using an e-collar

[clytnbkr23]

When should i start using an e-collar when training. My pup is 3 1/2 months old. Still working on heel, sit, and here. Just wondering when i should introduce it to him. Also would it help speed up the process in learning heel, sit, and here. Thanks in advance.

[Evan]

You should begin using an e-collar when you have learned how, and then when you read sufficient maturity in your pup to begin conditioning to it. Learning how can be done by training with an experienced trainer whom you trust, as well as learning from the course material currently on the market. Both are good, but 1:1 with a solid trainer is best. That said, many trainers are learning from books & DVD's and are training successfully every day.

The first caution is not to try training without instruction, and just experimenting on your dog. It's not at all fair, and is very risky.

Evan

[captainjack]

It depends on the program you are using to train the pup. Bill Hillman uses the ecollar very early in his puppy program which starts at 11 weeks of age. Pup is maybe 12 weeks when first nicks are given. Lardy's program does not introduce the collar until the formal obedience and force fetch are complete. Probably close to 7 months of age on average. Evan has given you his method on the collar so I won't comment on that.

The Hillman use of the collar is very different than Lardy's. As Evan said, you shouldn't start using the collar until you understand how its used in the particular program or method you choose to follow.

[TxWings]

From what I have seen and read, an ecollar should not be turned on until the pup is 6-8 months old, correct? Maybe just have him wear the collar to get use to the weight and to associate the collar with the fun of a training session. I am new to this myself but have read quite a bit.

[Wayne Nutt]

I am following TRT by Lardy. Currently we are in the last day or two of walking ff. Then we will do stick fetch for a couple of days. Then simple casting. So when I get to ecollar conditioning he will be almost seven months old.
I did do an early "here" with the ecollar because sometimes he did not want to come to me at about 5 1/2 months. He wore the ecollar without it being turned on for about 3 wks or so before I used it the first time.

Hope this helps.

[Duckman0612]

I definitely would wait on the e-collar until all the basics are learned and steadied through redundancy. I would say probably 6 to 8 months before you intro it. I would recommend getting on a program such as the ten min retriever by John and Amy Dahl! It is a great recourse. Early stages of training can be very frustrating! Just remember start out small and simple then gradually introduce more difficult tasks. Just because your pup doesn't seem to understand today doesn't mean it won't pick it up tomorrow. Repeat, repeat, then repeat, and if all else fails back up to basics and repeat some more! Good luck!!

[Erik Vigeland]

I am following Hillmann, and we've been using the e-collar since he was about 14 weeks. The first week I just had him wear it to get used to it. Then I used the vibrate function on it. When I shock, as advised by Hillmann, it is a SUPER low intensity. About as low as you can get it, but just enough so the pup feels it. It's worked really well for me.

[captainjack]

From what I have seen and read, an ecollar should not be turned on until the pup is 6-8 months old, correct? Maybe just have him wear the collar to get use to the weight and to associate the collar with the fun of a training session. I am new to this myself but have read quite a bit.

This is generally true for traditional programs. Bill Hillman uses the collar very effectively at about 11-12 weeks of age.