As a new pointing dog owner, you'll scan
the field dog magazines to check out the latest training gear.
You might wonder about the importance of adding the e-collar
to your training aids. Like the would-be golfer who dresses up
like a pro and buys top-notch clubs, only to find that these
things don't make him a golfer so it is that in the hands
of the novice dog owner, the e-collar will not transform him
into a trainer.
The electronic training collar or e-collar, as it is commonly
called is not a new innovation in dog training. The e-collar
has been around for many years and has changed from a bulky and
awkward piece of equipment with only one level high
to sophisticated models with many different levels of stimulation
and other bells and whistles available as well. Standard models
usually include fifteen or more stimulation levels and varying
ranges of distance control up to a mile. Other collars offer
the additional features of beeper collars, tone or pulse indicators,
locators and tracking devices, and dual dog control from one
remote transmitter. And there are many brands to chose from
some more trouble-free than others all streamlined, modern
and innovative.
Now, here's the thing using the e-collar is a skill, an
art one that takes training, restraint, gut instinct and
experience to perfect. There are many trainers who use the e-collar
exclusively in their training programs, from day one, and have
great success with this method. Other trainers add the e-col |
lar at a certain point in the pup's development.
Still others and we fall into this last category
use the collar sparingly if at all. We are known as traditional,
gentle trainers who don't use the e-collar routinely in our training
program, particularly not in pup's first year. In over 35 years
of training pointers, it's been our experience that most puppies
and young dogs do not need the e-collar as a given in their development.
Why buy what you may never need? Why fix what isn't broken?
Soft, shy pups definitely do not need the collar early on, and
even the bold ones that arrive at our kennel can have the zest
and sparkle diminished by too much collar work, too soon. Properly
used, the e-collar can be an invaluable training reinforcement
tool as a dog matures and his training becomes more specialized
used too early or improperly, the results can be disastrous.
The focus of our past columns has been on the development of
the young started dog in his first year, and your role as his
owner/handler in this pro |
cess. Continuing in that vein, our examination
of the electronic collar in this column relates mainly to your
dog's first season of field development. He'll be learning and
making mistakes. He may also develop problems that could become
what we call man-made faults if left unaddressed. But, again,
that's what this first season is all about for you and
pup to find out things together. Then you can regroup and consider
future strategy. Let him be a puppy a happy, eager one
this first season. We never tire of stressing this. Equate
him to a young athlete who is learning a sport how is he
to learn if not given his head and heart to experience it fully?
Control and restraint will come with time and experience
both for the young human athlete and the young started dog.
So we'll zero in on you, the new or novice owner who wants the
scoop on this e-collar business. A few examples might help you
to see where jumping on the e-collar bandwagon may hurt, rather
than help you as a beginning handler/trainer.
Suppose your little Brittany female is jumping in on birds, rather
than holding point. So you strap on the e-collar and give her
stimulation the next time she busts the bird. Or |
