe e-collars are reliable enough and therefore they shouldn’t be
used, but successful results are dependent on the skills of the operator, not the product. It is very rare for a dog
to not accept and happily work while on a leash, but you can hurt your dog’s attitude if it is used improperly. It is
the same with e-collars. You can do an unbelievable amount of damage to your dog’s attitude by over correcting
with an e-collar if you do not know what you are doing or if you don’t control your actions. This program will
show you how to use an e-collar, but you must never lose control of your emotions. So, make a promise to
yourself and your dog that you will always remain focused and in control when training.
In the beginning, e-collars were simple metal boxes with an on/off switch and no way to adjust the static
stimulation levels. And they were often unreliable. SportDOG Brand
®
remote training systems are an example
of how advanced e-training products have become. SportDOG Brand off ers several excellent models that work
at great distances over land or in water.
THE RIGHT WAY TO BEGIN
Your dog needs to start wearing an e-collar as soon as it can comfortably support the collar’s weight. The collar
should be worn from that point forward during all training sessions. Initially, you should attach the collar and do
something fun such as retrieving exercises with a bumper or ball. Continue this until your pup’s tail is wagging
uncontrollably. Soon, your dog will be doing airplane spins each time it sees the collar and think, “Oh boy, we
are getting ready to have some fun!” That is a pretty nice fi rst impression. This is an important fi rst step in collar
conditioning: your dog’s acceptance of the e-collar in a fun fashion.
You shouldn’t be pressing any of the Remote Transmitter’s buttons until your dog is 100 percent reliable on
obedience drills. When you have to deliver a correction you do not want your dog trying to guess what you expect.
Your dog should be performing these skills masterfully in the face of distractions. If you did your homework, your
dog will have an excellent understanding of what you are asking while being able to process pressure at the same
time. Before, pressure was in the form of a leash. Now, it will be an electronic, brief correction from the collar. Your
dog already knows what to do in the face of pressure; you are simply changing the type of pressure. Previously the
pressure of the leash was on your dog’s neck and that is where the e-collar also applies pressure, but in a diff erent
form. The e-collar will now become an infi nitely long leash to your dog. A brief correction with the collar will take
the place of a tug on the lead. This sounds pretty simple doesn’t it? Keep it that simple and you and your dog will be
happy.
Always remember: You are not going to teach your dog anything with an e-collar. You are only adding electronic
pressure to a skill your dog already knows and can routinely perform. Also, do not use the e-collar to correct
responses in an area where your dog may have not performed these skills until the training process is fi nished.
FINDING THE CORRECT STATIC STIMULATION LEVEL
The hardest thing about using an e-collar is fi nding the proper level of static stimulation and sticking with it.
Some folks are of the opinion that you should use continuous high-level static stimulation until the dog complies.
Others think you should use low-level continuous static stimulation. Both programs can work and create a dog that
performs great, but either of these methods could lead to trouble for a novice trainer.