E-Collar

The e-collar is my most favorite dog training tool out there for a few reasons.

1. It allows even the dogs with the highest prey drive to be able to go off-leash without worrying about them running up to distractions. Or by the off chance, they do decide to, you are able to call them back.
2. You can use it to proof your retrieve commands. My dog was taught the motivational retrieve. I started from the beginning, just getting him to target it with his nose, reaching and grabbing it, and picking it up off the ground. Then I progressively moved it farther away. He would retrieve it, but only on a few conditions. A) If I gave him a treat and B) If he felt like it. I wanted him to retrieve no matter what and not have any conditions.
3. It helps give timid dogs confidence. It teaches the dog that there is something they can control and it teaches them how to deal with pressure. This is the best tool to use on a timid dog. It really builds them up.

But the e-collar is one of the misused tools with a great deal of misinformation about it. Here are some common myths that I will debunk.

MISCONCEPTION #1: THE E-COLLAR CAN CAUSE REACTIVITY

This is only true if you don't condition the e-collar to the dog first. If you start with recall and then use it to proof leave it, the dog knows what he's getting corrected for. So if he begins pulling excitedly toward the dog and you say "Leave It" and he doesn't reply, bump the button. Not enough to make him yelp, but enough to remind him since he was conditioned to it properly in the first place with the "Leave It" command. The dog knows what he is getting corrected for and doesn't associate it with the other dog. 

E-collars can cause reactivity if used incorrectly. Let's use the same dog as an example. He's an excited puller. The dog begins pulling toward another dog, and the handler bumps the e-collar up to a high level and shocks the dog. The dog wasn't given a command that he was conditioned to with the e-collar, and the stimulation was set up at too high of a level. So, the dog doesn't associate it with a refusal and thinks that he was attacked by the other dog. This can cause fear reactivity. But it's important to realize that in the second scenario, the e-collar is being used incorrectly. 

I recommend taking a look at the Tortora study. It shows that e-collar training can fix dog aggression.

MISCONCEPTION #2: THE E-COLLAR CAUSES PAIN

It can cause pain, or it can't. Trainers that use the e-collar correctly use it on the dog's working level. The dog's working level is the level where you get a small response. Such as an ear flick, muscle twitch, blink, or the dog looking around. If it causes a head jerk, yelp, or a visible wince, it's too high. 

Another way that the e-collar can cause pain is if the handler buys the wrong one. For example, the cheap ones at pet stores. Level one on those collars is extremely high and they use static shock. I believe those are cruel to use on an animal. Quality e-collars such as the Mini Educator or Dogtra don't use static shock, they use muscle stimulation. Basically, they feel like a TENS Unit. Never skimp out on an e-collar. Get a quality one, it's worth the extra price. You can seriously screw up a dog if you use the pet store brands. 

MISCONCEPTION #3: ALL E-COLLAR TRAINERS DO IS SHOCK THE DOG

Again, not true. We condition the e-collar using low levels. Every trainer I know starts with recall. Then, if they choose to, they can also use the e-collar for place, fetch, heel, or even to proof obedience commands if their dog is particularly soft to leash corrections. And it's important to remember that all good trainers condition each command with positive reinforcement first. For example, recall is first taught with markers and rewards only, and after the dog is responding to that, the e-collar is added. Same with place, fetch, heel, and all the obedience commands. The dogs are not randomly shocked, this can only cause confusion and set the dog back in his training. The dog first learns the language of the e-collar before the handler will even use it. The dog learns that the e-collar is a distinct type of pressure that can be turned off.

MISCONCEPTION #4: STUDIES SHOW THAT E-COLLARS CAUSE DOGS FEAR AND STRESS

Positive reinforcement causes dogs stress. Why? Because if they don't comply, you withhold the food reward. You are withholding something the dog needs to survive. If this isn't aversive and stress inducing (even spiking a little fear in the dog), I don't know what is. There is no type of dog training that doesn't cause stress of some kind. Plus, the studies done on e-collars were done with those cheap crap pet store e-collars. Not using quality e-collars from E-Collar Technologies. The dogs' cortisol levels were taken prior to being abused with the collar. Then, the scientists would put the collars on the dogs and then shock the dog on a high level. This would cause the dogs severe pain and then the scientists would take the cortisol levels once again. The cortisol levels were higher. They concluded that this means that e-collars cause fear and spikes in stress. Read this article to learn more about why these studies are stupid and flawed.

MISCONCEPTION #5: E-COLLARS ARE FOR LAZY TRAINERS

Cars are for people who are too lazy to walk. Dishwashers are for people who are too lazy to wash their dishes by hand. Clothes dryers are for people who are too lazy to hang their clothes up on a clothing line. Texting is for people who are too lazy to write a letter. House heating is for people who are too lazy to gather firewood and start their own fire. 

Now you can see how that argument sounds. Is it lazy? Maybe! But everything we do in modern times is a lazier way of how we did it back in the day. I'm not going to spend a year teaching my dog a semi-reliable recall when I can train my dog to recall in all distractions in a month. It's funny that purely positive trainers claim that e-collars are for trainers who want quick results, when they adovocate the use of front clip harnesses, headcollars, and clickers. All of which are harmless tools but bring you faster results. If e-collars are for lazy trainers, so is anything else that speeds up training such as front clip harnesses and clickers. 

MISCONCEPTION #6: IT WOULDN'T WORK IF IT DOESN'T HURT

Front clip harnesses work and they don't hurt. Thunder leashes work and they don't hurt. Gentle Leaders work and they don't hurt. Martingales work and they don't hurt. Something doesn't have to hurt for it to work. An e-collar is a very versatile tool. You can use it on low levels humanely, or you can bump it up to high levels. A dog can be abused in a Gentle Leader too. You can use it to aid in loose leash walking, or you can jerk it as hard as you can and cause whiplash or even a broken neck and paraplegia. Any tool can be abused. It depends on how you use it.

MISCONCEPTION #7: THEY'RE BANNED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, SWEDEN, AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

That doesn't mean a damn thing. By that logic, that's like me saying that pitbulls are bad because they're banned in other parts of the world. Just because something is banned doesn't make it bad. It just makes the people who set the law misinformed and ignorant. 

There are lots of things that are banned in different parts of the world. Crates are banned in Sweden, for example. Yet, most people in America are told one of the first things to teach their new puppy is how to accept a crate. This is an easy way to safely contain your dog without worrying about them chewing things up and to housetrain them. Crates aren't bad, they're useful tools. But they're banned in other parts of the world. 

Now, let's get onto proper e-collar use and conditioning.

HOW TO PICK OUT AN E-COLLAR

The #1 thing not to do when picking out an e-collar is to go to your local pet store. Those off-brands that cost $25 or $30 (any collar that is cheap) isn't a real e-collar. You want to get one by E-Collar Technologies. These have low levels that can fit the individual dog. Those cheap brand e-collars only have high levels. Level 1 on those collars hurts like hell, but level 1 on a Mini Educator I can't even feel and neither can my dog.

Make sure you get the e-collar you best would like to use. I like the Mini Educator because it's more ergonomic and the collar is so much more adjustable. No snaps, just a buckle and some holes. Or perhaps, if you want a more expensive option and a different shaped remote, you could choose the Pro Educator or Easy Educator. These are rectangular in shape, rather than circular. Look at the different e-collar options on this website and the different functionalities and options for both.

HOW TO CONDITION THE E-COLLAR

Go to my Obedience Training page on information on how to train recall and fetch and you can see how I condition the e-collar to the dog.