Electronic training collar - how to choose?

Are you having hard time training you dog? Is it exhausting for both of you? Dog is not responding, running away, is not listening to your commands and you think it would be great to have some tool which would help you? Electronic collars which are sometimes incorrectly referred as electric collars are widely used with great success by new owners and professionals. How to choose the right electronic collar? What brands are there? What are the experiences of the electronic collars users?

Electronic collars for small and mid-sized dogs

Electronic collars are designed for all sizes and breeds of dogs. Most of the electronic collars available on the marker are suitable for dogs between 5 to 50kg. Special collars are also being made for very small breeds, just like the collars for big dogs. By the right choice of the electronic collar you will get great tool and training aid which will help you and your dog friend.

It is mainly about the strength of the pulses – vibration or electrostatic pulse which decide how the dog will react to your command. Quality collars offer several levels of correction so it is easy for you to adjust it just for your needs and needs of your dog. The pulse won’t be uncomfortable for him.

Electronic collars for dogs as a training tool

In the mean of maltreat can be turned even the wooden stick. The purpose of the electronic collar is definitely not to be a tool for maltreating your dog. These collars are produced as training aids and you need to use them in right way. Dog has to get to know the collar step by step and you need to try the intensity of electrostatic pulse very carefully. You should get to the point where the dog is responding to the pulse – it means he listens to your commands but pulse is not hurting him. Just because of this the collars offer up to 100 levels of the pulse intensity.

It is important to learn how to use electronic collar properly. Most of the modern collars use three different ways of warnings. First is sound warning, second is vibration and the third is electrostatic pulse.

Warning is always used with the concrete nicely pronounced vocal command (e.g. Don’t! Sit! Stay!). You talk to dog, say the command and if he is not responding we repeat the command and use the first sound warning.  If your dog is still not responding repeat your command and use vibration or command with pulse warning. Dogs are smart and fast learning so they will easily get the connection between command and the warning so at the end of your training you will have to use only two of them.

Types of training collars for dogs by the correction type

Training collars for dogs can be divided by several features, e.g. by the correction type which they offer. There are mainly these types on the market:

• Electronic collars –electronic training collar use as a correction type electrostatic pulse. Quality collars offer many choices with more than 100 levels of electrostatic pulse which can warn your dog about his bad behavior make him react to your call or command. Electronic collars are safe, easy to control and offer another types of corrections (vibration, sound, etc.)
• Vibration collars –this type of training collar works with vibration as a correction type which can be unpleasant for the dog but never dangerous for him. Vibration collars from the top brands have also up to 100 levels of vibration so they are perfectly adjustable to the needs of your dog. Just like electronic collars, vibration collars are working also with other types of correction (sound, electric pulse)
• Sound collars – sound warning is while training being used as the first one after sound it goes vibration and pulse. Sound collars offer another types of correction mostly vibration and pulse.
• Ultrasound collars– this type of training collar works with ultrasound which is unpleasant for the dog and it can warn him that he is doing something he shouldn’t do (negative signal).
• Spray collars – training collar which uses spray as a correction which is sprayed under dog’s nose. In some cases it is way better than vibration or electric pulse correction because are more gentle to a dog.

Electronic collars brands

While choosing electronic collar one of the important roles is the brand of the product which is guaranty of some standard, quality, duration and reliability. Most accessible electronic collars on the Czech market are following brands.

• Electronic collars Aetertek – they are on the top of the electronic collar brands in the bussines for dogs. They are significant by their quality design, enhanced features and they offer three types of correction (sound, vibration and electrostatic). Design and construction of the collar makes the controls and also the training of the dog very easy. Simple controls of the collar were developed in cooperation with its users. Other advantage of the Aetertek collar is adjusting level of the pulse strength. This brand can be recommended for various breed and dog sizes.
• Electronic collars SportDog – electronic collars from the SportDog brand are also very favored amongst users thanks to several reasons. They are quality, durable and easy to control collars with many features which help you with your training.
• Electronic collars Petrainer – quality, reliability, great design and easy controls. These features are characteristic for electronic collars of the Petrainer brand which are designed for small, mid-sized and big breeds. They work with three types of correction (sound, vibration and electronic pulse).
• Electronic collars EasyPet – some of the most favorite collars on the market belongs to the EasyPet brand which brings standard amongst modern training collars. You can use three different types of correction (sound, vibration and pulse). Controls of these collars are very easy and simple.
• Electronic collars PetSafe – these collars are much desired and there are several reasons for that. They offer number of correction types (sound, vibration, electrostatic pulse) and you can use them for small, mid-sized and big dogs.

There is plenty of other brands on the electronic collars for dogs market. To those of quality and tested collars belong brands likeg Dogtra, Pet at School, Reedog, Ecollar or Garmin.

How does the electronic collar help you with the training?

Training of your dog is not simple. We all know who has the dogs know it. Every dog is different and successful training requires consistency, patience and clear commands from the trainer. Sometimes even despite all recommendations of the professional trainers is impossible to train the dog. And that is a problem because disobedient dog can easily find himself in life threatening situation (running away) or you can just simply take him to other dogs without being worried what he will do.

Training electronic collars features well known aid for dog training for whose even the most professional trainers do not hesitate to use. The key is the right use of the training collar when in one hand with the command comes the correction. In what particularly can electronic collar help you?

• Basic commands management – to train your dog the basic obedience requires basic commands such as calling your dog back to you, stay, sit, lay etc. It has been proven that the dogs react way better with electronic collar even the dogs who are struggling during the classic training.

• Running away from the garden – if your dog is classic runaway who when he smells game or other dog quickly disappears then the electronic collar is the right choice for him and also for you. You will call your dog and when he is not responding you will use the sound warning first, then vibration and as a last warning you will use electric pulse correction. Its advantage is that the range of the electronic collars is more than several kilometers so you have your dog under control all the time.

• Disobedience and barking – electronic collars for dogs help the dog to unlearn the unwanted habits when with the help of the correction you warn the dog about his repeating errors. (eg. He is not responding to your command: don’t, he is eating excrements, he is jumping at people etc.) There are specialized electronic collars which by itself warn the dog to his wrong doing while you are not at home.

Reviews and experiences with electronic collars

Nothing is more than personal experience. But you are just starting with training collars so you are searching for the experiences from the other dog owners. Every owner has different opinion. Helena in one discussion about electronic collars wrote: “At first I thought electronic collar is the extreme possibility, but we had a hard time during the training with our doggie. Until our neighbor convinced us that training collar is really okay. And it really works, we are very satisfied. We don’t even use the electrostatic pulse anymore. Sound warning or vibration is enough”.

Dog owner Denisa is using electronic collar for two years and she is very satisfied with it.  “I didn’t want to get one, I was afraid to put the collar around my dogs neck. We chose Aetertek collar which has many features and number of levels of pulse correction. I tested first on my hand with the lower levels and it was completely okay. Dog is responding to my commands, he is able to cope with basic training and he is let go some of the bad habits he had”. she wrote in one internet discussion.

While choosing electronic collars you can find some reviews of specific brands on websites like Heureka. We chose the Aetertek collar review which is one of the most popular brands in the industry. One of the satisfied users of Aetertek collars wrote this review: “It works with our stubborn terrier. It was enough to use the vibration few times and she is a dog which is paying attention to the owner and our walks became really relaxing than ever before. After two weeks we are walking even without the leash. I used electrostatic pulse just few times when she started eating something unwanted - 100% success”.

Features of electronic collars

Electronic collars offers you different features depending on its type or brand, it varies in levels of pulses, range and also waterproofness. When you will choose the electronic collar make sure what you expect from the product. Would you use it for basic training, training in garden or park? Or are you looking  for more professional training collar which has range up to several kilometers, its waterproof and you could use it for more dogs at once?

• Range of the electronic collar – there are collars with range from 300 meters up to several kilometers on the market. For terrain training (e.g. Woods) its more suitable to choose longer range.
• Correction type – collars generally use sound, vibration and electrostatic pulse as a warning. There are some exceptions with other correction types such as ultrasound or spray.
• Waterproofness – when you will train your dog in extreme conditions or in the water it is good to choose waterproof collar (receiver and transmitter).
• Number of dogs – there are electronic collars allowing training for more than one dog (two, three and more dogs at once). All you have to do is just to buy another extra collar and you can control them by one transmitter.
• Battery and charging – think about working expenses connected with collars. Cheaper products work with classic batteries while more quality collars are equipped with Lithium batteries which can be easily charged in short time and battery life is significantly longer.

Video: How to use electronic collar (command come back)