Remote Dog Training Tips Book 2

Training should be accomplished at the lowest stimulation level that gets an attention response without causing fear or yipping pain. Your dog should look up at you when he feels the stimulation. His neck muscle might give a small twitch, but no vocalization, lowered ear set, cowering or otherwise showing fear should be apparent. See How to Introduce Your Dog to His Electronic Dog Training Collar

Communication/Stimulation Types: Most companion dog electronic dog training collars use operator-timed continuous communication. Continuous communication lasts as long as you hold the button down (emergency shut off in about 10 sec). Many have Pager or Tone-Only options, which use only a vibration, buzz or tone to alert, direct, or praise the dog. (Vibration is a great tool for training all dogs, but particularly useful in early stage training, for young dogs, or for deaf dogs). Some have praise tones. Unleashed has an electronic dog training collar that uses ONLY adjustable vibration stimulation.

Levels: The more finesse you have to tailor the stimulation to the exact temperament of your dog and the exact circumstances of the situation, the more quickly your dog will respond and the less chance there is of over-correction. Every dog will need at least a couple of different levels depending on the circumstances. You will find that a dog who performs flawlessly in the back yard will need a higher level of stimulation to get his attention when he is outside his usual environment where distractions are high such as in the park or in the field. He may need a higher level still if he is engaged in a "high adrenaline" state such as when chasing a car, another dog or cat, or honed in on the wrong game. Dogs who are wet will need a lower level of correction due the high conductivity of their wet skin that will channel the full effect directly to them.

The number of different settings for stimulation and the way to program them is important and completely individual to each manufacturer and to each electronic dog training collar in their line.

• Warning tones: During more than 30 years of training, we have found that warning tones are rarely useful and often do more harm than good when used in their assumed fashion - as a warning that a more severe correction is coming. They often cause the dog anxiety while making the owner feel that they have "saved" the dog. The trainer who uses the tone to warn often depends on it to the detriment of the dog and the training process - in short, it encourages "nagging" and inconsistent handling. We don't recommend their use in this fashion. Instead, we recommend an electronic dog training collar with a tone-only feature that you can use as a command tone. If you teach the dog to "come" using the tone, you will have a remote recall that will tell him when it is time to return to you. Or you might use it as a "whoa" command to tell him when to stop his forward movement. These are two very positive and useful techniques that make a warning or pager feature valuable.
  
  
• A praise tone can be very useful. It is highly regarded as a positive reinforcement tool and it lends itself well to positive reinforcement (or clicker) training. It can be a very valuable tool to let a dog in the field know that he is doing the right thing. A little like the game "hot-cold", a praise tone lets your dog know when he is getting "warmer" and encourages him to continue in the direction you have praised.

Read More Remote Dog Training Tips... Remote Dog Training Tips Book 1 ... Introducing the Electronic Collar to Your Dog