Our initial goal is to get the dogs to recognize the e-collar as a training tool, and not just an weird sensation. We will start this process using e-collar recalls.The e-collar doesn’t MEAN to come, just like a leash doesn’t mean come. It is just one of many ways we can enforce commands, so make sure you are actually still using the verbal command to come.
Ask your dog to come and hold the constant button down on the remote until your dog takes one step towards you, then release and praise. For now our only criteria is that they take at least one step towards us when asked to come.
If they stop short or get distracted along the way, repeat your command and hold the constant button again until they take another step towards you, then release and praise.
If your dog does nothing when you call them and hold the button down, after a second or two, increase the stim level on the e-collar and repeat. The e-collar level will not change if you continue to hold the button down, so release, set the new level on the e-collar and then press the button again. If you have to increase the stimulation level, make sure always go back and start at your original working level the next time you call your dog.
This video shows Lemon’s first lesson on the E-collar. Lemon is already trained off-leash and to recall, so this step is only to layer the e-collar into her training as an additional tool.
Olive is young and while she has been introduced to the recall command, she needs a little more help. Notice after I call her I follow through with praise and sometimes backwards motion as well. Our goal here is to not only introduce the e-collar, but also make sure her definition of come is the same as mine.
In this clip, Olive is distracted by her leash, so she fails a recall command. After a second or two of non-compliance, I increase the stim level and try again. This time she moves forward (on accident), but I still release and praise, then I repeat until she completes the recall.
Here is another troubleshooting example. In this clip, the whole first half of the video I do not increase the stim level because she does actually take a step forward every time I call her. That is our ONLY criteria right now. All this struggling is not defiance, it just means that she doesn’t fully understand what “come” is yet and still needs help getting there.
Remember to always restart your dog at their working level when you call them. Start keeping notes on how different distractions effect their working levels. Maybe their working level is normally 8 but they only respond on level 15 when other dogs are around, for instance. These are important things to know if we want to move off-leash in the future.