Roger and Cosmo
Thank you for your help in understanding how and when to use an e-collar in dog training. As you know, I was very leery of using this training tool as Stabyhouns are a very sensitive breed. Still, and like most dogs, Cosmo could not be depended upon to follow his obedience commands while off leash. Since he and I frequently hike un-trailed forests, it was imperative that Cosmo become as close as possible to bullet-proof with the recall and other commands. With the e-collar, I can now count on his recall regardless of the distraction, even when we jump a deer. I suspect that I, like many of your clients, had a grossly incorrect concept of how an e-collar was used in training and in practice: believing it to be some sort of abusive device. I now know that an e-collar is no more impactful than a leash. It seems to me an e-collar is in fact a leash replacement that has if anything, even less impact to the animal than a slight check with the lead.
Now, thanks to you and the Dog Logic team, I have many training tools in my “very amateur” dog training tool kit. The six foot check lead cord, the long check lead, an understanding of the importance of body posture and footwork, standard training collars, the use of voice and tone inflections, the use of training whistles and now of course, the e-collar (to mention a few!).
I hope this may help other clients lose their apprehensions about using an e-collar in training. I would no sooner be without this training tool than to lose a pliers or screwdriver from my mechanics tool set.
Looking forward to continued training and practice with the Dog Logic team (Cosmo and I still have a long way to go before we can earn any credentials such as a companion dog or service dog).