WHAT DO YALL THINK ABOUT TRAINING WITH SHOCK COLLARS? I PUT A DOG ON ONE AND SHE GOT OUT ALL OF HER BAD HABBITS, I KNOW AND UNDERSTAND THAT IT WILL MAKE OR BREAK A DOG, WHAT DO YALL THINK AND HOW DOES EVERYONE FEEL ABOUT USING A COLLAR FOR TRAINING PURPOSES? IM TRYING TO GET ALL MY STUFF FOR TRAINING MY PUP AND I WANTED EVERYONES THOUGHTS ABOUT IT.

i use one every time i train or hunt. if used properly as a tool and not a punishment they can be very effictive. remember these steps: show what you are asking, teach what you are asking, train. as long as the dog knows what you are asking and how to get relief from the pressure the collar works great.

They got their place, but I dont use one. I would like one to help ENFORCE some things, but would rather get off the collar once the dog knows whats what

If you don't know how to properly use the collar....Don't! The collar doesn't train the dog.

Like everyone is saying the biggest problem of a collar is not knowing how to use one. If used properly, it is an amazing tool. Dogs that have been trained with one properly, will associate the collar with training/hunting, something they love to do.

I use them- esp when hunting-CC is very important and I will start in 2 wks with 8 mos YLM pup after we finish FF.

Jl, it would do you good to join a local Retriever Club. Amite River is your closest club and meets at Bass Pro in Denham once a once month. www.arhrc.org
I highly reccomend learning how and using a collar. The ability to reinforce a command instantly, and fairly, will take your dog to a whole new level.
I'm an ex-pro trainer so pm me if you have any more questions and i'll try to help.

THANKS YALL, ILL POST UP MORE AS HE GETS OLDER AND MORE INVOLVED IN HIS TRAINING.

I use one with my 2 yr old lab. she was trained with one when she was little. I just put it on her and she changed into a totally different dog...kinda like sylvester stallone turned his hat around backwards in "over the top". she knows its time to go to work...I rarely ever set it off though.

Collars are a tool. Like a leash, a whip, a bumper or anything else.

Since you asked for opinions, I'll add to the pile. A collar is just a tool.

Collars are fine if you know what you are doing but the collar can't train the dog for you. I've seen a few people abuse dogs by burning them when it was very clear the dog was confused. All they did was make the dog scared to do anything, so as not to do anything wrong.

I have also seen a few dogs that are only smart when that collar is on. Take the collar off and they get deaf, and disobedient.

My dog was trained without a collar. He has some dominance issues. I added a collar later and use it only to reinforce sit. This allows me, when he gets a little defiant, to nick him and remind him who the "big dog" is. Sure is easier on both of us then wrestling around and shaking him up.

I trained my dog without one and he hunts well without it, but to and from the hunting spot and if i let him have a little running time at the house he became the deafest, dumbest dog you've ever seen. These little "challenges" lead to man size ***whoopins that didnt phase him. He would act right for a couple minutes then back to deaf and dumb. It took about ten minutes with the collar and he became the dog I always wanted. lol. Now most of the time he wears a collar with a dead battery.

P.S. If any of you trainers have any suggestions on avoiding this dominance issue with my next pup, which will be one of his, Id appreciate your input.

P.S. If any of you trainers have any suggestions on avoiding this dominance issue with my next pup, which will be one of his, Id appreciate your input.[/quote]


Alpha dogs are very difficult to deal with. I have great success using a alpha roll with these dogs. The key to using a ecollar is use it only for indirect pressure ON KNOWN COMMANDS. Most issues arise when the collar is used for direct pressure. Let me explain. What is indirect pressure? Here is an analogy:

You come home from work and you walk into the house. Your wife ask you to go get the mail. You walk out of the house and head to the mailbox. As you are walking your neighbor walks over and offers you a beer and you start talking. Time goes by and your wife walks out of the house says to "don't move" and walks up to you and smacks you upside the head. You think Oh Yeah....I was suppose to get the mail! Indirect Pressure.

Now let's apply this to ecollars and dog training:

You have sent your dog on a 100 yard blind. He gets offline and you blow the sit whistle and he sits. You give him a left OVER to get online, dog refuses and goes RIGHT, this is caused a cast refusal. The dog is going were he wants to go. Now instead of nicking or burning the dog when he goes the wrong way(Direct Pressure), you blow the sit whistle again, dogs sits...then you NIC the dog with the collar(remember analogy-wife smack) and blow the whisltle again. whistle..nic...whistle(indirect pressure). I am telling the dog he is going the wrong way using indirect pressure.

Now lets look at the harm caused by direct pressure......when the dog is going(running). This is what can do some serious damage. I have seen it happen.

We will use the same blind from above. You send the dog on the blind but he takes a bad line and you burn him with the collar while he is running and say no HERE!!

The dog comes back to you you realign the dog up on the blind and you say BACK. Guess what can happen........the dog does not go! Why because he thinks if he stays he will not get burned with collar. We call these NO-GOES and now you have some serious problems. Once again Direct pressure was used.


The ecollar is a great tool in the right hands. Use INDIRECT PRESSURE only on COMMANDS THE DOG KNOWS.

We don't use e collars in any of our training programs.

Da DogMan
J.Moll
STDT Kennels
Laplace,La.

This is one of the questions that is going to get answers from all over the place. When it comes to dogs everyone has an opinion and that opinion is absolutely correct!

With that being said you have recieved some good info.

In my opinion the collar is one of the many tools that you have available for training. Like any of the other tools (voice, lead & chain, etc.), the collar can be misused and actually cause training to be not only ineffective, but also detrimental to training a dog. With that being said a collar used properly in my opinion is the most effective training tool available to you.

Now for the most difficult assessment for the amateur trainer to make; "Am I actually using the collar correctly?". This is like asking my wife "Are you a good driver?". She absolutely thinks so, but I have my own opinion about that. You may think you are doing the "right" thing, but in all actuality a person may be actually compounding the problems they are trying to correct, or even worse causing problems elsewhere. Kind of like sticking your finger to stop a leak in the dam, and then two leaks pop up next to it.

This is probably one of the more controversial topics of dog training, but also one of the most misunderstood topics. There are more "myths" and misinformation associated with collar trainer than perhaps any other aspect of training.

To properly use a collar (or really to effectively train a retriever), you need to ask yourself a few questions.

1. Am I willing to put forth the time and effort to properly train the dog?
2. Am I willing to be open minded enough to listen to advice from knowledgeable qualified people (from people not a book or DVD)? Books or DVD's cannot answer your questions when your training doesn't go exactly like their program.

If you will do these things, trust me you will have a nice trained dog that will enjoying hunting with you for years.

Probably the best advice I can give you is be open minded about training and advice. The only absolute in dog training is there are no absolutes!!!

Brian Moyse
Sunrise Retrievers
Rockton, IL

Member PRTA
Dogtra Pro Staff
Eagle Pack Pro Staff

well i ended up using the collar on him and it turned out great, he is right at 9 months and he is ready for tomorrow for the opener of teal. he works great with and without it.