Home Forums Birds & Dogs Hunting Dogs Electric Dog Collars

Any tips about transitioning from static to tone?

Nope, Mine's the standard model TriTronic. It's got three basic controls: a buzz (tone), and one each for momentary or continuous "stimulation" with a dial for the degree of that.

If the dog's doing well I leave it alone. If not, a warning buzz/tone first and if that doesn't work a little electricity, never any more than it takes to get them doing right. I'd say what's necessary depends on the dog and the situation.

The vibration line was meant to be funny in an offbeat sort of way. Me screwing up by not introducing him to the thing so it wouldn't scare him.

It took me a long time to come around to shocking my buddy, had seen the reactions of dogs to the old style blue bolt from above collars. Then came the collars you could dial down to nothing at the transmitter.

When I was a kid Popular Electronics had an article for a practical joke gadget they called a tickle stick. The unsuspecting victim would get a mild and odd sort of shock, a sort of tingling sensation that wasn't painful but sure as hell got your attention.

For Mr. Sensitive a shock somewhat below the level of the old tickle stick was sufficient. Reaction was like a tug on a cord, he'd stop and turn towards me for a command. No sign of discomfort. If a tone does the same thing, great. Either way you're not hurting your buddy.

Be careful how much juice you get with the collar. I might have Zapped my dog Jet with a bit more amperage than he was ready for...

Reminds me of my cousin's dog except a lab after a collar accident.

We were all packed tight in his SUV on the way out when his dog starts going nuts. Took a few seconds to figure it out, much longer for Lady I'm sure. One of his kids was sitting on the transmitter and had butt dialed it up a few levels. Poor girl got extra loving that evening.

To no one in particular:

Never use a shock level on your dog that you haven't tried on yourself first.

I zapped my arm a few times to get an idea of what my lab is feeling. I agree, it helps put things in perspective. Good point.

That would be why you don't put the collar on until it's time to go to work

I NEVER have the transmitter on, or accessible, if the collar is on my dog, until it's time to go to work or hunt.
I often put the collar on my dog before it's time to actually hunt, as she gets so wound up before being turned out of her crate that she is hard to handle. The transmitter is OFF, until we are boots on the ground hunting.

As to using the 'beep' function on the collar- I've found it to be invaluable. I use it for the Here command. It is extremely useful in the field to turn your dog if he is a bit out of range, or showing signs of wanting to chase after a rabbit or deer. It's also silent to those around you.
The beep function for Here seems to be more effective than the verbal command- I suspect it is the close association to a momentary zap if the command is not obeyed.
In my opinion, the primary use for an ecollar is never giving a command that cannot be enforced- Rule #1, as far as I am concerned.

I've got a Dogtra for my lab. Agree with all above comments that dog needs to be trained and handled first. I have mine set to give a mild shock (think mosquito bite to you). It lets him know I'm watching and to stay in touch with the boss. Mainly use it now, after 5 years, when hunting grouse locally or especially on an annual SD pheasant hunt. Tar knows that just having the collar on means business, and it's not unusual to not have to give a jolt on a 5 day pheasant trip. One tip I've been told by the kennel owner I got the dog from is that if you have to give him a hard jolt (running deer, rabbits, etc.) don't let the dog think you are the zapper. He wants to trust you, so if you have to zap him for whatever reason you want to be his hero when he comes back to you for comforting.