Hopefully I won’t lose any fans over this, but I’ve begun using an e-collar on Inara again. About a year and a half ago I worked with a fantastic trainer who used the e-collar in an extremely gentle way (Roni Hoff at Tri-Star K9). She likened it to a tap on the shoulder. She used it at an extremely low level, causing no discomfort to Inara whatsoever. I’d actually never seen her work so happily.
Unfortunately Roni is in another state so I couldn’t afford to go back and work with her again. I quit using the e-collar as I wasn’t comfortable doing it without guidance. So I went back to the prong for several months and then switched to the Halti. I’m glad I did so as it taught me to help Inara through her dog reactivity.
A couple days ago I broke out her e-collar again after seeing a video called “Just Right Dog Training,” by Robin MacFarlane. She also uses it at the lowest level possible. It gave me the confidence to try again. And so far I’m glad I did.
I took Inara out on her 30′ lead and found her working level on the e-collar (not going to go into details – if you are interested in working with an e-collar find a reputable trainer). We then began working on recalls, with her flying back to me, tail wagging. We also worked on loose-leash walking and she pranced next to me, gazing up at my face, tail still wagging. She ignored the annoying yappy Yorkie’s who were shrieking at her. She ignored the fat Lab she lives to scream at. And she did it all happily. It was really great!
The collar we use is a Dogtra 280NCP Platinum. It has 127 levels of stimulation. At Inara’s working level, I barely feel it as a pulse against my hand. It’s not shocking her at all. If you are interested in learning more about this type of training, I recommend you visit Tri-Star K9 or That’s My Dog.
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