What to Look for When Considering a Dog Training Collar

Did you know that almost 70 million dogs live with owners in the United States?

Pooches are even more popular than cats, if you can believe it. Have you adopted your first dog? One of your main responsibilities involves training your dog so that they behave. This can benefit everyone, including your fur baby.

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One tool that has become more and more popular is the electronic dog training collar. These can work wonders for distance training but must be used cautiously. Evan Cesar Millan has now has brand of electronic training collars or e-collars.

Keep reading to learn about the factors to keep in mind when shopping for an e-collar.

Dog Training Collar Features Worth Looking Into

There's a handful of e-collar features you may want to look for depending on your behavioral modification and dog training goals. For instance, you may want to have a collar with a long range. That way, it won't malfunction or not work at all if your dog gets too far away.

Long range is especially important if you plan on working with your dog while they're off their leash.

To save money and avoid unnecessary waste, finding a collar that features rechargeable batteries is a good idea. That way, you can use it for a long time instead of having to dispose of it only after a few weeks or so.

Are you wondering what other features are fundamental? Having several modes to choose from can come in handy quite a bit. You may not want to stimulate your dog at all, so a vibrational mode is something worth having.

Yet another mode e-collars can come with is tone mode. This uses a certain pitch that can get your dog's attention or stop them during a bout of misbehavior. The other mode is, of course, static correction.

What can make the static correction safe is the intensity level. This is why you shouldn't buy an e-collar if it doesn't allow you to alter this level or only has 5 to 20 levels. This is also a convenient feature because different dogs have varying levels of sensitivity.

The key is finding the strength level that can capture your dog's attention or correct their behavior without harming them, if you are using it as a correction.

Important Dog Collar Safety Considerations

Since your pet's safety is of prime importance, you should note certain safety features before making a definitive purchase. One thing you don't want to do is buy a knock-off e-collar brand because those products may not have the features necessary to keep your dog safe. There are some name brand e-collars that we also do not recommend for the collar has too few levels which means each level on one of those e-collars could be the equivalent of 5 to 8 levels on a more superior e-collar.

You may think you do not want an e-collar with 100 levels and you would certainly not use level 100 (and you certainly would not save a life saving event), but an e-collar with that many levels allows you to fine tune the collar with minor adjustments to your dog's sensitivity level. Collars with only 20'sh levels can either be too high or too low for your dog, which forces owners to end up going too high on the level.

You can ensure that the collar works as it's supposed to by finding one with the right contact point lengths. Since dog fur length and texture can fluctuate based on the breed, getting longer or shorter contacts is crucial. The goal is to have the contact points flush with the dog's skin to administer a safe stimulation.

Whether the contacts are flush or not can also depend on the collar's fit. The collar shouldn't be too tight or too loose. The goal is to find a Goldilocks zone fit based on your dog's neck size.

You should not leave an e-collar on your dog unattended or overnight, since they require a snug fit it can cause contact sores if contually worn by your dog.

Yet another feature you shouldn't be without is an automatic shut-off. The last thing you'd want to do is overstimulate your dog and cause them confusion or injury. Instead, an auto shut-off ensures that prolonged or accidental stimulations are avoided.

If you think that your collar isn't operating as it should, it's best to contact the manufacturer before using it further. They can let you know the problem and even replace it with a more functional collar. Before making a purchase in the first place, you can feel more confident about the manufacturer by looking up online reviews.

There should be plenty of reviews online that can go into the specifics of the collar features and how reliable the device is as a whole. Don't forget to read the return policy and warranty details so that you can get your money back if you don't like the product after trying it out.

Two of the best e-collars to use if you plan on using one is Ecollar Technoligies and Dogtra.

Dog Training Collar Material

You may be surprised to learn that e-collars can come in several different material types. The most popular choices include nylon, plastic, and even leather. As you might expect, leather collars tend to be the most expensive.

If you're on a budget, you'll be glad to know that nylon is quite durable. It also tends to be lightweight. Plus, this particular material is easy to clean whenever it's bathtime, for instance.

While leather collars are also durable, they need more maintenance if you want them to last as long as possible. If you don't clean and oil them regularly, they can start to fray and crack.

Plastic collars are the cheapest choice, but you often get what you pay for. This type of material is prone to breaking much more easily than leather or nylon.

Are you struggling to find the right size collar? Aside from measuring the dog's neck, weighing your dog as a whole can also help you home in on a size that's not too big or too small. If you have any questions or concerns about e-collars or dog size, it's worth reaching out to a professional.

Are you Considering using a Dog Training Collar?

The e-collar or as it is sometimes called; shock collar, comes with a lot of opinions in the dog training community and dog ownership world.

Part of this is because so many owners and trainers use them improperly to teach a dog obedience and behavior modifications.

An e-collar cannot teach a dog obedience commands or behavior, your dog has to be taught what to do and how to do it FIRST and then and only then, if you want to use an e-collar, you can pair the e-collar with the command your dog understands. Anything short of actually doing the work of teaching and training the dog first is lazy and unfair to the dog. It is this type of training that ends up requiring the dog to need an e-collar long-term, for the dog never learned the correct behavior to begin with.

Next, is to get professional instruction on how to use it. Do not just "figure it out," as that is not a pleasant process for your dog and will lead to a lot of confusion and potentially a loss of trust with you.

Now that you've learned all about the factors to keep in mind, you can feel more confident about getting a dog training collar. Make sure that you study the instructions with a keen eye. Also, please don't let any other members of your household use it unless they know the safety precautions.

K-9 Culture Dog Training is here to help you with all your pet pooch needs.

We work with e-collars only when our clients request us to teach their dog how to communicate with one and it is typically for the reason of doing a lot of off-leash work from a great distance with their dog. If you are just needing good obedience commands and general polite manners, we find most dogs and owners do not and should not need an e-collar.

From professional dog training programs to grooming and boarding, you can always rely on our care and expertise.

Feel free to give us a call or book a consultation at your earliest convenience.