The Uses and Features of Electronic Dog Collars

Posted by Puppy Trainer on January 29th, 2010 filed in Dogs

Fortunately there have been many new advances in creating effective tools to help us train our dogs.  One of these has been the electronic dog collar.  The best feature of these collars is that regardless of whether you have a tiny Yorkie or an enormous Mastiff, the collar is effective and works exactly the same way.  These collars offer safe, humane training for your dog.

There are three basic types of electronic collars:

                Anti-Bark

                Perimeter Control

                Field Training

Anti-Bark Collars

The most common collar that dog owners look for is one that will train their dog to not bark when it’s inappropriate.  These collars are designed to teach your dog that barking is not appropriate behavior.  These collars are very technologically advanced they sense only your dog barking, and not other dogs who may be around them.   Many models allow dog owners and trainers to control the length of time that your dog will be ‘warned’ as well as the intensity of the warning. There are built in safety features to ensure the dog does not get hurt during use.  The theory behind the collar is simple: teach the dog that barking is a negative and generally, dogs learn this very quickly and the habit of inappropriate barking is stopped very quickly. 

Perimeter Control and Electronic Fencing

These collars are great for owners who do not wish to put up expensive fencing around their yard.  The electrostatic emitter on the collar works with a device that marks the perimeter of the area that the dog is allowed in.  This device could be a wire buried underground or an adjustable emitter that creates a radius around it.  When the device on the collar comes near the perimeter, it emits a warning beep.  If the dog does not move to within the safe zone, it will emit an electrostatic correction, and will periodically keep emitting it until the dog is within its limits.  The levels and intervals of the corrections are adjustable by the owner.  Usually, flagging is set at the boundaries as a visual barrier to tell the dogs where the boundaries are.  Over time, more and more flags are taken away until the dog learns exactly where he can and cannot go.  This method can be very effective when used properly, and as with any training, must be consistent.

Field Training Collars

If you have a working dog or a hunting dog, you are looking for a collar that is effective in training them for hunting and working.  One of the most popular and most effective training collars are designed to be used with working dogs.  Trainers use a hand held transmitter to “warm” their dogs through use of vibrations or beeps when they are engaging is inappropriate behavior.  These warning beeps will help you train your dog to be helpful to you in hunting.  Field Training collar are designed to have a longer range then others, because they will be used for training your dog to behave while hunting, retrieving or herding.  This is an effective method of training your work dog, and allows you to do so without being weighed down by a leash.   These collar are not only extremely durable, but specially designed to be water and weather proof making them a very valuable training tool.

New Developments

New developments in electronic training now include the ultra-sonic training collars. Although they work very similar to other types of collars, these collars are very advanced and are quickly becoming very popular.  These collars emit an ultra sonic, high pitched sound rather than a static charge.  These advances may be one way to avoid the argument that so many claim that electronic collars are not humane.  These collars are as effective as their electronic counterparts and will help you correct inappropriate behavior and help train your dog develop good habits.

There are many electronic dog collars out on the market ranging from training collars to bark collars to tracking collars. Some great collars are the SportDOG 400 and the SportDOG 2400. Look into them and see which one is best for you