In the old days my Father trained dogs the old fashioned way. If the dog didn’t sit on the whistle while doing a blind, he ran out there and made him sit. If the dog cheated the shore (ran the shoreline without running a straight line) he got whipped, if he switched on marks (going for one bird then all of a sudden changing his mind and go for the other one) he got hit with a marble out of a wrist rocket and if he broke (went after a bird without being sent by the handler) he would be chased down brought back to the line tied to a leash and if he broke again would be yanked back by the neck. If a dog wouldn’t go in the water he was dragged across with a boat. Ropes were used to get dogs to handle as well as to force back. They were used also for dogs that came back slow or didn’t want to come back at all. Although ropes are still used to show the dogs certain tasks they really aren’t used in a forceful manner as much as they once were.

These days all of those old methods sound very rough. I have seen handlers run out to catch their dogs a hundred yards away or more and literally beat the hell out of their dog. The problem with that is I doubt that by the time they got to the dog he remembered what he had done. These days there is a way to teach and correct (punish) the dog the instance he makes a mistake.

Back then if dog didn’t do what you wanted he was punished. He was shown how to do it. Similar of today’s method but wasn’t given quite the repetitive instruction as today’s dogs are given. More communication is used now and the e-collar is used just for that.

When I began throwing birds for my Dad years ago I witnessed some pretty nasty electronic experiences. The collars back then had one level (super hot) and electric cattle prods with enough juice to make a thousand pound cow jump made a 70 pound retriever really jump. These electric tools of the trade were used mainly for punishment and force. Forcing back, forcing in the water and punishing for misbehavior such as sitting at a distance is mainly what they were used for. They weren’t water proof, had a very limited range, needed to be charged often, only had one setting and were generally not very reliable. I didn’t see a lot of them, but they were out there.

My first experience with electricity wasn’t good. My Dad had a young yellow lab that didn’t want to swim. He was fairly new to the training world and needed some advice. He brought the dog to a training group with several veteran retriever trainers from the area. I tagged along as usual. This woman trainer took the dog by a lead and tossed a dummy in a pond. She tried to send the dog. When the dog wouldn’t get in the water she stuck a cattle prod in the dog’s nostrils and began pushing the button yelling "back, back, back". The dog came unglued, barking, yelping and growling. Finally after she made several attempts the dog (totally confused) decided to protect himself and lunged at her. She leaned back to avoid being bitten and hit him in the mouth with the prod. Blood spewed from his mouth and my Dad said "ok that’s enough", and put him back in the truck.

I thought to myself "boy would I like to shove that prod up her you know what". I couldn’t believe there were trainers out there like that. From then on I had a bad taste for electricity. The woman is still training dogs now thirty some years later. I wonder if she remembers the ridicules and brutal way she tried to teach.

With that said, I have seen many instances when guys ran out in the field and beat their dogs. The dog is lollygagging around, turns around and "POW" gets violently blasted out of nowhere. I even heard a story of a guy whose dog wouldn’t stop on the whistle in the middle of a pond. The trainer slowly crept into the water and swam out to the dog. I would have loved to see the look on that dogs face when he turned around and saw his owner in the water grabbing him. Thank goodness we don’t have to do things like that anymore.

Today’s collars are water proof, have several levels of stimulation, need to be recharged rarely, are digital, have no memory during charging, durable, long ranging (over a mile depending on terrain) and adjustable at the transmitter. They are safe to use and when used properly create fast, happy retrievers.

The first four dogs I trained I didn’t use an e-collar. I was very stubborn and felt I didn’t need it. The last three dogs I’ve had I used an e-collar and believe me would never be without one again. Its one of those deals, once you get past the poor history and price tag, you’ll never be without. They are used in combination with communication, learning and punishing (correcting).

Is that to say that just because the collars of today are greatly improved that we can’t ruin a dog? No. I still hear dogs screaming in the distance once in a while at training grounds while an idiot is yelling "back, back, back". The idiot happens to be a pro trainer. The definition of a professional dog trainer is that he simply makes his or her living at it. That doesn’t mean he or she has to be good at it. There are some good ones out there and if you plan on using a pro, hire a reputable one and do your homework. Teaching the dog to keep going can be done through attrition and repetition. Trying to force a year old dog to run three hundred yards by putting the smoke to them is ridicules.

We must be careful in our approach in the use of the e-collar. We also need to get a collar that’s useful for our specific needs. There are many brands of collars out there with numerous functions. Not only are they equipped with electric shock but some models come with a beeper function to locate your dog or a quite beeper that imitates a soft tone telling the dog he is doing the right thing. Some even come with a vibrating feature communicating to the dog by vibration. Another sounds a tone in case you lose it. The only time I lost a collar was when it sank to the bottom of the Mississippi river. I don’t think a tone would have helped me in that case.

I take a middle of the road approach when purchasing an e-collar. My collar is digital, so as it can’t be operated with another transmitter. There are thousands of codes available to prevent this. This was a common problem with a couple friends of mine. If one guy saw the other at the training grounds he wouldn’t be able to use his collar. It seems the transmitters were on the same frequency. He found out one day his dog was yelping in its crate every time the other trainer would correct his dog. Mine has an on-off switch on the collar, comes in a dual unit so two dogs can be worked off the same transmitter. A light on the collar that blinks when turned on, and flashes twice quickly when it needs to be charged. It holds a charge for a long time has sixty levels of stimulation adjustable at the collar and has two buttons on the transmitter one for a short knick (a half a second or less) and one continuous button that will operate up to eight seconds and shut off until you release the button and push it in again.

Although I mostly use two or three settings for my particular dogs, it’s nice to be able to adjust the stimulation at the transmitter the instant a dog goes in the water or comes out. Or if a condition changes. It’s good out to a mile depending on terrain. It’s made by Dogtra Company and the single unit costs about $350.

For about five bucks you can and should purchase a dummy collar. It is the same weight as the real thing but cannot emit a shock. This should be on the dog a minimum of three months no matter what age the dog is. Doing this will help the dog in not becoming collar wise (thinking he must be good with the collar on and disobedient with the collar off). Another way of preventing collar wise dogs is to accomplish stick fetch (when the dog is taught to fetch while you tap his rump with a whip or heeling stick) after force fetch (taught to reach for grab, pick up and hold any object the trainer asks and enforced with the ear pinch) then proceeding with collar conditioning.

Collar conditioning is a procedure using the e-collar to condition or get the dog accustom to the feeling of the electrical impulse while accomplishing commands he already knows. By using the stick, the ear pinch and the e-collar you can get the dog used to different types of physical pressure. By putting the dummy collar on the dog every time before training you’ll get him used to the feel of it. Then after obedience training, force fetch and stick fetch, you can introduce the collar to him gradually. Sometimes using the whip, sometimes using the collar, and most times just giving the command.

Every dog is different as far as the level of stimulation (shock) he needs to respond to the correction. Remember the dog must first be taught the command, then understand what you want and if he still wont accomplish it, a correction with the collar is justified. Some dogs are soft and other dogs have more pain tolerance. In general, while collar conditioning the lowest level of stimulation he feels is all that’s needed.

To find out what level your particular dog needs is only from trial and error. You need to see a reaction from the dog when you push the button. Set the collar at its lowest setting, tell the dog "sit", and push the button. Adjust the collar up a little bit at a time and repeat the procedure until you see a reaction. If the dog really freaks out then you have the collar set to high. Adjust all the way down and repeat. Now that you know what level he reacts to you’re ready for collar conditioning.

After collar conditioning is finished you will also use the collar at times for disobedience. You can adjust the stimulation for the fault. I usually keep my collar set at the 10 setting for Peggy. She is a young dog that’s quite sensitive. I keep her heeling properly with it and use it as a reminder at times. When I run Xena, I have the collar set to 30. She is a much more aggressive, high charging dog. She’s older and I’m more critical of her. She also knows better but still tests me at times as most dogs will.

I might go two or three weeks and not have to use the collar or I might have to use it two or three times in the same training session. Dogs test us at times and there’s nothing we can do about it except be prepared. Always have the collar on the dog and transmitter in hand.

Try not to push the button while the dog is running. Sit the dog down with the whistle, yell "no" to the dog then give the correction. Some trainers call this indirect pressure. It seems to really get the message across.

If you have a dog that likes to break you almost have to give the correction when the dog breaks. This is a time you may have to crank up the juice a little. This is a dangerous situation in a duck boat and anytime you are handling a gun. This, you need to take care of with some real pressure. As far as obedience is concerned just as we don’t nag with a whip or heeling stick, we don’t nag with the collar. When a dog is being disobedient we take care of it. Too little pressure will get the dog use to it and will continue to test you. To large a correction can create hot spots, causing the dog to shut down and do nothing or spas out. But the right correction will stop the dog from being disobedient for a long time. Finding that approximate setting as well as your timing is critical in proper communication. This is one thing that separates good trainers from so, so trainers.

A good example of collar correction is if you had a dog that chased cars. First you would train him not to go in the road by conventional means. Now that he understands, you enforce it manually with the use of a rope. Then condition him with the collar by walking him out to the road, if he steps to near the road a whack with the whip and "nick" him with the collar. Accomplish this several times and he should really understand. Now if he disobeys, you can really crank up the juice and let him have it.

The collar is a great tool and does take some time for the trainer to get used to it. You should avoid using the e-collar in yard work like handling drills and wagon wheel work. It’s too repetitious and frustrating. You may be tempted to use it too often. Use the collar for some drills like back to the pile for ease of communication.

A word of caution, you don’t want to be burning the dog when he is next to a dog or another person, he may bite the closest thing to him. You probably also don’t want to touch a dog that’s receiving stimulation, especially when he’s wet. It’s possible the current could travel down the dog’s body into yours.

When properly used the collar is a great tool. With today’s high standards and younger dogs running events the collar can be a huge asset. The hunter will benefit greatly from its use. I’ve seen dogs ranging to far out bumping pheasants a hundred yards away until their owners strapped on old mister sparky. Just don’t abuse it. When in doubt, don’t push the button. The collar doesn’t replace conventional repetitious training, it just ads to it. The dog must know the command prior to ever receiving a shock from an e-collar.

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