This video is about collar conditioning and how to go about it with any type of dog.

So what we are going to do in this film is to start at the very beginning of collar condition and how to proceed with the electric collar so that it is very very positive, including positive reinforcement for any breed. So if you have a Schnauzer, a boxer, a cocker spaniel … any breed that you want to control at long range and develop a better bond with the dog because of this procedure and how you are going to use it …. then this film is for you.

We want to begin by saying the electric collar is only used to reinforce a command the dog already knows. A lot of people think that the electric collar has this magic ability to teach a dog something. It does not. Most people use the electric collar as a form of punishment. The dog makes a mistake, the dog gets a correction with the electric collar. We are going to learn a different way and that way is to reinforce commands they are already doing; and this is done with a very very light collar reinforcement.

When my dogs see the electric collar they are excited, as if to say, we’re going to get to go training, we’re going to have some fun; that’s the reaction you want when the dog spots the electric collar. It’s like spotting a bumper or seeing a shot gun, and they associate going hunting, or a family dog seeing a leash and thinking they are going to go outside for a walk. This is what this video is going to be about … how to get that reaction.
So a few other things about the electric collar…..
People think a clicker is a wonderful thing, or a food treat is a wonderful thing, and in some cases they are, especially with little puppies that are at close range. But a clicker or a cookie at 450 yds is about as useless a thing as you can imagine. You can have a pocket full of treats and a handful of clickers and you can treat and click all you want but the dog isn’t responding to it because he’s no where near you. The electric collar on the other hand is good at a half a mile or more, in some cases p to 1 ½ miles. So that’s going to be the procedure and that’s going to be the reason for doing an intensive study of how to use the electric collar. One of the important tools, if not THE most important tool is the concept of conditioning. The other tool is consistency. Both of the tools are overlooked by some trainers.

We use the SIT command and the HERE command to introduce the dog to the electric collar. So, the steps are always the same: You teach the command first,
THEN you reinforce it using the electric collar. That’s what collar conditioning is.
There are other ways to use the electric collar, there is punishment, there is indirect pressure etc. (We use punishment as one of the ways of teaching a dog not to go nose to nose with a rattle snake; that would be direct pressure) Many people use direct pressure as punishment…. if a dog does something they don’t want it to do they just press the button. That’s the reason electric collars have gotten a bad reputation. The way we use the electric collar is very gentle. It’s used to reinforce a command they are already doing. So if you follow these exact steps you can collar condition which means they understand what the electric collar is being used for, they accept it, and it’s part of a learning process. If you use these steps there’s only beautiful results from using the electric collar.

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