# Considering E collar



## zigzag

Thinking about investing in a E collar. Narrowed my choice down to a sport dog 800, I like that you can purchase a beeper as an add on to this collar. I am a novice at dog training, my dog has been trained with check cord from 10weeks till current 5.5 mo. He takes to training well. I don't feel I need to use a E collar YET but think it may be useful, anyone have experinces they could share with me.


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## redbirddog

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2009/10/i-am-vizsla-song.html

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2010/04/e-collars-are-not-meant-to-inflict-pain.html

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2010/02/versatile-hunting-dog-vizsla.html

Good luck zigzag. The Upland G3 by Tritronics comes with a DVD that helps you understand how to use it. It has served me well. Chloe has never had a collar on except for rattlesnake avoidance training. She is SOFT. At level 1 was all she needed for a correction.

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2011/07/rattlesnake-adversion-training.html

Bailey needs 3.5 out of 5 to get the acknowledgement that I want him to do something different. My trainer told me to watch the dogs eyes while it has the collar on. The eye lids should just shutter a little bit. That lets you know he feels it. Always put the collar on your wrist first to see what the stimulation equals to the number. 

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2010/01/simon-vizsla-learning-about-training.html

As a field-trialer Bailey HAS to be perfect in his bird work. If he takes a step towards the bird when he was supposed to be "steady to wing and shot" he fails and you walk back to the camp. 
When I pheasant hunt, he is now close to "perfect." Quite the joy to hunt behind a very disciplined hunting dog. The collar is on but used very rarely now.

Some will tell you a "shock collar" is cruel. Be ready for the criticism. 

RBD


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## KonasPop

Tritronics Sport Basic here. Full on training at a year and put it on my girl at 6.5 months. Tried to wait til 7 months but my girl is very driven. She is also at about 2-3.5 respectively depending on the severity of the infraction. Normally - she can be at a 1.5 and get the jist of all the commands now. 

we use it less and less now, but she still has it on for every single walk. Also started with check cord, then cc and collar, then just collar. RBD is right about the DVD and lots of reading about it - that helps to set the path. I bet we have it on for the next 6 months or so and then it will be on her but rarely used if at all...


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## zigzag

So helpfull, I would guess my boy Rojo is On the softer side, from observation. I read and read about how to properly use the E collar. It makes things a bit intimidating. "thinking more harm then good" I just want to be ready when the problem stages show.


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## zigzag

Quick ? For RBD. Do you feel the 1/2 mile range on your tri tronics collar is adiquate?


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## kellygh

In my novice opinion, your pup is too young for an e-collar. I know you said you are not going to use one yet, and I'm pretty sure others might disagree, but I would wait quite a few months. Your pup is responding well to training, and I firmly believe taking things slow with a V is best. Why risk it? We will be getting Pumpkin (15m) an e-collar after Cmas (either tritronics or dogtra), and I'm going for the mile range. If I'm going to invest in a tool, I'd rather have a little room to spare even if I don't need it. Good Luck!


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## SteelCityDozer

I bought our at one year but we're just getting into using it now that he's almost 16 mos. so now he knows all his commands and what we want, it's a matter of enforcing. But we also use without commands/acknowledgement for bad behavior (I.e. so he thinks the counter, pillow, etc, shocked him). Also beware some may correct you that an "e collar" only vibrates and you're considering a shock collar. I don't know the rules. 

Gundogsupply.com does a good job of helping you choose which one is right for you. 

One more thing - remember v's are vocal. Dozer is also a 3/5 on shock which will bring a whelp when he's really surprised but he'll barely acknowledge it other times. His sound comes from being surprised, not harmed. We did test the device on ourselves pretty high.


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## redbirddog

> Quick ? For RBD. Do you feel the 1/2 mile range on your tri tronics collar is adiquate?


Yes. If your dog runs out farther than 1/2 mile away you need a GPS collar. You're not going to make a correction 3/4 of a mile away.

We own a Garmin GPS collar for Bailey when field trialing or hunting in tall brush but they are expensive!

Good luck and if you follow the directions on the DVD and do yard work for a few weeks first you'll be fine.

Have fun.

RBD


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## Aimless1

Have to agree Gundog Suppy is a good resource for all things hunting dog, including e-collars. A better resource for e-collars is the Collar Clinic in Traverse City, MI. They sell and repair most brands and can help you determine what would be best for you.

Terrain and cover can diminish the e-collars effective range. Some say even weather can affect it, though I've not experienced that myself. Think in terms of yards to give yourself a better idea of the range. 3 football fields is roughly equivalent to a 1/2 mile. It's not often, but in open terrain Quest has easily ranged out to 200 yards. This from a dog used to hunting ruffed grouse and working at +/- 50 yards from me in thick cover.


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## redbirddog

> 3 football fields is roughly equivalent to a 1/2 mile.


Aimless, you must have some big football fields in your part of the world..

Mile equals 5280 feet. 1/2 mile is 2,640 feet. *American* football field 300 feet (100 yards) 2.640 divided by 300 equals 8.8 American football fields. That's a good distance away. Your dog is a dot on the horizon.

Lost my transmitter in the fields last week. Had to buy a replacement for $150. Glad it wasn't the more expensive one.

Agreed that terrain and cover will diminish range. I'll have to check out Collar Clinic.

RBD


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## Aimless1

RBD, you're right :-[ 

Good thing I can gauge distance on the ground better than doing math here ;D


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## zigzag

I have to agree over 1/2 mile out is kinda ridicules, even a 1/2 mile seems unworkable, especially in the cover I would hunt in my region. I just thought maybe there was times when your dog hit a deer or other wild game and broke into a full blown sprint. I would guess that a fit V could sprint out a 1/2 mile in under 2 minutes. IDK just guessing on that one. All the collars I'm looking at are 1/2 mile range. Wish someone could give experince with the sport dog 800.


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## Kobi

A human can sprint a 1/2 mile in two minutes, so a Vizsla most definitely can. 

I have the Dogtra iq and love it. Only a 400 yard range, but there is no way I would let my dog get more than 400 yards from me. There is no area that I go to where 400 yards would still be within my line of sight. I do not hunt, so 400 yards is a pretty huge range for me.

I'm not sure about getting an e-collar at your puppy's age, I guess do it at your own risk. I would say the features that I would highly recommend for anyone to have on an e-collar (IMO) are:

- rechargable
- a beep or vibrate feature to serve as a warning
- adjustable sensitivity
- your needs may vary, but waterproof. Doesn't make sense to strap a couple hundred dollars to a DOG's neck if it's not waterproof 

Properly used, I think an e-collar is an excellent tool. FWIW, I bought mine from Amazon.


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## Bernie

I use a GunDog 1825. Some of the best money I ever spent. I put it on Morgan first thing in the morning and she wears it all day everyday. The receiver is smaller and a little less "boxy" than the one that is w/ the 800. Less likely to get caught on things. I also like the 1 mile range not so much for distance but I know I am sending a good strong signal. Morgan is a 3/4 on the correction range. I use the beeper mode as a positive feedback/come. Keeps me from having to call out when it is not good to do so. I only need the "tick" button for her correction. The beeper is the main function for us. It came with a CD that has a few good pointers. Good luck.


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## R E McCraith

like the tri-tronics sport basic G3-1/2 mile range control up 2 3 dogs and the best part has a rechargeable collar-had mine 3yrs and as a good as the day I bought it-


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## tracker

tri-tronics sport basic g3 here as well. waterproff, rugged, has not let me or Lui down yet. 

We spooked a coyote on our walk a few days ago, and Lui bolted after it. I gave him one brief touch on level 2, along with "Lui Come", and he came right to me and left the coyote alone.


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## Hardts

Does anybody know if the SportDog SD400 has a vibration mode? I keep reading about a 'nick' option but can't find any lower setting. I know she'll prob grow out of that mode an need the nick but right now she's 10 months an the trainer had one w a vib that worked well for minor things..can't remember the brand of it tho.


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## datacan

Vibration doesn't work for me. It scares the heck out of Sam.
It turns out I have the SD1825. No need for antenna, as it has pretty good reach.

A month after I introduced the collar I thought vibe would be nice thing for Sam. BAM he got scarred and shut down for the day. IT made me change to stim again and reintroduce the collar.

I think it is because the stim is intoduced gradually starting at level 1 and working up. The **** vibe feature has only one setting. I wish the stupid designers had thought of that.


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## Mischa

Hardts said:


> Does anybody know if the SportDog SD400 has a vibration mode? I keep reading about a 'nick' option but can't find any lower setting. I know she'll prob grow out of that mode an need the nick but right now she's 10 months an the trainer had one w a vib that worked well for minor things..can't remember the brand of it tho.


There is no vibration on the SD400.
Nick is a split second shock. I didn't bother working with that one. 
I switched it to mode 5 I believe, which gives you high/low continuous of each dial level, and the tone button for teaching a silent command.

If your trainers collar worked well, you should find out which one they have. It sounds like not all vibrations are the same strength, as Kobi mentioned to me that he uses it as a silent 'come' and it works well for him.
He said he has the Dogtra IQ which is priced very close to the SD400. 

I have a feeling my girl would not have responded as well to the vibe command/stimm correction. 
Judging by her reaction to too high of a shock,(level 1 lol) the vibration may have confused her and shut her down too.
I'm glad I went with the SD400, as it was very easy for me to overlay the tone beep into 'come'. And the lowest setting of stimm for 1-2 seconds is all I have needed to use.

The most important part of any e-collar is the hand on the remote.
If you train yourself first, it'll be easy to train your dog. 

SportDog have some great resources that helped me a lot. 
http://www.sportdog.com/Support/Training-Information/Videos.aspx#12079


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