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Electronic Dog Collars?

S

Spiffy1

Huh?
Since we might be often away at the same time, and live near a road with traffic traffic doing 55 [and often more] mph, I sugested we get our dog a wireless electronic colar.

My wife thought that would be cruel and a chain better [we do have a rope for short stints, but she needs something new if used with any frequency]. Even when we're home, she occasionally get's her nose on a scent and occasionally winds up crossing the road [resulting in a good scolding and tied up overnight when we do catch her] - so I argued that it's less cruel to have her tazered [which the collars don't even remotely (no pun intended) do] and lying in her own drool on the lawn, than pancaked and lying in a pool of her own blood on the highway.

Assuming my arguement above is correct; do these things live up to they're claims? I'd really like a "contain and train" system, but don't see wireless [burying 1000ft around our obstacles would be a PITA] with both and for that matter, the only domestic wireless fence system [also the only with suitable range] is the Perimeter Technologies WiFi system, but they claim they don't even have a leash-fob or other means of over-riding it for accompanied walks. That leads to my final question, even if I find one that is easy to over-ride, will the dog understand the concept of respecting the perimeter, but free to heel through it when commanded [the suggestion I've seen before is to have a physical gate to exit every time - not practical around here]?

Thanks!
 
I use a training collar. I live on a backroad (house is 350 feet from the road frontage) that sees a lot less traffic and lower speeds but none the less it's just as dangerous to me for my pets. In my experience and family dedication, 2 weeks with a shock collar and appropriate correction you drastically reduce those wondering nose times. Enforce the correction with a verbal reprimand "NO ROAD" and then when the dog is on the right side of the road offer another command that can be praised when obeyed like sit. Now if your dog doesn't sit on command, that really tells you where you should be starting on corrections ..... :mellow:

Both my dogs will not go near the road unless enticed. They will sit and wait for me when I cross, especially after verbal command to sit.

It's amazing how their attitudes change when you put the collar on. My young female Lab chases the quads too close and we are currently working on that. She still does it "some" without the collar but won't do it with the collar on.
 
I also use a training collar for My Labs . If You choose to use the shock feature , it has 10 settings , so it's not necessary to fry Your dog if You use it . It also has a Buzz setting , I find that this gets their attention almost all the time .
In fact they rarely wear the collars any more . If they are not minding , all I have to do is say "I'm gonna get the box ! "
So , I don't find that it is cruel ,I find that it is effective .
 
nixon said:
I also use a training collar for My Labs . If You choose to use the shock feature , it has 10 settings , so it's not necessary to fry Your dog if You use it . It also has a Buzz setting , I find that this gets their attention almost all the time .
In fact they rarely wear the collars any more . If they are not minding , all I have to do is say "I'm gonna get the box ! "
So , I don't find that it is cruel ,I find that it is effective .
Click to expand...

Correct, the dogs learn the audible alarm fairly fast because they know whats a coming if they hear it and they don't correct. And yes the audible now is enough.
 
Spiffy - what kind of dog do you have?

A few things I've found...

Almost all dogs will "test the perimeter" on occasion. They'll always want what's on the other side and will see if they can get there. If you're not there with your zapper, the dog will most likely cross the line.

Putting in 1000' of invisible fence isn't as daunting a project as you would expect. Mrs. Zoom and I put in 1000', wired in the box, tested and adjusted it in about 4 hours. Laying it down included crossing about 80' of stone driveways, across a concrete driveway, through some trees (where we had to cut through the roots), up and down hills... With the exception of the stone and concrete areas, I just used an edger to dig a very thin trench about 2" deep. Mrs. Zoom followed behind and pushed the wire in (using a wood ruler). For the concrete, I just cleaned out an expansion joint, laid the wire in and put caulk over the top of it. In the stone, I used the tractor and dug a 6" deep trench. I then laid some 1" SCH40 conduit, ran the wire through and covered it back up.
 
Thanks guys!

Half Brittney, half yellow Lab; just over a year old; she responds fairly promptly to basic commands (sit, come, lay down), and knows words like No, road, get X[several of her toys], [dog]house, and water, but does like to test every limit plenty often.

It sounds like most are using the training collar for both with pretty good results, but it's the point bczoom makes about testing limits while alone that has me wanting a "train & contain" yet and if not that, leaning toward contain only.

Maybe wire shouldn't be as daunting as I imagine, but too many projects right now anyway has me a bit put-off to it. Also, burried objects don't fair very well around here, as we're always digging something, not to mention tractor tires finding their way far deeper than I wish [but often do myself anyway] every spring.

To really overconstrain the equation, the only company that comes to mind offering "contain AND train" (thus making it more enticing to bury a wire, since I can't find that option with a wireless [seems backward to me, but perhaps limitted by pattent rights rather than signal]) is Innotek who, I believe, makes them in China.
 
Spiff , here's the company that I've been dealing with . They give great service and cover their products should You have any problems . They offer many types of collars ,as well as invisible fence type products .
 
Tubbs, I can't speak for lil'Nixon but you better not give my wife any ideas! :eek:

Nixon, your link doesn't show up; I presume it's a retailer, or do some manufactures have that wide of selection.
 
Thanks Nixon! Yep, that's one of the sites I've been looking at while researching this. They offer both TriTronics and Unleashed Technologies for training collars.
 
I can't speak as to the quality ,and reliability of the Unleashed products ,as I've never used them . But , I doubt that Gun dog would carry them if they weren't up to snuff .
As for Tri Tronics , I've used their products since the mid "80's . It's very reliable and rugged . Heck , I've even worn My collar when swimming :)
 
I used one on my dog with pretty good results--i think a refresher is due, tho.

I would suggest that you have the dog wear it sometimes when you are not training him. My neighbor's dog trembles whenever the collar is put on because he knows what to expect. I figure if the dog doesn't get shocked every time he wears it, he might not associate the shock with the collar.
 
ghautz said:
I used one on my dog with pretty good results--i think a refresher is due, tho.

I would suggest that you have the dog wear it sometimes when you are not training him. My neighbor's dog trembles whenever the collar is put on because he knows what to expect. I figure if the dog doesn't get shocked every time he wears it, he might not associate the shock with the collar.
Click to expand...

That was another thing I liked about the concept of a combined system; she would wear it often enough to not associate the collar with the correction. Doesn't seem to be a negative for Nixon or BigDog, but I can imagine ours getting like your neighbor's if she caught on.
 
Talked with a local dealer [sells pretty much every name, but installs mostly Dog Guard] a couple days ago and his video has my wife now convinced that it's much more of a "freedom allowing" device rather than a shock torture device.

I'm waiting for him to get a bit more information on the Perimeter Technologies wireless system, and may go that route for quick and "cheap" [still a bit of sticker shock, but much better than my now next favorite option] else, the quality of Dog Guard is pretty impressive and would of course allow us to customize a nice big area. They [at least the local vendor] recommended 14gauge "heavy insulation" wire [roughly 4 times stronger than 20guage] before even hearing my application, and offer lifetime warranty on the equipment.

That "contain and train" still really intriques me, but it sounds like the one currently sold doesn't differentiate fence or training signals (which supposedly confuses some dogs) so that's even more reason [I steered clear before anyway, noting it's country of origin] for me to pass on it.
 
After a oneway game of phonetag with the Dog Guard dealer, we tried stuffing her Kongs with Kong peanutbutter spray and Kong treats which seemed to lessen the need for roaming control.

Between figuring the DG dealer was too pre-occupied for our business, and still wanting more versatile for training I opted for TriTronics' Pro500.

Just ordered this week, so no review yet, but thanks to Nixon for the GDS link; they were much more informative than the TriTronics site and seemd a bit more friendly on the phone too.
 
My dogs are much older now and not nearly so "vigorous" but when younger they wore their collars every time we went outside to walk or exercise. There was no audible on the collar, their audible was my voice. They loved them as they knew that when the collars went on that they were getting to go outside. It wasn't necessary to zap them every time we were outside and wearing them was never a chore for them. They learned very quickly but never underestimate your dogs intelligence. One of ours figured out when she had the collar on and when she did not. The "come" command without the collar would mean a slow amble back to me me but with the collar on she would come at a fast trot. Smart dog. I think that training collars are an invaluable tool but should be used with caution as overuse will turn the dog into a psychotic, cringing mess.

I always thought that perimeter containment systems worked well after the dog got used to them and understood the boundaries but I did know one guy whose dog figured it all out. After installing the perimeter wire and training the dog, it contained her for about 6 weeks. Then she started getting out again. He watched her one day and she would approach the perimeter wire until the audible alarm would start going off and she would flop down and wait ... and wait ... and wait. When the batteries started to die and the alarm got weaker and weaker, she would take off at full speed across the wire and be gone. And all the time he thought it was a fault in the collar that was draining the batteries so fast.

I hope yours work for you.
 
Mine work great for all the dogs but the little fur ball Pomeranian. We just got a new one from the company to try out this weekend. I may have to get some EKG creme to let the the shock get through the hair. The longer electrodes are not enough. All of the bigger collars work great.
 
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