How do I introduce an electronic collar to my dog if he is already trained?

Today I would like to share a question that was sent to me by a K9 handler interested in learning more about how to use an electronic collar with his working dog.

Hi Robin, I have both your dvd’s and watched them both a few times each. A question has come up. I have a well trained police dog, meaning my dog knows sit, down ,stand, come and other commands. I want to use the ecollar to work on distractions and better off lead control, since he can be very distracted at times. On your video it appears the dogs you are using have little training. They are moving away and your stimulating the dog with no verbal command initially. Then after a short period you put the come command in there.  Do I use the command right off the bat and stimulate my dog since he is already trained in the commands?  I guess I am just confused how to teach him to understand the stimulation since he already knows commands. My goal is better focus and control around distractions.

First let me congratulate you for taking the time to learn more. As a K9 officer you obviously already know more than the average person about training, yet you are seeking even more knowledge. Kudos!

Now in answer to the question: The reason I typically do not use verbal commands in the first few minutes of electronic collar introduction is because I am determining what level of stimulation the dog can feel and begins responding to.  I ALWAYS start at the lowest possible level and work my way up the dial until I get the desired response. If I started adding the verbal command immediately with the electronic collar taps it would be difficult to determine if the dog was responding to the new sensation (ie. feeling it) or if he was responding because of the previous training.

Not saying anything in the first few minutes allows me to tune the electronic collar to a stimulation level that is just right for the dog at that moment in time. It gives me a base line level to begin working with. It helps alleviate the possibility of going too high, too early in the training. I define the level as “too high” when the dog is so overwhelmed by the sensation that they become visibly stressed and can not focus on what is being taught. That is poor training and trainers/handlers that employ such techniques are sadly limited in their knowledge.

Once the dog begins to grasp the concept of better attention then I overlay the known verbal command on top of the electronic collar taps. Now the dog begins to equate the stimulation with attention to the command.

With a dog that has a good amount of previous training the whole process may only take 5 – 10 minutes. The learning curve is typically very fast. From then on, I will use the verbal commands as part of the process. As we move forward teaching the dog to remain attentive even in the midst of increasing distraction the taps and initial verbal command will happen simultaneously.

It is also important to point out that when I introduce an electronic collar to a dog I do so  with the addition of motion. (having the dog learning to follow me, or move toward me) I prefer this rather than the traditional advice of just tapping the collar and turning up until you see an ear twitch or neck flinch. I believe that adding in motion right from the beginning decreases any potential of a “surprise reaction” for the dog. The initial sensation is not a random occurrence while they dog may be sniffing something or standing in a particular spot. The dog learns very rapidly that the taps occur when attention is not on me and go away when attention is focused toward me. It is like playing a game of hot and cold with the dog. Because the taps acquire meaning so quickly, the dog can learn to control the game, which means that the stress level is minimal to none. To me this is important in the starting days so the dog has a very positive early learning experience with the e-collar.

Another aspect I like about starting the electronic collar conditioning silently is that is develops better initial focus on me. This can be very advantageous in teaching the dog to watch for subtlety’s of body language as part of my communication. I believe in the dog’s mind this technique equates the e-collar tap with paying attention to me. Of course I am also giving the dog positive reinforces for that attention (ball, treat, praise) to help him understand that the increased focus is rewarded. This helps to carry over when distractions will come into the later training picture.

Thanks for the question (and for purchasing the remote collar training dvd) There are lots of other tips and things to learning about training with an electronic collar but these are the main reasons I personally like to do the introduction without adding the verbal commands immediately.