Well it is good to be back. What I thought to be about a 2 week absence from the site turned into 2 months. I should be around for awhile now.
I will start off with some questions I have been asked about collar training. 1st Q. at what age do I start collar conditioning? A. I do not go by age as much as I go by boldness and how the dog has progressed with commands. I like to let the dog experience life the first year so for most of that time I do not put much pressure on them at all. All the training will be on a try basis. The pup is learning what he needs to do but I am not demanding compliance. For a bold dog that has had plenty of bird work, I like to work in low level stimulation training well before hunting season begins.
Q. My dog doesn’t listen to me, should I use a e-collar on him?
A. Make sure your pup understands your vocal commands. Before I use a collar, my dogs are trained on vocal and whistle commands. The dog must undersatnd what is expected of it before we start low level stimulation. What I do is spend as much time is needed teaching the pup what is expected. This means doing the training without any pressure on the dog. After I am sure the dog knows the command, I will apply pressure with a leash or if the dog is old enough, a pinch collar. At this point I am changing my vocals also and looking for the dog to comply on the first time I give the command. After this, I will start with the intro to the collar and low level stimulation.
Q. What is the best collar to buy?
A. I will not get into what brand is best but I do recommend a collar that has a tone button. It adds a step to the training process but the dogs are quick to respond to the tone to avoid stimulation.
If you have any questions just post here on the dog forum. 
March 31, 2008 at 1:58 pm
#203947