Dog wearing an e-collar
Photo by Petra Richli - Getty Images
The privilege of off-leash freedom only comes once a dog has been trained with reliable recall, meaning they come immediately when called. Many dog owners and trainers use the dog’s name followed by a verbal command, either “here” or “come” to recall their dog. But what happens when a dog catches the scent of something much more interesting than recalling to their owner? Or if they see a person or another animal they want to interact with, whether it be a positive or negative interaction?
An e-collar is a tool often used in dog training that has a handheld remote which is wirelessly connected to a receiver on a dog collar. An e-collar typically has three features: a pager/tone, a vibrate, and a stim.
A high quality e-collar will have a dial to adjust the level of the stim, ideally 0-100, in order to find the perfect level for each unique dog. Have you heard of the Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) unit? That’s exactly what an e-collar is like for a dog! It is not harmful, painful, or abusive to the dog when it is used properly, just like any other tool.
Think of the vibrate and tone features like your cell phone vibrating or ringing; when that happens, you know someone is calling you. If trained properly through classical conditioning, when a dog feels the vibration or hears the pager/tone on their e-collar, they will recall, or do any other command they were trained to do following the signal.
Next time you’re wondering how to improve your dog’s training, their quality of life, and their safety while on off-leash adventures together, consider learning more about how a high quality e-collar might be the right tool for you.
