Introduction to Low-Stimulation E-collar Training (a/k/a "Avoidance Conditioning")
With this method, you will be teaching your dog quick compliance with your commands will stop the discomfort of the e-collar stimulation. You will not be hurting your dog, but will be making her uncomfortable. Although this method works for all dogs, it is particularly suited to training "sensitive" or "soft" dogs. I normally introduce the e-collar between 5-7 months of age. I do not believe it is appropriate to use it on puppies less than 5 months old, because a certain level of maturity and self-control is needed. You'll know the time is right to begin training with the e-collar when your dog begins to consciously ignore your recall command.
The Time is Right to Start this Training When: You call your dog to Come, she looks at you, she looks away, she looks at you, she looks away, she looks at you and you can see her make the decision *not* to come. She has now reached a point of mental maturity where she can control her own behavior. She doesn't just react to things, she makes decisions about how to react. This level of maturity develops over time and some puppies reach it more quickly than others. There's zero point in e-collar conditioning until your puppy has reached this level of maturity. In fact, it would be cruel.
Important First Steps
(1) Turn on the e-collar, press the prongs onto the back of your hand or arm and give yourself stimulation using the lowest level possible. It will feel tingly, much like a TENS unit you can buy at your local pharmacy for alleviating back pain - if you can feel it at all. Turn it up until you can feel the stimulation. Why do this? Because you need to know what the stimulation feels like and that it is not painful at low levels. Even at the highest level, an e-collar does not have enough "juice" to shock, like you would get from an electric fence or outlet. It's purpose is not to "light up" a dog nor punish. It is a training tool, that when used properly, is far more humane than a pinch/prong collar.
(2) For approximately two weeks prior to employing this training method, put the e-collar on your puppy every time she goes outside, even if it's just to potty. Doing so makes wearing the e-collar a positive experience. Understand that your dog's e-collar will be something she will wear for the rest of her life whenever she is off-lead, even though her basic training may have ended. It is not possible to prevent a dog from becoming collar-wise.
(3) This training must initially take place in a quiet yard where your dog will not be distracted by other people or dogs, furred critters or game birds, or anything else that might take her attention away from you and the task at hand. As with any type of training, you don't want her to be overly excited, so it's usually a good idea to take her for a run before you start training.
(4) You must be able to physically control your dog at all times during this training, so it is important to keep her leashed. You'll need both a short leash (4.5-6ft in length) and a check cord/long lead.
(5) You will need an e-collar with very low continuous stimulation levels. All newer models will have appropriate levels, but many older models do not. You cannot use this training method with an e-collar that is too "hot" or does not have continuous stimulation.
(6) A release command (such as "OK") is just as important as an initial command in training your dog. Your dog should understand the release command before you begin this training.
Fitting the Collar
Position the collar above the dog's regular collar, nearest to the head, as high up on the neck as possible. That way, when he puts his head down to sniff the ground or pick something up, the collar will not loosen and slide out of position. Do not use a metal/chain collar in combination with the e-collar. The collar's prongs go toward the side of the neck, not directly on the dog's throat. The collar needs to be quite snug, but not so tight that it's painful or it makes it difficult for the dog to breathe. You should just be able to insert one or two fingers under the collar strap at the back of the neck. It needs to be snug enough that it makes contact with the dog's skin and does not rotate out of position when the dog shakes her head. A collar that is too loose will not give a consistent correction, which is extremely important. Please do not think you're being nice to your dog if you loosen his e-collar. On the contrary, giving your dog inconsistent stimulation is cruel.
Determine the Correct Stimulation Level
  1. DO NOT GUESS! Using the correct level of stimulation is critical to being able to train successfully using this method.
  2. Place the e-collar and check cord on your dog and allow her to walk around freely, while keeping her close enough for careful observation.
  3. Set the e-collar transmitter on the lowest continuous stimulation level. (On some e-collars, the dial will be set to 1 and you will be depressing the Low level (bottom) button.) For many dogs, this will be the correct beginning stimulation level. You MUST use Continuous Stimulation - not Vibration. She needs to know what the Stimulation feels like and you need to know what her baseline level of Continuous Stimulation is.
  4. Depress and quickly release the continuous stimulation button and watch your dog carefully for a reaction. The reaction should be subtle. She might look up, her ears might perk, or she might shake her head. You are looking for a "What was that?" type of reaction. The stimulation should not be painful. All you want is for your dog to feel the stimulation. You want to annoy her with the stimulation, not hurt her. If your dog jumps, jerks and/or yelps, she is receiving too much stimulation. (If you are using the lowest possible Continuous stimulation your e-collar offers, you can try using successive taps of Momentary stimulation instead.) If you cannot get the stimulation low enough, you will not be able to use this type of training with that e-collar.
  5. If you do not detect any reaction on the lowest stimulation level, increase to the next level. (On some e-collars, you will not be turning up the dial from 1 to 2, but depressing the Medium level (top) button or depressing both buttons together for High.) Momentarily depress the continuous stimulation button and watch for a subtle reaction. If she does not react to one of the lowest possible levels, you probably need to tighten her e-collar, wiggle the collar so the probes touch her skin, or switch to longer probes.
Important Note
Any time I instruct you below to "depress and hold" the continuous stimulation button on the e-collar transmitter, you may instead "tap, tap, tap, tap..." the continuous stimulation button. I believe either method works and neither method is better than the other. Use whichever method is easiest for you, but be sure you are consistent. Do not start with one method, then change to another, or switch back and forth between methods. Pick a method and stick with it!
The "Kennel" Command
This command is an easy one to use to teach your dog how to turn off the e-collar stimulation, because you can quickly force compliance and you do not need a helper. You will not be using the e-collar to teach your dog the "kennel" command. She must already know the command before you can proceed with this training.
  1. Confirm or teach your dog the "kennel" command using a portable kennel/dog crate, like this:
    1. Put your dog on a leash, stand her directly in front of the kennel/crate and give the "kennel" command.
    2. If she does not voluntarily enter the kennel, give the "kennel" command again and force her inside.
    3. Some dogs will really fight being forced into the kennel. It's very important she does not "win" this first round, so give it all you've got. Get down on one knee, hold her collar and pull her in with one hand, while pushing her from behind with your other hand. (It helps if you can lift her back end off the ground.)
    4. As soon as she is inside, mark with your clicker and/or give your reinforcer word (Yes!, Nice!), praise her lavishly and treat her - no matter how hard it was to get her inside.
    5. Continue to reinforce her correct behavior with your reinforcer word (Nice! Nice! Nice!) and treat her while she is in the kennel and do not allow her to exit until you give your release command (such as "OK").
    6. Repeat until your dog will voluntarily enter and stay in the kennel when you give the "kennel" command. Be lavish with treats and praise. So long as you have to apply force to get your dog into the kennel, or keep her there, do not proceed to step 2.
  2. Bring your dog to within a step of the kennel entrance (still leashed). Give the "kennel" command, then depress and hold the continuous stimulation button on the e-collar transmitter. As soon as your dog begins to comply with your command (she steps forward toward the door), release the button and stop the stimulation. Reinforce and treat. Give the release command and allow her to exit the kennel.
    Initially, you may find your dog gets confused by the stimulation and does not move toward the kennel on her own when you give the "kennel" command. If this happens, keep the stimulation button depressed and *very* quickly push her into the kennel, making sure you release the button as soon as she moves toward the door. Reinforce, treat and release.
  3. When your dog is quickly complying to the "kennel" command from that short distance, begin giving the command when she is further away from the kennel (still leashed). Make sure to use your reinforcer word and stop the stimulation as soon as she begins to comply by taking a step toward the kennel. When she is inside the kennel, reinforce, treat and release.
    If she gets distracted after you have stopped the stimulation and stops moving toward the kennel, repeat the "kennel" command, depress the continuous stimulation button again and hold it only until she starts moving toward the kennel again - even if you must use the leash to force her compliance. Reinforce when she begins compliance. When she is inside the kennel, reinforce, treat and release.
    4. Timing is critical to success!
    1. There will always be a slight pause between giving the command and depressing the stimulation button. NEVER depress the stimulation button if she has already started to comply. Allow her to complete the task. Reinforce, treat and release.
    2. Your dog will learn to anticipate the stimulation and will try to "beat" it by complying with your command before the stimulation starts. However, do NOT give her extra time to comply. If you start delaying the stimulation until after she's failed to comply with your initial command, thereby forcing you to repeat the command and give stimulation, you are now using the e-collar as a form of punishment. By repeatedly forcing quick compliance, your dog will eventually kennel out of habit. Habits are just as hard for dogs to break as people. Once she reacts to your kennel command by kenneling without thinking about it, she has developed a very good habit. That is what you are aiming for - a dog who automatically reacts to your kennel command by immediately kenneling out of habit. At that point it will not matter if your dog is collar-wise. He will kennel quickly whether he is wearing the e-collar or not.
    3. The stimulation must stop as soon as your dog BEGINS to comply with your command. Initially, you should make it easy for your dog to complete the task quickly (such as giving the "kennel" command when she is only a step away from the door.) When you are sure she understands how to turn off the stimulation, you can increase the distance she is away from the kennel when you give the command. This will effectively lengthen the amount of time between her beginning compliance and receiving the reward. Always verbally reinforce her correct behavior as she begins compliance with a single reinforcer word, such as Nice! or Yes!
    OOPS! If you find your dog has become afraid of the kennel, it is generally because one of these things has happened:
    1. She did not clearly understand the "kennel" command before you began using the e-collar. Keep the e-collar on her, but restart the training by reinforcing the command using only marks with your clicker, verbal reinforcer, treats and praise. You may have to give her a verbal reinforcer and treat each time she voluntarily takes a step toward the kennel until she no longer fears going into it. You may also have to relocate the kennel and/or replace it with one that looks different.
    2. You did not stop the stimulation soon enough, so she was still receiving stimulation when she entered the kennel. Now she believes the kennel is the cause of her discomfort. Restart the training by reinforcing the command with only marks, treats and praise.
    3. The stimulation level you used was too "hot" and she fears being hurt again. Go back to the beginning of these instructions and find the correct stimulation level for your dog. Then restart the training by reinforcing the command with only marks with your clicker, verbal reinforcer, treats and praise.
  4. When your dog clearly anticipates and understands how to stop the stimulation and complies quickly enough to the "kennel" command to avoid it, you are ready to apply this training method to other commands.
The Recall Command (Come! or Here!)
If you have a helper, your recall command can be the first command you train with this method. As with the "kennel" command, your dog must know the recall command before you can proceed. You are not going to teach her the recall command with the e-collar. Rather, you are going to use the e-collar to teach her to come quickly to you from any distance, no matter what distractions she may encounter.
  1. Confirm or teach your dog your preferred recall command (Come, Here) using a check cord/longline, clicker marks, verbal reinforcers, treats and praise. Only when your dog comes to you quickly and eagerly are you ready to continue to the next step.
  2. For this training, you will need a helper. Put your dog on a check cord/long line. Have your helper hold your dog in place (dog should be standing) while you move about six (6) feet away. Face your dog, give the recall command, depress the continuous stimulation button, and pull on the leash to force your dog to come to you. Verbally reinforce and stop the stimulation the instant your dog begins to comply by taking a step toward you. When she arrives at your hand, reinforce, treat, praise and release.
  3. Repeat until you no longer need to pull on the leash and your dog is eagerly coming to your hand for the reward.
  4. Increase the distance between you and your dog. Face your dog, give the recall command and depress the continuous stimulation button ONLY if she has not already started to comply. Verbally reinforce and stop the stimulation the instant your dog begins to comply by taking a step toward you. When she arrives at your hand, reinforce, treat, praise and release.
    If she gets distracted on the way to you, repeat the recall command, depress the stimulation button again, and hold it ONLY until she starts moving toward you again, even if you must use the leash to force her compliance. Verbally reinforce when she takes a step toward you. When she arrives at your hand, reinforce, treat, praise and release.
  5. DO NOT depress the stimulation button if she has already started to comply. Dogs learn quickly they can often beat the stimulation by quickly complying. However, do NOT give her extra time to comply. If you start delaying the stimulation until after she's failed to comply with your initial command, thereby forcing you to repeat the command and give stimulation, you are now using the e-collar as a form of punishment. By repeatedly forcing quick compliance, your dog will eventually recall out of habit. Habits are just as hard for dogs to break as people. Once she reacts to your recall command by coming without thinking about it, she has developed a very good habit. That is what you are aiming for - a dog who automatically reacts to your recall command by immediately coming out of habit. At that point it will not matter if your dog is collar-wise. He will come quickly whether he is wearing the e-collar or not.
  6. Making sure you can clearly see your dog at all times, continue to increase the distance between you and your dog, eventually eliminating the leash when you are confident she will come to you, even if distracted. Verbally reinforce her correct behavior each time she begins to come toward you. When she arrives at your hand, reinforce, treat, praise and release.
  7. When your dog is coming to you from a great distance quickly enough to avoid stimulation, begin introducing varying types and increasing amounts of distractions into your training sessions in the yard. Do not increase both distance and distractions at the same time. When introducing distractions, start out in your yard, shorten the distance and be sure to have a leash on your dog so you can force compliance when needed. Increase distractions in small increments. Do NOT go straight from your yard into a field with birds. You will only be setting your dog up for failure and you will have to use higher levels of stimulation than is necessary. On the flip-side, if you never have to force compliance with your lead or e-collar, you are not introducing sufficiently exciting distractions.
    8. When training the recall command, using food rewards has two purposes:
    • it lets your dog know she has just done something you like; and
    • it helps train your dog to come to hand. Have her look you in the eye before giving her the reward. This will serve you well later when training Manner of Retrieve.
    OOPS! If you find your dog is afraid to come to you, it is generally because one of these things has happened:
    1. She did not clearly understand the recall command before you began using the e-collar. Keep the e-collar on her, but restart the training by reinforcing the command using only your clicker, verbal reinforcer, treats and praise. You may have to reinforce and treat each time she voluntarily takes a step toward you until she no longer fears coming to you.
    2. You continued the stimulation too long after your dog began to comply. NEVER continue the stimulation until your dog reaches you!
    3. You used stimulation when you could not see your dog and she was either unable to comply, or you continued the stimulation too long after she began to comply.
    4. The stimulation level you used was too "hot" and she fears being hurt again. Go back to the beginning of these instructions and find the correct stimulation level for your dog. Then restart the training with only your clicker, verbal reinforcer, treats and praise.
WARNING! Take great care when introducing live game as a distraction. Dogs are time and place oriented, so it is easy for them to mistake the reason for their discomfort. Just as your dog may learn to fear her kennel if you do not stop the stimulation soon enough when training the "kennel" command, your dog may learn to fear a pheasant if you give her stimulation when she stops to point a pheasant during training of the recall command.