# e-collar, too tight but not tight enough?



## mlavigne (Nov 7, 2012)

Hi everyone,

I got an e-collar (garmin delta sport) in June and have been conditioning Vader to it. He just recently got to the point where i dont even have to put his check cord on in the yard anymore (he is responding well to the collar).

Now that he is running full speed and exerting himself I am noticing that the collar is spinning on his neck, but tightening it causes wheezing and seems to make it hard for him to drink water.

When i loosen the collar, he doesnt seem to respond as well, leaving me to assume it is making inconsistent/poor contact.

As far as putting the collar on, it goes high on his neck (under his chin), 45deg off center (not on his windpipe) and tight enough to fit 2 fingers to just fit in. Everything I've read and everyone Ive talked to said that should be good.

Has anyone added any sort of "tacky" fabric to the collar to keep it in place? Is anyone else having this problem? I would guess that the general lack of thick hair and body fat would make this problem worse for V's.

Thanks in advance,
Michael & Vader


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Contact points of the receiver need to touch the skin firmly. 
Receiver contact prongs need to be at the side of the trachea not on the trachea. 
In other words the receiver is on the left or right side of the windpipe of the dog. 
Also, the receiver needs to be high up on the neck

Please note: wet skin conductivity is different than dry skin. So, level two on dry skin translates to much higher stim on wet skin (dial down if it rains or dog swims) or perhaps use the beep under those conditions.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Never had a collar spin on a dog, but have had them slightly move. Even with the small adjustments on the collar, Cash was in-between sizes. I changed his prongs out to a comfort adapter and it helped.

http://www.gundogsupply.com/ca-tritronics.html

This is the one I have a on Cashs collar. I'm guessing the one above is the new and improved.
http://www.gundogsupply.com/do24copad.html


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Wow those long screws remind me of what dental implants look like 

I found that on TT modes the contact prongs are a lot shorter compared to Sportdog ecollars and even those are OK if properly fitted snug at the side of the windpipe. 
I was going to trim and polish the SD contacts shorter :-\ 
Time well wasted, I thought.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

This is pictures of 3 collars for comparison.
Cash's collar, normal TT collar with short prongs and a sportdog collar (orange) with short prongs.


Big difference on prong size between TT and SD collars.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

TT vs SD 400, SD 1825 missing from the lineup, friend borrowed it. I like the weight of the 1825 but hate the contacts and stepping between settings.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

I mean it's OK but whoever programmed the SD lineup did not think about softer dogs. 
SD is Perfectly OK for a Labrador retriever, though.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

There is a Stimulation Reducer for soft dogs. I just never owned one that needed it.


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