Training your dog with your Ecollar
Congratulations on your purchase of a new Tri-Tronics electronic training collar. The purpose of this video is to help get you started down the right road of good electronic collar use.
In the beginning, using an electronic collar can be a little bit intimidating. However, when used properly, the collar can be one of the most effective training tools you have in helping your dog reach his full potential. The fact that you have taken the time to watch this video shows that you care about using it properly, and we hope in this video to show you how to train your dog some basic commands utilizing your new collar.
Let’s get started by putting the collar on the dog. I like to attach the collar high on the dog’s neck and in a nice snug position.
It is also appropriate at this time to mention collar-wise ness. That is to say the dog that knows when the collar is on and gives the appropriate behavior, but then reverts to undesired behavior when it is off. In order to avoid this common problem, it is very important that you have the dog wear the collar at all times during the early training stages.
Another form of collar wise ness is the dog that is collar shy. Again, to avoid this you want to have the dog wear the collar at all times in training, and you want to adhere to a sound collar training program, not leaving any steps out.
Let’s talk a little bit about choosing the appropriate intensity level of stimulation for your dog. I like to start my dogs on the lowest level of stimulation and gradually work my way up until I get a good positive reaction from the dog. This can be indicated by a simple ear twitch, a little bob of the head; something to let me know that the dog feels the stimulation without actually being overwhelmed by it.
Vocalization is usually an indication that the intensity level is too high and should be turned down a little bit. If you will watch your dog closely, you will learn over time what stimulation level works best for him in helping him to learn.
Dogs learn in a couple of different ways. First they learn by association. In this video you are going to see some examples of that. Primarily however, dogs learn through repetition. That is why any good training program takes a systematic step by step approach. It is very important to keep repeating those steps until your dog has learned the desired behavior.
It is equally important to incorporate praise into all of your training. It helps keep the dog with an upbeat attitude, and let’s face it; it makes training a whole lot more fun for both you and the animal.
Before we begin training with the collar, we first need to teach the dog a few basic obedience commands on lead, namely "HEEL", "SIT/STAY", and "HERE".
We begin with the "HEEL" command on lead because it allows us to gain a little bit of control over the dog. From there we progress to the "SIT/STAY" command, and finally perhaps the most important obedience command of all: the "HERE" command. So let’s get started with the "HEEL" command.
When teaching the dog heel, we want to be sure and give her plenty of encouragement for a job well done. We want the dog during this training to learn to walk along beside us calmly on a slack lead. The dog should not lag along behind, but the dog should also not walk the handler.
Once the dog becomes comfortable walking at our side on leash, it is time to progress on to the "SIT/STAY" command.
We teach "SIT/STAY" while the dog is walking at our side by gently tugging up on the lead and giving the command like so.
During this training we are telling the dog to "SIT," and stay is implied.
After the dog learns to reliably sit upon command, it is time to move on to the "HERE" portion of the training.
We want to first sit the dog out in front of us, move away from the dog, and encourage her to come here with a gentle tug on the lead.
Remember to incorporate plenty of praise into your training, because we want the dog to know that coming to us when called is the greatest thing she can ever do.
Now that your dog has learned a few basic obedience commands on lead, it is time to progress to the collar portion of the training.
In the beginning we want to condition the dog to collar stimulation -- teach the dog to associate the collar stimulation with a known command.
Once again, we are going to go through "HEEL", "SIT/STAY," and "HERE", but this time we are going to replace the gentle tug on the lead with gentle stimulation from the collar.
We have found in our training that it is best if we start to stimulate the dog on the "SIT" command. Once again, we begin by walking the dog at our side on lead, and then we replace the tug on the lead with gentle collar stimulation.
You can see from the dog’s reaction that she is feeling the stimulation.
It is also important during this heel portion of the training that once in a while you give the dog a freebie. That is to say you give the command without stimulation.
You may find after you stimulate the dog to sit a few times that she begins to lag along behind you. This is a good time to start to stimulate the dog also to heel.
Notice how when I give the dog a little gentle stimulation with the collar she begins to move better into place.
The goal of this portion of the training is to begin to see the dog respond in a reliable and quick fashion to all commands.
Finally we progress to the "HERE" portion of the training. Once again, we leave the dog in a sitting position and move away, but this time instead of tugging on the lead we give her a little encouragement to come toward us.
As with all training, remember to praise your dog frequently for a job well done.
Now that we have introduced the dog to the basic obedience commands on lead and conditioned the dog to get a good stable response to the collar stimulation, it is time to move on to the off lead portion of the training.
We are going to begin this segment with the "HEEL" command. As we begin collar stimulation to heel, it is normal for the dog to lag a little bit behind and become apprehensive.
I am simply going to encourage her with a little gentle stimulation with the collar whenever she falls behind.
As you can see from her little head bob, she feels the collar, she is receiving the stimulation, and she is giving us the proper reaction that we want to it. She is giving us the kind of response that we are looking for.
Again, continue with the praise throughout this portion of the training. In just a few short sessions your dog should be capable of walking at heel, even with your leg off lead through the use of the collar.
Once the dog becomes accustomed to walking at heel off lead, we can start to teach "SIT" with the collar.
We begin by having the dog heel at our side. As you can see, at this point Star is beginning to really respond to the heel command. Now it is time to interject a "SIT".
As in training on lead, every once in a while we want to give her a freebie.
As she becomes more and more proficient you will begin to see much faster reaction times.
Remember, keep these training sessions short and reward the dog with lots of praise.
So far we have taught the dog to heel and sit off lead utilizing the collar. Now it is time to move into perhaps the most important obedience command of all: "HERE".
We began teaching the dog to come here on lead. We progressed to on lead using the collar. Now we are about to teach the dog to come here off lead with the collar in hopes that one day we will be able to call our dog HERE using the collar in any situation.
Just as with sit, we are going to begin teaching here by first walking the dog at heel.
Should she lag a little bit behind, you can still continue to stimulate the dog to the right position.
While walking at heel, we are going to put her into a sit position, move away from her, and then encourage her to come here.
Should she give us a slow response to the "HERE" command, we will give her a little gentle stimulation to encourage her to come on in.
So now you are probably wondering: “How long do I have to have my dog wear the collar after she has mastered these basic obedience commands?” In response I would say that you need to continue to have the dog wear the collar until you feel certain that you are going to get the desired response every time the command is given.
In this video we have shown you just one of many methods of using the electronic collar to train your dog. If you would like more information on e-collar training, there are a number of excellent books and videos available on the subject. Of course you can also seek out the help of a local professional trainer in your area.
Once again, thank you for your purchase of a Tri-Tronics collar, and best of luck using your new collar to help your dog learn.