any tips on training with an ecollar?

[salmonsteelheadsam]

just bought an ecollar for my 2 year old golden retriever i adopted him a few months ago and ive taught him alot so far hes actually a really smart dog and hes the best dog ive ever owned but i want him to be better when hes off the leash, i read the manual and have read some tips online but i was just wondering if any of you that have trained with an ecollar have any tips or stuff you learned the hard way that you could share with me?




and if any of you are against the use of ecollars then keep it to yourself!!

[worm slayer]

With my dogs I have just treated them like my kids and speak to them the same and use full sentences, they understand me completely. I have them trained to respond to me when I snap my fingers also. With my kids I can snap my finger and point behind me and they know to get out of the way like when we are at the grocery store and the dogs respond the same way when I snap mt finger and point at my side, they know to came I don't even have to say anything to them. Its really funny they understand the tone of my voice also, if I am yelling at a kid they put their heads really low and come with their tails between their legs thinking they are in trouble also. And if they are the ones actually in trouble they will get a swat on the butt too. Anyway I have no experience with using a collar because they have responded so well to just my voice but I have had them since they were less than 8 weeks old and they would be carried arround in my sweater with me were ever I would go and that makes a big diiference, mom and master are to different people in their eyes, the know better than to challenge mom.

[Goldenstone]

Hey there, no advice for ecollars but have you tried clicker training? I also have a golden retriever and trained him numerous things with it. I think ecollars might work on some dogs but with goldens you might find an opposite result because they will just shut down

[worm slayer]

I agree with chrissy about the shutting down that dog will want to obey you from the beginning. You would be supprised how well a dog can pick up on different ways to comunicate try the clicker or hand signals first use your voice if you are not getting good results. I personally would never use a clollar on one of my dogs no matter how I wanted to train them or if they were difficult to train, now my kids that is a different story:D

[salmonsteelheadsam]

yeah he knows the commands the only thing is he chooses to ignore them when there is alot of action going on and if hes out of the 10' imaginery circle around me forget about it he cant hear me so i needed a way to reach out and touch him

[worm slayer]

Definately time to step up a notch but maybe the clicker will work because it is the right pich, tone, loadness, that a dog needs and you can get them for a couple bucks rather than a hundred.

[Spade]

yeah he knows the commands the only thing is he chooses to ignore them when there is alot of action going on and if hes out of the 10' imaginery circle around me forget about it he cant hear me so i needed a way to reach out and touch him

What also really works is a positive over happy voice when he does whatever you want as soon as he does it. Worked very well for our pitbull, and she was very easily distracted by other things for like the first 5 months.

[Goldenstone]

Sounds like the distractions are a bit too high right now for him. Its best to start with low distractions far away then move closer and closes. As he gets calmer and more focused increase your distraction level. Like if he's distracted by kids playing go to a park, and just sit and praise for any type of focus on you (treats, pats, belly rub) If you move too fast with high distractions the dog will just ignore everything you say like your non existentant. I know it sounds like a slow process but if you stick to it and practice practice practice you can have total focus even in a place like a football stadium

[RollinontheRvr]

My wife has a Golden, that boy is soooo hard headed he is the perfect picture of the blond persona. He get's so excited that it is almost like his brain short circuits and he can't focus on anything. Oh and he burps :eek:, a lot. His nickname is pig. :cool:

Not sure the ecolar would work on Dillon, I do know the clicker training worked for sh*t on him. It is strange, he is four and he still acts like he is 6 months old.

[wfocharlie]

I work in a facility that trains dogs. The reason most dogs are difficult to recall is usually when they are called it is to punish, restrain, stop play, bring them indoors or any number of things that make a dog not want to come when called. The trick to a reliable recall is whats called a high rate of re-enforcement. Call him constantly through out the day to do nothing more than praise him or better yet give him a treat and then release him. Once he learns that he will be able to go back to what he was doing and only good things happen to him when he is called, it will be much easier to get him to come. Sometimes you have to restrain, stop play or bring the dog in. If the rate of re-enforcement is high enough he will bet on the good stuff happening and come all the time anyway. Gradually increase distances and distractions until he is reliable. Even incredibly well trainned dogs like guide dogs for the blind have occasional problems with this so don't get to discouraged if it doesn't work 100% of the time.

[worm slayer]

That is some good advice.

[Spade]

That is some good advice.

Yeah no kidding. It's obvious too, but you really never think about it that way. I think the hardest part with it all is that it's SO much work initially and you never expect that, well, at least I didn't.