laeral Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Hi, I have been having some issues with my 18mnth GSD around chasing things (ie sheep and roos!) and an unreliable recall. After trying other training I have spoken to Steve from k9 force and purchased an e collar which Im very excited about. I also received a training manual with it which i have read many times and planned my training program. I have had it on her for 2 weeks now without it being on to get her used to wearing it, I am now at the stage of trying to find her working setting. Yesterday I waited for her to relax and take her focus off me and slowly worked through the levels of the collar until I got a reaction. I got to level 19 before I got anything. I did this a few times and came to the same level before a reaction. Im not sure if the reaction i am getting is to strong though. When I turn it on she bites at her neck, after a second or two she stops, but this happens every time I turn it on. I am worried that this level is causing her discomfort. Or is this just a normal reaction. If it is to high should I go down a level even though I cant see a noticable reaction to the collar? Im not sure she is feeling anything at the lower level. I also have another question to go along with this. Today I went out again but could get NO response whatsover. I got it up to setting 25 and still nothing. I didnt want to go higher in case I hurt her. I adjusted the collar a few times and had it on quite tight ( I couldnt move it at all!) WHAT AM I DOING WRONG???? I know the collar was working cos I could feel it on myself. Could it be the collar isnt working though her fur? If so is there any way to address this? I thing I may be E collar challenged Any advice would me most welcome Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Maybe it would be worth going to Steve personally to help you find the working level for your dog and making sure the fit is correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sardog Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Hi,I have been having some issues with my 18mnth GSD around chasing things (ie sheep and roos!) and an unreliable recall. After trying other training I have spoken to Steve from k9 force and purchased an e collar which Im very excited about. I also received a training manual with it which i have read many times and planned my training program. I have had it on her for 2 weeks now without it being on to get her used to wearing it, I am now at the stage of trying to find her working setting. Yesterday I waited for her to relax and take her focus off me and slowly worked through the levels of the collar until I got a reaction. I got to level 19 before I got anything. I did this a few times and came to the same level before a reaction. Im not sure if the reaction i am getting is to strong though. When I turn it on she bites at her neck, after a second or two she stops, but this happens every time I turn it on. I am worried that this level is causing her discomfort. Or is this just a normal reaction. If it is to high should I go down a level even though I cant see a noticable reaction to the collar? Im not sure she is feeling anything at the lower level. I also have another question to go along with this. Today I went out again but could get NO response whatsover. I got it up to setting 25 and still nothing. I didnt want to go higher in case I hurt her. I adjusted the collar a few times and had it on quite tight ( I couldnt move it at all!) WHAT AM I DOING WRONG???? I know the collar was working cos I could feel it on myself. Could it be the collar isnt working though her fur? If so is there any way to address this? I thing I may be E collar challenged Any advice would me most welcome Thanks For the sake of you and your dog for goodness sake get someone to show you on a one on one basis how to use this TOOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Midol Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Yeah, just go see Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laeral Posted July 7, 2008 Author Share Posted July 7, 2008 Maybe it would be worth going to Steve personally to help you find the working level for your dog and making sure the fit is correct? Yes good point and I will be doing this. For now I have put the collar away until i can speak to Steve however I just thought I would see if anyone had any ideas I should be thinking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonymc Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Like other posters have said go back to Steve.He will get you on the right track quick. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laeral Posted July 7, 2008 Author Share Posted July 7, 2008 Like other posters have said go back to Steve.He will get you on the right track quick. Tony Thanks Tony, I will be getting on to Steve before i try fitting the collar again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonymc Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 No problems at all Laeral.Please let us know how you get on as I am interested in where the problem lies. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Jones Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Like other posters have said go back to Steve.He will get you on the right track quick. Tony Thanks Tony, I will be getting on to Steve before i try fitting the collar again. Smart move laeral Your dog would have felt every stim and given a response, it is just that you were unable to pick up on it. When you see Steve next he will show you what level to have it set to. What type of e-collar are you using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rugerfly Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Dont be too hard on yoursef And dont mind some people's over reaction who may have no idea themselves in case they pop up. Most humans dont feel up to level 20. I too have just started my pair on these collars. Fly's collar fit was a bit tricky and I thought she wasnt feeling any reaction. You should not be able to move the collar around at all, but fit a finger beneath the contact points. All I can see with her reaction is a muscle twitching in her neck, nothig else. Its like she is trying to sho a fly away. Rugers level is lower than hers. I've only just started, and can only really share this much with you so far, but Steve is really helpful and Im sure if you give him a buz or email he can answer your query's. Unfortunatly he is booked out forty five years in advance though so get in early Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Jones Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Unfortunatly he is booked out forty five years in advance though so get in early rofl1.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akitaowner Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 i received my e collar last friday so im pleased to say that i have been going thru this too - i have found that Rogues working level is much less than i originally thought - i had her up to around 20-22 in the back yard but when i took her to the park (which was empty where we usualyl train) she was working perfectly on level 14 My 2 have very thick coats so i got the longer prongs which seem to have much better contact than the short ones. steve also suggested that i could trim/thin the hair where i want the unit to sit while i just get used to the fit they need - i havent done this but it might be helpful :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rugerfly Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Sounds good! well perhaps we can share our trials and tribulations I cant WAIT till I can go to the park but Im not allowed yet :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LilBailey Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 I Really want an E Collar I have read so much good stuff about them and I have seen them in use. Were is a good reliable place to get one from and about how much are they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Jones Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 (edited) Have a look @ K9 Force Edited July 7, 2008 by Jeff Jones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Willow Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 can I just ask a question? (fr anyone who uses these collars, not just the OP) When you are finding what you refer to as the "working level", do you not have to zap the dog for doing nothing "wrong" in order to find what setting the dog reacts to? so you have to fiddle around for different levels of reaction, in the meantime the dog is being zapped for nothing... If so, would you not find that once you find the "working level" you may have inadvertantly zapped your dog for looking at the sky, or the kids, or the front door (etc etc) and therefore also inadvertantly set yourself up for some future behaviour issues due to the dog being punished for something completely unrelated to the issue you are concerned with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rom Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Hi Willlow The 'zap' from finding the working level isn't as bad as some would have you believe.... Finding the working level on a JRT Take the e-collar out of the equation in the above video, and you may have had a similar reaction in the dog if a flying insect had crashed into it. The dog may have done nothing wrong if a flying insect had crashed into it, but it wouldn't have been proposed that the dog would be at risk of developing behavioural problems. If we could train flying insects to crash into dogs on cue then we could use flying insects to train dogs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rugerfly Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Fly has a reaction to her working level while she is lying upside down on her bed. I can just see a muscle in her neck twitch. She sure just keeps on lyin there, upside down.... I assure you, it didnt disturb her. Ruger put his ears back and looked behind him and kept doing what he was doing...(acting stupid) The working level as it is called is not ment to be a correction, its a signal for ok dog, a command is a comin and many other ranges of communicating something to the dog. Hope that helps. :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Willow Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 The working level as it is called is not ment to be a correction, its a signal for ok dog, a command is a comin and many other ranges of communicating something to the dog.Hope that helps. yeah, thanks ;) But how come a word/whistle etc wouldn't work if you want to get the dogs attention.....not trying to be inflammatory....just trying to educate myself.....an e-collar is something I would not use, but I feel it is important for my own interest to understan how other methods are intended to work, whether I agree with them or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmolo Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 It depends on how you use it- i for one don't use the e collar stimulus as a command/ attention getter as such. In the early training stages, i give the dog a command and use the lowest level possible stimulation when the dog does not comply. I teach the dog that their behaviour controls the stimulation- for example, Fido- come.. Fido doesn't come.. Stimulation on.. Fido turns towards handler.. Stimulation off.. dog completes recall. We use high value rewards whenever we are using an e collar as well. I went to a great seminar with a European guy Bart Bellon and found his methods for e collar use exceptional- until then i had used the e collar differently as instructed by other trainers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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