One of the many reasons I like training with an electronic dog collar is because I believe it is a quicker path to off leash freedom for a dog.
Rather than using the tool as a “shock collar” and punishing a dog for none compliance, myself and many other professional dog trainers world-wide are using e-collar stimulation as a prompt to gain a dogs attention in the midst of distractions. Once the tap on the shoulder gets the dogs attention we can then easily encourage and reward the positive behaviors we want, like coming when called.
Once a dog will reliably come when called they have tremendous new found freedom to run and enjoy many wonderful experiences. The electronic dog collar allows us to get to that point pretty quickly.
I shot a small video clip when working with two of our e-collar training dogs the other day. Both are relatively young pups and they loved playing with one another so we decided it was a perfect opportunity to practice their recalls when distracted.
Take a look. This was day 3 of training for the smaller white pup and week two of training for the bigger guy. We were using the electronic dog collar on both dogs, but I bet you can’t tell. There is no yelping, no fear, no pain…none of all those nonsense things you hear uneducated trainers warn you about. What you do see is happy dogs learning to stop their actions and respond when asked and the reward they earn for that is a bit of loving and then the freedom to go play again.
Teaching a dog to come when called when it is distracted really is the whole point as far as I’m concerned. That is what my version of electronic dog collar training is all about. I have a bit of an issue with the idea of people thinking it is a recall when you ask a dog to sit/stay, walk 20 feet away and then call it to you in a fairly quiet and contained environment. That is what is taught in the majority of dog training classes and it is considered success. But seriously, how many of you pet owners actually find value in that? When is the last time you had a difficult time calling your dog to you when he was sitting in the house with nothing better going on?
Training should be about being able to call your dog when he’d rather dart across the street to see the neighbor kids, or when she would rather get the squirrel that is playing on the other end of the park. Or how about simply being able to call your dog when it is time to leave the dog park? How nice is it to call the dog to you rather than always having to have to go get the dog? Of course you can work your way to the “advanced” classes…just expect it to take months or perhaps years. That is the reality that very few are willing to tell you about when they take your money and sign you up for the next 6 week class session.
The goal we have at That’s My Dog! is to get you some real life results in a few weeks and it is what more and more people are seeking out when they inquire about training with an electronic dog collar.