electronic dog collars???

[KimE]

Has anyone ever used these in training a dog? The reason I ask is because our 2 yr old puppy LOVES to take off. Most of the time he is great, we have 1 1/3 acres and a fenced back yard. Well he has figured out how to open the fence so now we have to double lock it, and he has dug out of the fence but came right back when I caught him. We have had to screw in the fence panels because he pushes them down then gets out. When I am working in the yard with him he is great and stays right with me. Maybe because I am trowing the ball non stop to keep an eye on him.
Well tonight was the last straw, my DH & DD were out front getting wood for the fire and he took off again.
It took us over an hour to find him. 9:30 in the thawing snow and pouring rain. There are some busy roads by us so it is a huge concern.
Anyway we ordered one of these collars, and I will go and get a couple of books on training with it but I still have concerns about them. I take him walking and he is great. But if another dog comes in the yard or he sees something, game on and there is no stopping him.

Has anyone ever used one of these?

Thanks
Kim

[MaryMac]

This is not exactly what you're looking for, but we have an electronic collar with our Invisible Fence. This is our third dog and it works great! One of our dogs tested it every day to see if it was working, but two of them didn't need to wear it at all, after being trained. They just go outside and hang in the yard and don't go near the perimeter. Our last two homes have not allowed fences, so this was the option we had to use. I think once trained you'll be happy with it and with our dogs it really didn't take much. Not sure what your collar does, but the Invisible Fence brand gives them a beeping signal before they get near the line and we would put up flags as a visual before the signal goes off. Once they learn the signal they then back off.

[Bawstinn]

We have te same kind of fencing system that MaryMac mentioned that comes with the collar.

We had issues with our Black Lab knocking down and taking food from our 2 yr old (she didn't mean to knock her down, but 75 lbs vs 30 lbs). Our Lab HATES noise so we only needed to use the beep and beeped her when Madeleine had a snack and she started to approach her to take it. Took a couple of days but we no longer have the problem.

This was only inside though w/o the temptation of other dogs walking by.

[LakeMartinGal]

We have used both kinds of collars -- the one where you have to catch the dog doing something wrong, and the invisible fence kind. The invisible fence kind is MUCH better for outdoors, as you don't have to be with the dog all the time. The hand-held is best for the kind of training that Bawstinn mentioned.

[KimE]

We would love to be able to use the fence kind but we had it priced and with the size of our front yard it was over 2000.00.

A house up the road that had a small yard had it put in and I was talking to the people and the guy when he was installing it.

There is no fence in the front and the total sf of the fence was huge due to the front yard being an acre

I will read up on it and hope it does the trick. We have tried so many other things and after last night, we really have no other choice. He is very, very smart and we will only use it in the front yard because he is only allowed out there when we are out. We just can not run fast enough for the little bugger when he bolts like that:mad:

Kim

[pharmarepgirl]

I have 3 terriers that love to chase anything that moves quickly so I understand your issues. We went to a "no off leash" policy due to our dogs, proximity of roads, wild animals, etc. Our dogs are never allowed outside of the fenced-in area off leash.We had similar issues and felt this strict rule was the only true solution since we have 2 acres and fencing is not allowed in the front yards where we live. I know this is not your issue though since you want your dog out in the front yard when you are there.

I was wondering if you had thought about consulting with a dog trainer or behaviorist though. My concern with the collar type ideas is causing another bad behavior from the "solution." As an example, our neighbors put a bark collar on their dog to try to stop the barking. Well, the barking stopped but now the dog is afraid to go into certain parts of the yard and is scared of the neighbors on that side. The thought is that the dog was "corrected" in that area and that the neighbors were present when it occured. It kinda made the dog neutoric and before the only issue was barking.

Anyway, that is just a thought. Good luck.

[SusanMac]

We have an electronic dog collar and absolutely love it. We don't have fence issues, as you mentioned, so can't comment on that. We use the collar when we're at the dog park. It's the only time we walk w/him off lead. Bode is a hunting dog, so naturally likes to run really far away from us. We trained him to come by using the beeper on the collar (not the shock). So, no matter how far away he is, he'll come running to us. He also has a tendency to growl when playing with certain dogs. We use the shock feature for this. It gets him to focus on us. He very, very quickly learned that the shock means to play nicely.

It probably took no more than a month to train him on the collar. It's really great.

Definitely read the books you find, though. Ours also came w/a video. I"m sure there are lots of websites & chat boards on the topic, too. There are specific ways to use the collar the correct way so your dog doesn't end up scared of you, certain parts of your yard (like referenced above), etc.

[KimE]

We have an electronic dog collar and absolutely love it. We don't have fence issues, as you mentioned, so can't comment on that. We use the collar when we're at the dog park. It's the only time we walk w/him off lead. Bode is a hunting dog, so naturally likes to run really far away from us. We trained him to come by using the beeper on the collar (not the shock). So, no matter how far away he is, he'll come running to us. He also has a tendency to growl when playing with certain dogs. We use the shock feature for this. It gets him to focus on us. He very, very quickly learned that the shock means to play nicely.

It probably took no more than a month to train him on the collar. It's really great.

Definitely read the books you find, though. Ours also came w/a video. I"m sure there are lots of websites & chat boards on the topic, too. There are specific ways to use the collar the correct way so your dog doesn't end up scared of you, certain parts of your yard (like referenced above), etc.

Thanks so much. I have such mixed feelings about this, I read on line and some sights are great and say how it has worked and others say how bad it is and how it has messed up dogs.
I have tried, and tried with this dog and he is so great in other ways. When we are in the house he really listens and is trained quite well. It is just when we are outside that he is getting so he does not listen and just takes off. I have had to chase him down in the car when he chased the neighbors dog and anything else that moves. I just don't want to be paranoid to take him outside with us in the yard this summer. That is where we spend so much of our time gardening.
I am going to the library today at lunch and checking out books and video's.

Thanks again for the positive remarks. Why is it if our dog does not listen we once again feel like a failure???
Kind of like if our kids mess up...it is all our fault

Kim

[SusanMac]

If your dog is well trained & behaved, but just takes off after cats & bunnies....he's just being a dog :-) That's what they're supposed to do. You're definitely not a failure! Good luck & keep us posted

[___Rhianna___]

Our dog is a field-trained bird dog, and DH used an electronic collar to train him (years ago--he's 13 now ). I was concerned at first about whether it was humane, but I "shocked" myself with it, and it is an unpleasant sensation but not painful (something akin to scraping your nails against a chalk board). And it did work very well.

I don't have any experience with the invisible fences, but several people in my neighborhood have them and they seem to work well. My sister, however, had a dog that figured out that if he sat in the warning zone long enough, it would run down the battery and then he'd take off.

[LakeMartinGal]

My sister, however, had a dog that figured out that if he sat in the warning zone long enough, it would run down the battery and then he'd take off.

Some dogs are just too darn smart!