Pat Nolan - E collar conditioning in drive.

 

I let maturity dictate my timing of collar conditioning. If obedience is going well and the dog is responding to a check cord, then I will cc to sit and here.

As with most things in life, the process goes smoother if you have a mentor. Post your location and someone may have local contacts.

Good luck in your journey!

 

I have a 5 month old lab that I want to use an e-coller in her training.

I've trained several hunting labs but have never utilized an e-collar.

I have a Garmin 550 pro that I bought for my last lab. I always meant to start using it with her but never could commit. She had a tragic accident that I may have been able to prevent if I only had used it.

I vow to make every effort to not ever let it happen again.

She is an Upland (so far), and hopefully waterfowl retriever. She's 5 months old.

What programs would you recommend? I've heard good things regarding Mike Lardy. I have his e collar conditioning book and video.

I'm not interested in having someone else do it. I would be ok with taking her somewhere but having them train me how to use it.

Thanks in advance.

Lardy program has worked for a lot of people. I will say that there are a lot of steps to do before collar conditioning. Formal obedience should be very solid and force fetch, in my mind, is key to teaching the dog how to escape/turn off pressure. I am all for doing it yourself, but it would be invaluable to you to find someone with experience to work you through it the first time.

As far as age, I typically start formal obedience around 4.5-5 months old. Force fetch after obedience is pretty solid and all adult teeth are in (usually 6 months). Collar condition after force fetch is done (6.5 - 7 months). Even with that, the timing is dog dependent. If I have a gut feel they can't handle the pressure yet, I wait. If when going through the steps I see attitude getting sour, I wait.

 

Lardy's ecollar dvd is the best one I've seen.

 

Dan Ihrke of Gun Dog Success is in Roberts, Illinois. Successful retriever/pointing dog trainer (also runs hunt tests). He also has an online puppy course.

 

I am just an amateur but have had 3 dogs my first I had a pro cc my dog it takes a while to really understand the collar and it needs to be properly conditioned I wouldn’t advise watching a video even know above ones are decent and trying to figure this out 🤷🏻‍♂️

 

I've heard good things regarding Mike Lardy. I have his e collar conditioning book and video.

Follow it.

 

I second Pat Nolan's program, started at it at 5 months. Took about 3 sessions to really see everything start to click with mine. He also includes a pretty nifty methodology at the end on how he introduces swimming by. It took 3 sessions of that and my little mongrel was nailing left and right overs to the designated exits.

 

I second Pat Nolan's program, started at it at 5 months. Took about 3 sessions to really see everything start to click with mine. He also includes a pretty nifty methodology at the end on how he introduces swimming by. It took 3 sessions of that and my little mongrel was nailing left and right overs to the designated exits.

I second Pat Nolan's program, started at it at 5 months. Took about 3 sessions to really see everything start to click with mine. He also includes a pretty nifty methodology at the end on how he introduces swimming by. It took 3 sessions of that and my little mongrel was nailing left and right overs to the designated exits.

Is that "From the Pup up".

 

It's called Training in Drive - E-collar Conditioning for the Field.

From the Pup Up is his puppy program and does not contain any e-collar work. I also very much recommend that program.

 

Lab_Man,

I second J. Marti's suggestion of seeking help from Dan Ihrke in the Roberts IL area. I've not worked with him personally, but the dogs I've seen him run at HRC HT's tell me he's a very good trainer!

Swack