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Transmitter Controls. This is one of the two most important components of an electric collar. Current manufacturers have come a long way in only a few years to making transmitters small and lighter with more valuable features. Certainly the most significant feature is the ability to adjust the strength and duration of the correction from the transmitter. Most will have at least five levels of strength, plus a feature that allows either a momentary correction or a continuous one. Just as a trainer might vary the strength of corrections with a lead and collar, this adjustment allows the strength to be immediately altered according to the circumstances. Don't buy one without it.

Battery Life. Some manufacturers still prefer larger collars and transmitters because, they believe, it makes the equipment more durable and the larger batteries last longer. With new battery technology, this issue is not so important, but if you are looking at one of the small electric collars, make sure it still has enough stored energy to give proper corrections over several training sessions. A weak battery can make an electric collar all but useless.

Distance. While not so critical to the working dog trainer as the field dog trainer, distance can affect strength of signal. To a service dog trainer where a dog may be working out of sight, this strength of signal is as important as it is to the field dog trainer.

Size as a practical issue. The miniaturization of electronics has become a big subject for all consumer goods today. Electric collars are no exception. But the question is, "Is smaller necessary better?" It is nice to have a small transmitter that you can tuck in a pocket or sling around your neck. But it is also more vulnerable to loss and damage; think about the fate of so many cell phones. So it must be well engineered and made. If it feels flimsy, it probably is. On the collar side, some dog trainers believe that a lighter collar makes the dog less aware it is wearing an electric collar, so it becomes less "collar smart". The difficulty here, besides durability, is that the collar is the business end of the equipment. It contains everything necessary to deliver the correction. It must have multiple circuits to handle the different levels of corrections, capacitors to momentarily store the power, batteries, a signal receiver and the correction mechanism itself. If any component is sacrificed for the benefit of reduced weight, the result may be an inconsistent signal, substandard battery time or an inadequate correction. Further, because the dog is wearing the collar, it is more vulnerable to water and physical damage. It is imperative that the collar be well built and stands up under hard wear.

The manufacture's reputation for follow up service. I have owned many different brands of electric collars and, without exception, all needed service that is often specialized. Find a manufacturer who stands behind its product with a service and repair department. Not having this support can be a particular problem with collars made outside North America.

Strength and Duration of Correction. It may be a surprise that one of the most important features of an electric collar is not how long a shock it can give, but how short. The sustained shock feature on electric collars is seldom used. I have only used it with extreme aggression where the goal was to shut the dog down, not train it. The more important button is the pulse correction. Called by various names by different companies, when this button is pushed, an electronic circuit takes over and delivers a shock of built in duration. It is the equivalent, in the manufacture's mind, of the quick correction with a pinch collar. The correction is there and then disappears just as rapidly. Some dogs have the capacity to work through an electric collar correction. The trainer might find the dog starting at a level two only to be forced to move to level three in a few weeks and so on. A strong dog will learn to tolerate and then ignore the level two correction so the power of the correction must be increased. The difficulty is there being a limit to how high the collar can perform, so the trainer hits a ceiling eventually. On the other hand, the shorter the duration of the electric shock, the more difficult it is for the dog to adjust to and tolerate it.



	INTRODUCING THE ELECTRIC COLLAR Gary Patterson It is said about our society that perception is more important than reality. Nowhere is this more evident than with the most criticized training collar we use, the electric collar. It conjures up images of the electric chair or dark torture chambers in the public mind; we are torturing our dogs! Go into any of the big popular dog supply retailers and look for an electric collar. If it has one, it will be hidden somewhere, collecting dust. When you ask about one, the clerk will give you one of those, “Oh, he's one of those kinds of people” look and then immediately launch into the idea of you taking one of their obedience classes where only positive motivation is taught. Now, let's go to a retail hunting store. Instead, we see electric training collars of every stripe and color, stacked to the ceiling; the contrast with the retail dog supply stores couldn't be greater. Is someone in the ether here? After all, the retail suppliers are supposed to be the experts. On the other hand, hunting dog training goes back to prehistory, so field dog trainers must know what is needed. Contrary to what some of the soft-soaped sales brochures from electric collar manufacturers say, the primary purpose of an electric collar is for corrections. It is the most efficient and consistent training device made for working dog corrections, but because it is so efficient, it can be more abusive in the wrong hands. We have all seen abusive trainers improperly using choke and pinch collars, or their hands for that matter. The electric collar, in the wrong hands, can make these same trainers a monster. But if the trainer understands corrections and how any device fits into that person's way of training, an electric collar is invaluable. I will not cop out by saying an electric collar isn't for everyone. Quite the contrary, I will say it is for every trainer who understands and can apply good motivational training. Where can it be used instead of alternative types of training collars? The reason you don't see so many electric collars in the retail dog supply stores is that most of their customers are not dog trainers, let alone working dog trainers. The reason you see so many in the hunting stores is that field dog trainers face problems similar to those of us who train working dogs. On a more advanced dog, working at ever increasing distances, how do you apply consistent and well-timed corrections? The electric collar in the hands of a capable trainer can extend this area of influence to any area of the training field, just as if the dog were near. It gives consistency and control a whole new meaning. But I still haven't answered the question of whether an electric collar is a cruel, abusive device. Perhaps an example will clarify my point. A member of my club who trained with more traditional methods of classical conditioning was having a problem with the dog staying on the long down. It would stay down as long as the trainer was near, but as soon as the trainer moved away, the dog would, first, twitch, then roll around and, finally, stand and start moving away. I encouraged her to let me use the electric collar, but she didn't like the sounds of it. Instead she went to training schools and obedience trainers. When the dog got up, these trainers would run to the dog screaming “no!” with immediate neck wrenching corrections. They tried whips, throw chains, longlines, all to no avail. Meanwhile the dog became increasingly nervous and insecure so the problem worsened. Finally, after months of this, in despair, she returned to me and consented to the electric collar. We moved a hundred feet away from the downed dog and every time it moved, it got a correction from the collar. By the second session, and maybe six corrections with the collar, the dog became so implanted it would only reluctantly break the down when called. My question is, which method was kinder to the dog? The reader should understand that this result came, not from the electric collar, but the ability to absolutely enforce timely and consistent corrections, even at a great distance. The only consequence was a dog that was totally clear about the exercise with no loss of attitude. When introducing the electric collar to training, the handler must condition the dog to understand where the correction is coming from. There used to be a concept called the God given correction, that is, the dog received a correction but couldn't relate that to anything as the handler wasn't even near. This is another of those ideas that makes sense to a human, but not much to a dog. If a dog is corrected for breaking the down and it occurs next to a light post, the dog may reasonably assume the light post caused the shock. This bit of canine thinking can cause some bizarre reactions and associations, such as the dog not wanting to be around a light post. So we must educate the dog to understand that whenever it gets a correction on the electric collar, it is coming from the trainer. The best way to develop a conditioning to the electric collar is to work the dog on a regular training lead and collar with the electric collar. When the dog makes a mistake, a light correction is given on the lead while the electric correction is also given. The dog may overreact initially, but soon understands the shock is no different from a pinch on the training collar. Then, after several training sessions, the lead comes off. The dog, understanding there is no way the handler can give a correction without a lead, is suddenly surprised when it makes a mistake and still gets the correction through the electric collar. It may seem magical to the dog, but it sure understands where the correction is coming from. Selecting an electric collar is not so simple. Much current marketing of electric collars is hyperbole. There are alert buzzers, multiple dog controls, miniaturization of components and other contrivances to make the collar seem more high tech. Most of these “improvements” are unnecessary to the working dog trainer and tend only to drive up the price. Instead, look for some other features that may not be so obvious. Transmitter Controls. This is one of the two most important components of an electric collar. Current manufacturers have come a long way in only a few years to making transmitters small and lighter with more valuable features. Certainly the most significant feature is the ability to adjust the strength and duration of the correction from the transmitter. Most will have at least five levels of strength, plus a feature that allows either a momentary correction or a continuous one. Just as a trainer might vary the strength of corrections with a lead and collar, this adjustment allows the strength to be immediately altered according to the circumstances. Don't buy one without it. Battery Life. Some manufacturers still prefer larger collars and transmitters because, they believe, it makes the equipment more durable and the larger batteries last longer. With new battery technology, this issue is not so important, but if you are looking at one of the small electric collars, make sure it still has enough stored energy to give proper corrections over several training sessions. A weak battery can make an electric collar all but useless. Distance. While not so critical to the working dog trainer as the field dog trainer, distance can affect strength of signal. To a service dog trainer where a dog may be working out of sight, this strength of signal is as important as it is to the field dog trainer. Size as a practical issue. The miniaturization of electronics has become a big subject for all consumer goods today. Electric collars are no exception. But the question is, "Is smaller necessary better?" It is nice to have a small transmitter that you can tuck in a pocket or sling around your neck. But it is also more vulnerable to loss and damage; think about the fate of so many cell phones. So it must be well engineered and made. If it feels flimsy, it probably is. On the collar side, some dog trainers believe that a lighter collar makes the dog less aware it is wearing an electric collar, so it becomes less "collar smart". The difficulty here, besides durability, is that the collar is the business end of the equipment. It contains everything necessary to deliver the correction. It must have multiple circuits to handle the different levels of corrections, capacitors to momentarily store the power, batteries, a signal receiver and the correction mechanism itself. If any component is sacrificed for the benefit of reduced weight, the result may be an inconsistent signal, substandard battery time or an inadequate correction. Further, because the dog is wearing the collar, it is more vulnerable to water and physical damage. It is imperative that the collar be well built and stands up under hard wear. The manufacture's reputation for follow up service. I have owned many different brands of electric collars and, without exception, all needed service that is often specialized. Find a manufacturer who stands behind its product with a service and repair department. Not having this support can be a particular problem with collars made outside North America. Strength and Duration of Correction. It may be a surprise that one of the most important features of an electric collar is not how long a shock it can give, but how short. The sustained shock feature on electric collars is seldom used. I have only used it with extreme aggression where the goal was to shut the dog down, not train it. The more important button is the pulse correction. Called by various names by different companies, when this button is pushed, an electronic circuit takes over and delivers a shock of built in duration. It is the equivalent, in the manufacture's mind, of the quick correction with a pinch collar. The correction is there and then disappears just as rapidly. Some dogs have the capacity to work through an electric collar correction. The trainer might find the dog starting at a level two only to be forced to move to level three in a few weeks and so on. A strong dog will learn to tolerate and then ignore the level two correction so the power of the correction must be increased. The difficulty is there being a limit to how high the collar can perform, so the trainer hits a ceiling eventually. On the other hand, the shorter the duration of the electric shock, the more difficult it is for the dog to adjust to and tolerate it. The strength is only important in the trainer knowing what each level of correction means to the dog. I have trained some dogs where the highest setting brought practically no reaction at all. Others I have seen where the lowest setting made the dog seem it had been overcorrected. In the beginning I will set the control to a low middle range and work from there depending on what I am training and the dog's reaction. Also, I am always working a dog on lead when introducing the dog to the electric collar, so it is rare to have any significant problem with level of strength. How do you test distance, strength and duration? Some information about a collar can be gained through friends or on line, but other criteria such as strength, distance and duration of shock must be hands on. If you like a particular collar, get your hands on one and attach a tester light to the prongs. These lights come with all collars and simply flash in accordance with the duration and strength of the electric shock when connected to the collar contacts. Two people can try different distances to test uniformity of signal strength and levels of power. Up close, see how long the light stays on when you push the button. It should be fraction of a second and no more. The light should come on instantaneously with the push of the activator button, with no delay. The intensity of the test light should be significantly different between the highest and lowest power settings. It is somewhat subjective, but the trainer can get a feel about the electric collar's strengths and weaknesses from just these few tests. Since these collars run between three and four hundred dollars, be critical as a poor performing electric collar is worse than not having one at all. There is no part of dog training, tracking, obedience or protection, where the electric collar can't be used. To some trainers it is often the tool of last resort, but this is preferable to the person who becomes zap happy and uses it too much. Also some dogs handle electric collars better than others, but I have found that this reaction is usually the result of a poor introduction to the collar or overcorrecting. But the electric collar is not unique in that respect.