Installation Guide

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Your long-term goal is to have your dog remain under total control while receiving correction from the e-collar and

understand why the correction occurred. Remain under total control is the key phrase in that sentence. If your dog

is jumping around or cannot focus on you because it is vocalizing, it is not under control. If your dog reacts in either

of these ways, back oﬀ . Either you are progressing too fast or the static stimulation intensity is too high.

You should shop for the correct level of static stimulation by starting with the lowest intensity and continuing up

until you see the acceptance mechanisms appear. This is ﬁ rst introduced during obedience drills. With your dog

on-leash, call it to you. After a few successful “Here” routines, apply leash pressure and stimulate with the e-collar

at the same time. Look for the swallow response, head drop, or neck twitch. Sometimes you can see a change in the

breathing pattern. Progress up in intensity until you see your dog say, “I accept” with one of these responses. When

you see your dog drop its head or swallow, you are there and this will be your most-often used correction level.

COLLAR CONDITIONING WITHIN EACH OBEDIENCE COMMAND

Never correct your dog with the e-collar without ﬁ rst conditioning it to accept and understand the collar. This will

take a short period of time, but without the conditioning process, your dog will be dazed and confused about the

discomfort around its neck. It is easy to confuse your dog and undo a couple of months of good training in just a

few minutes by over-stimulating on a correction or correcting when it is not justiﬁ ed. No corrections should occur

until the conditioning process has been successfully completed. The collar-conditioning process can be thought

of as practice in accepting electronic static stimulation. Your football coach didn’t send you on the ﬁ eld without

practicing the plays and likewise, we do not want to send your dog into the world without an understanding of how

to comfortably accept electronic correction.

USING AN E-COLLAR TO REINFORCE OBEDIENCE COMMANDS

“HERE”

Bolting can become a disastrous side-eﬀ ect of e-collar conditioning if your dog is allowed to move away from your

control. Therefore, keep using the leash until the conditioning process is ﬁ nished. Toss a few bumpers and work

on obedience drills in the training area. Check for that wagging tail which signals a good attitude. Then command

“Here,” deliver a brief correction on the correct level – paying close attention to the dog’s reaction – and then

immediately command “Here” again. Reward your dog with a stroke on the shoulder and verbal praise. Repeat

“Here”-brief correction-“Here” three to ﬁ ve times on the ﬁ rst day at various places in the work area while making

sure that no two brief corrections occur at the same spot. Your dog will receive at least three brief corrections, but

no more than ﬁ ve, during the ﬁ rst couple of sessions. If things are going well, you can go to ﬁ ve. But, if your dog

is nervous, stop at three. Continue the obedience routine with no static stimulation for a little longer. Make sure

rewards follow proper

responses. Finish by throwing a bumper or ball to each spot where your dog received static

stimulation in an eﬀ ort to show that the location had nothing to do with why the correction occurred.

Pay close attention to your dog’s attitude during this routine. If momentum fades, use fewer brief corrections and

more play time. Increase the reward by adding a few extra shoulder strokes along with a happy tone of voice. Don’t be

afraid to skip a day if your dog shows repeated signs of too much pressure. This is not likely to occur if you are careful,

but understand how to overcome it just in case.