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The SHOCKING truth about Electronic Collars!
Whilst many people feel e collars are cruel & pain
invoking devices, nothing could be further from the truth.
Most people fail to notice when their dog is being stimulated
during training, we use the lowest level percieveable
by the dog to gain outstanding results.
Over the years I have heard every horror story imaginable
about e collar training, but when push came to shove,
most of the story tellers had never even used an e collar
let alone seen one, & after feeling the stimulation
from my collar, they couldnt believe any results could
be gained from the "tickle" produced.
There are some trainers around who will try & tell
you that e collars are a strict aversive, will burn the
skin & other loads of garbage. The truth of the matter
is, these so called trainers lack the skills required
to read dogs, they often fail to produce results &
feel threatened by something like the e collar as the
results that are gained with it in the right hands make
their work look rediculous.
Often these people will attempt to tell you that dog training
is all about morals & purely positive methods, plying
you with guilt is their only option when they cant get
results with your dog.
If this sounds like a dog trainer you know, I advise finding
a new trainer that is versed in all methods of dog training
& not one who tries to take the moral high ground
& provide little or no results.
E collars where first designed to stop dogs from chasing
stock, & when I tried an old style collar many years
ago, I could see where the old "shock collar" reputation
came from.
I asked a trainer friend of mine for a demonstration,
in which he showed me the collar. I strapped it on my
upper arm & he pressed the single momentary button
on the remote.
It took several
days
for the pain to leave my arm, & I vowed never to use
such a device on an animal.
Modern collars have come a long way. The collar I use
mostly in my training
is the Innotek .
Its a digital remote training system that has a range
of 800 metres, water proof collar & most importantly,
15 levels of stimulation.
I think out of hundreds of people, including children,
I have found one who
could perceive level one.
Few could feel two & most people can feel three, but
often need to go to
level four to make sure they felt three. The universal
response is "is that it"?
or "thats not strong enough to control my dogs!".
When they see it work they universally ask "can you put
it on the
kids/wife/husband"?
I have been known to run dog training seminars from time
to time, often, I put the collar on my arm & pass
out a few remote's so that people can give me a stim when
they want to ask a question. There is always one joker
who turns the collar to level 15 & they are always
surprised when I dont react.
People perceive electricity as a bad thing, electrocution,
electric chair etc, few see it for its positive aspects.
When used correctly in dog training, few if any can equal
the results gained by using a remote training collar.
Some people have seen modern collars used incorrectly,
invoking pain, but thats not use, its misuse, or more accurately, abuse.
The unfortunate thing is, abuse is not limited to e collars,
I dont know anyone who would spend upwards of $600 on
a collar to abuse their dog.
A choke or check chain is one of the most misused pieces
of training equipment on the market, unlike an e collar,
it doesnt come with a video, or instructions or any type
of training course & they are cheap.
I recommend e collar training to many of my clients, its
easier to teach the novice trainer than leash techniques
& the results are, on average, outstanding.
The other common problem is that people reach for the
e collar as a last resort, when all other methods have
failed to produce results. I cant emphasise enough how
big a mistake these people are making.
They think the e collar is a kill or cure method &
by the time they are willing to try it, the dog has built
up an aversion to what ever behaviour is being asked of
it. The dog may have gone trough positive training, then
a training program that issues leash corrections in which
all the dog has learned is to fight off the method long
enougn & the owner will give up & try something
else.
The e collar is a subtle cue to get the dogs attention,
if you wait until a dog is chasing stock & press the
button, more often than not, a dog in drive will simply
ignore the stim, even on it's highest setting.
Like I said, collars of old could blast a dog off a chase
in high drive, modern collars are not very powerful, they
are for training, not blasting.
We start quite a few puppies, 14 weeks & older on
e collar training. I remember showing the progress to
a friend who is also a trainer.
After 3 lessons I showed him a 16 week old Rottweiller
who was sitting, heeling, dropping & had a great fast
& straight recall. Each of these lessons were 30 minutes
with me.
All of these commands were off leash. His reply was "I
have seen a dog like that once, & it was trained with
leash & collar." He was surprised when I told him
these results were "typical", not one I could recall form
a life of dog training.
One thing I find amazing is the tunnel vision of some
trainers when it comes to e collars. I have come accross
so many people who have not used an e collar but will
be the first to cry how bad they are, I can't believe
that such ignorance still exists.
Here
is a couple of facts that surprise most people:
The modern e collars has an output some three thousand times less
than the average electric fence.
The modern e collar has an output
6 times less than static electricity
you get off the carpet in your home.
E collars have a positive and negative probe, one inch
apart. Unlike an electric fence or cattle probe that use
the body to travel to earth, the current produced by an
e collar only travels from one probe to another. That
eliminates the possibility of having any effect on the
nervous system.
Modern collars have a time out feature, no stimulation
can be delivered past 8 to 10 seconds.
Modern collars have levels so low, most people & dogs
cant feel them on the lowest settings.
Many Police departments, SAR groups, assistance dog groups
& so on around the world use modern e collar training.
If you have not heard of e collar training or have heard
bad things, I advise you to take another look at my methods.
I believe a good trainer should be versed in more than
one method & have tested & evaluated most if not
all dog training tools.
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