Q&A for How to Use an Electronic Dog Training Collar

They can be pretty expensive. A good electric dog training collar can cost you upwards of $180.

No, they're not designed to be. A remote collar will not hurt, traumatize, or scare your dog if taught to them properly.

Only use a shock collar if you have a professional trainer show you how to properly use it.

Do not use the collar until the wound heals. Adjust the collar so it no longer hurts your dog.

It's possible that the wires are not connected properly to the charge emitting rods and they aren't getting enough power from the batteries. Vibration can be as successful as low-charge shocks, so you can try that first. If that doesn't, then simply employ domination techniques or by another collar.

It could, but there's also a risk that it could make it worse depending on your dog's temperament.

Ideally you could tighten the collar such that it doesn't move around much. But if you can't, you may want to try a different collar.

Check for slots that allow it to fit on a 1 inch-wide collar. These should come with the collar. Check the instructions accompanying the collar, or the manufacturer's website.

No. Your issue here is the dog does not trust you, not that the dog is purposefully misbehaving. You need to earn your dog's trust and punishment won't do that. Instead, teach him that when you're around his food, awesome things happen. Give him his food and sit far away. Toss a treat to him when he doesn't react to you at all. Move closer. Repeat. If he starts reacting, start over and stay patient. It takes time.

Yes, but you have to be repetitive with it until he understands.

Puppies will take shock collars a lot worse than fully grown adults. Their bodies are not fully developed and they will fear the collar and you once they have learned what it does. Do not use a shock collar on a puppy, and do not use a shock collar on any dog unless you are unable to train the dog in any other manner.

If you can't find a remote in a pet store try searching online. Maybe you can find a used one.

I'm not a big fan of shock collars, so I suggest not using the collar. It sounds like you are causing your dog pain and intestinal distress. Try actually training your dog instead.

Check the directions on the shock collar. However, shock collars are kind of cruel and should not be used as a substitute for proper training.

No, they are designed to be used on the metal contact points and are made of conductive silicone that protects the dog's skin but still allows the electrical stimulation to pass. This is an added feature of many dog training collars.

if you are just trying to get your dog's attention with the shock collar, but he's wet, then you could cause a shock through his whole body.

A shock collar will not help you with this. There are tutorials on YouTube if you need a visual aide to learn how to train your dog to come when called.

A shock collar would probably help, but I don't think it's necessary. I think the better option would be to train your dog to be quiet when given a certain command, which can be achieved using normal dog training methods.

It might.

Most dogs don’t really care about the punishment after or during their escape because the reinforcement of being able to escape is far greater than any punishment you can think of. Shock collars can easily cause a dog to become reactive too, as you create an association of fear towards many things, which will make problems much worse in the future. Of course, if your dog was to run away and you punished that, you are essentially teaching the dog to not want to listen to you. Prevent the dog from reinforcing himself by keeping him on lead. These videos might help - ‘Use Positive Reinforcement to train a reliable recall’ and ‘Teach your dog to stay in your yard’ - Kikopup.

I don’t believe a shock collar would help any of these situations as the dog is simply over aroused and the collar may only make this worse. All these problems can be solved with teaching the calm settle. Assuming you mean a recall outside, if the problem is that he is distracted and over excited by the stimuli then teaching calmness would be the game changer. For more details, you can search for the videos on youtube by kikopup.

It could be that this guest looks different perhaps he is bigger or wears something unique that scares the dog. We can change the dogs emotional response to the guest so that instead of being worried of his presence the dog can enjoy relaxing near him. Every time the guest comes over, present a favourite treat that isn’t given often: if the dog can’t take the treat then move further away and gradually move closer when the dog finally becomes calm at a certain distance. (Be sure to use real meat or cheese to make the moment more rewarding.)

You can train calmness outside which will lower your dogs interest in wildlife and allow your dog to listen to you outside. Also teaching a reliable recall will allow your dog to turn away from wildlife if he was to go and follow prey.

Your dog needs guidance, he needs to be taught how to be a dog. When a dog starts to guess how to behave we won’t like how they turn out to be. You need to work on the calm settle and reward the times when your dog chooses to lay down and be calm. Manage the environment and prevent him from chewing onto furniture etc. Always be in the same room as him to prevent and redirect him if he was to chew. Pen and crate train him so that when you leave the house he cannot chew anything. Buy chews and interactive toys to give him something to do and something to chew that is his.

If your dog is running away from you when you are outside, this simply means that the dog finds the environment more reinforcing than being with you. You need to train your dog to find being next to you reinforcing. You can practise heel work games inside and use the reinforcement zone to teach your dog to choose you over other desired things. (If your dog Is reactive or fearful, work on that first as a fearful dog will find it hard to learn around triggers.) Then you can start to proof attention and work outside. Be sure to use real meat or small amounts of cheese.

Ask him to sit or lie down and try again. It won't take long for him to get the idea that the door remains shut if he stands up. Reward him with some tasty treats when he does what you ask. Keep training sessions short and finish by giving him an “OK” or “Go” command and let him exit through the door.

Puppies are learning, puppies are fragile and you need to be patient with them. Puppies need time to process everything that is happening around them and adding stress to that will certainly not help. If they have aggressive behavior or any trait that needs to be removed as soon as possible, then think about a gentler solution, such as the dog spray collar.