[Gerard]

I would look at what Robert offers first . Then take a look at what the other trainers use .

You should be able to decide with the info gathered from that .

[Ed]

I seem to remember Robert does not recommend ecollars for lunging. I have used them with success, but may be there was a bit of luck involved. It might be worth to put in a question to Robert in the member chat or AMA on what are the cavets/advice on using ecollar for lunging.

[Gene]

Yeah, I think you are right, I would have to go back and go thru the lessons. My thoughts are with the e collar you are say 15/20 ft away on a long line and when he lunges at man, woman or child he doesn’t know YOU are correcting him. The dog will start to associate these people with a painful/negative experience every time he encounters them. I think you want to use a prong collar if necessary. When the distractions approach the dog gets a “Sit” for example. If you think he is going to break the sit you can move him to relieve the pressure (movement relieves pressure that’s from the Big Guy, not me.) After you have moved him he gets a “Sit” if he doesn’t sit he gets corrected. You want the dog to feel he is being corrected for not obeying the “sit” command, he is being corrected by you. He doesn’t associate the correction with the people or another dog for that matter.

[Mike]

Thank you all for responding. I am really enjoying Robert’s podcasts and getting a lot out of them. I wish they were arranged by topic rather than by podcast #, but hey, you can’t have everything. I have been trying everything to get my buddy on track. he jumped the 6′ fence and bit someone. The electric fence stopped it 100%. He loves the yard, but now stays away from the fence – all because of a mild electric jolt (yes, I did it to myself and the setting it is on is tolerable). When we walk – and he walks right at my side – if he sees something (dog, person, squirrel/rabbit, bird not so much), he is 80 lbs of Shepherd (and I have had several) hyper-alert. I need to break that cycle. I am strong, so holding him is not a problem, but I need to break this cycle. The fence broke the escape cycle. I need to try the same approach while walking.

[Mike]

This is what I am referring to when I say “shock collar”. Maybe I should have said “eCollar”, but either way it does look as if he does endorse the use of these collars for training

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4ljqU0niRM

[Ed]

Check out the last AMA from yesterday or the day before. There was a question that was similar to yours. His advice was to stick with the leash. https://youtu.be/aOOnK-SVHoM

[Mike]

Thanks Ed! We are discussing 2 different types of dogs. She is saying it might be an insecurity issue in a young dog. It is not insecurity with my dog. He can start his “in the zone” stuff from 3 blocks away and it just gets worse from there. He says, “If he is lunging out of aggression and you want to bump him because he does not want to listen to sit, that is one thing.” and that is what I have. I appreciate your input and I am just trying to get him to break his “cycle” of hyper-alertness. Because as we get closer, if I was not the size I am, he would be on them. I have been watching some eCollar videos that show correction for this very problem. I get the collar Tuesday and will write back my findings 🙂

[Tod]

How old should a puppy be before using an ecollar. Our Mel is 4 months old. She is now getting where she will run from me when playing fetch.

Any thoughts?

[melvin]

IMHO 4 months old is out of the question, particularly for play behaviors.

There are many things you can try to teach the dog to come back during fetch, like teaching a place bed and waiting on the place bed with food; Playing food trow games/running away from the dog; Or back chaining with tugging for instance.

In this context I would use corrections only in terminal behaviors such as formal retrieve, or problems with outing the toy. And this is at a much later stage once the dog really knows the game and is motivated to play. The whole concept of play is an interactive game between you and the dog, it should be a fun activity for both of you.

In general, also note that the e collar should be properly conditioned and leash pressure usually comes before conditioning the e collar.

[Tod]

Thank you so much.

Tod

[Ed]

I agree with Melvin. I think that corrections too early, particularly strong corrections can destroy a dog’s confidence and make him/her a pile of nerves. The associations will be with one thing and not the other… so the dog may look solid one minute and have an erratic behavior a minute later as something triggers that fear/behavior. Then you have to decode what it is and try to fix it. For pet dogs the owners will make up some weird explanation, like “he does not like that corner of the house” etc. I’m going through that with my 4 year old rottie, who is a monster and a sweetheart until you put her in the same room with one of those metal pens we use to contain puppies. Meanwhile I’m trying to be very measured with the puppy not to make the same mistake again.

[Tod]

Thanks. I had no idea so I thought I would ask.

I appreciate it.

Tod

[Mike]

I agree as well. 4 months is just a baby. Training should begin, but use of the eCollar seems a bit excessive at that age. I am using it with our GSD as he is 2 years and a shelter dog with a “spotty” history (we heard of rocks being thrown at him, going after people, etc…) and even though he has gotten 100% better, there is still room for improvement (especially going after people).

[Tod]

Thanks, I had know idea so I ask. She is doing very well with positive treat training. I’m loving it!!!