high stem level for starters?

[isonychia]

Well I got my ecollar recently and have enjoyed the new element to me and my pups training. He is 7.5 months now. I know a lot of people don't start using ecollars till later but I am using one now based on various advice and the puppy's individual development (he has graduated from basic obedience: come, stay, and heel. So now for remote reinforcement! ). I did like everyone says and started at level one stem(I have a sport dog SD-1825, 8 stimulation levels out of the box), let him run around a bit and nicked... no reaction. Level 2, same deal. I decided to continue training with level 2. After a day and a half of observation, it was obvious he didn't even notice level 2. So I upped it to level three, the first time somewhat startled him so I thought, OK this is a good spot. Now, only day 3 of the ecollar, he no longer gives notice to level 3 (no ear movement, looking around or what have you). I tried level 4 and he does the typical look around kind of like "hey, what was that" No vocalization or other indication that this is too high. It just seems a little beyond where most people say works for younger dogs. I thought level 2 would be enough. I'm sure this is not out of the ordinary, but I just want to make sure I am not putting on too much pressure. Any advice? BTW; the collar is very snug! I know there is great contact and it is high on his neck. Also he responds more to the vibration than he does to stem level 4 nicks (I am using a single vibrate for "come" and a single nick for "stay" I am still using commands and check cord in order to create the proper association with the ecollar).

[shags]

Have you tested the collar on the inside of your arm? That should give you an idea of the feel of each level of stim. Have someone test it on you (arm) from a distance (whatever your dog's range is). If it checks out, doublecheck that it sits high on your pup's neck and both prongs make contact.

FWIW, my Sportdog is laying in the closet because it is very inconsistent - sometimes with levels and sometimes with range. A bum ecollar leads to training set backs. Or worse

Good luck.

Edited to add - make sure your batteries are fresh and the unit is fully charged.

[birddogger]

Have you tested the collar on the inside of your arm? That should give you an idea of the feel of each level of stim. Have someone test it on you (arm) from a distance (whatever your dog's range is). If it checks out, doublecheck that it sits high on your pup's neck and both prongs make contact.

FWIW, my Sportdog is laying in the closet because it is very inconsistent - sometimes with levels and sometimes with range. A bum ecollar leads to training set backs. Or worse

Good luck.

Edited to add - make sure your batteries are fresh and the unit is fully charged.

Good advice. If everything checks out, continue to raise the level until you get a response. Some dogs require a higher level than others. I just hope you are one of the fortunate ones to get a good Sport Dog. I got tired of returning them and went to TT...Problems solved!

[glk7243]

Is the collar tight?

[AZ Brittany Guy]

In my opinion you should NOT be "training" with an ecollar. You should be enforcing commands that you already taught the dog with the ecollar. Stimulation starts on the neck with a checkcord then "transfered" to the ecollar once you have established a conditioned response with the checkcord. If he is not responding to the ecollar at low levels it may be because he does not know what the stimulation means. I test my ecollar on my own neck before I put it on my dogs neck. I can no longer feel stimulation on my arm, hands, wrist etc.

I wish you the best with your pup.

[isonychia]

In my opinion you should NOT be "training" with an ecollar. You should be enforcing commands that you already taught the dog with the ecollar. Stimulation starts on the neck with a checkcord then "transfered" to the ecollar once you have established a conditioned response with the checkcord. If he is not responding to the ecollar at low levels it may be because he does not know what the stimulation means. I test my ecollar on my own neck before I put it on my dogs neck. I can no longer feel stimulation on my arm, hands, wrist etc.

I wish you the best with your pup.

I am enforcing commands that he already knows very well that have already been taught with the check cord. I am still using the checkcord while using the ecollar to make the proper associations. I have tested his collar on myself a few times and it works great. For now I have bigger fish to fry though... my dog grew wings and ate chocolate cookies that where high up on a counter while I was peeing... can't leave for 2 seconds or I miss the miracles... see the health section.

[AZ Brittany Guy]

Great, good to know. I just wasn't sure by your first post...just trying to help, no offense intended. Good luck with your counter surfer

[isonychia]

I decided to go a little further with the tightness of the collar and place it to the side of his throat a bit. A little beyond what I considered to be too tight, but he seems fine and reacts much better to the collar, I was able to step down to lvl 3 stim and lvl 4 was too much. Now that I feel confident with my stim level this should be much less confusing to the little guy.

[afairchild0103]

I had to same problem with my ecollar. I just wasnt making it tight enough. I think too many people think they are making it to tight and the prongs are digging into the dogs neck when its just penetrating the hair, especially for labs or other thick haired dogs. I read a bunch of ecollar posts. The instructions for the collar said keep a good 3 finger rule. I changed that to a 2 finger rule and I still like it somewhat snug with 2 fingers. I've checked her neck every night when she goes to her kennel and there's no rash or red spot or nothing.