E-Collar For Pups
 

How soon can I sart using an E-collar for my pup? He's now 4 1/2 months. And is it a good idea to start the E-collar before he's got the "basics" (sit,stay,fetch) mastered without it?

I see no need to an electric collar at any stage. The only time I would use it is to correct something that is near impossible to correct, and even then I would use it only on its lowest setting.

Absolutley not!

Teach the hands on basic commands without the collar using praise and rewards - The collar is not a short cut - never has been.
Commands I start with are Here or Come and Stay at an early age. I actually give the dog a hunting season before I teach Fetch. I teach Fetch to all my dogs whether a natural retriever or not. The Commands used is Fecth (go get it - hold it and bring it back to hand) then Leave it.

I do not use many commands such as Hold, Dead bird, etc. IMO is a waste of time.

The list I use is Here, Stay, Down, Sit, Whoa, Easy, Fetch, Leave it, No, Heel, & Kennel.

Many ot the commands are backed up using a whistle such as Whoa (1 sharp blast) and Here (a dobule blast of the whistle.)

Because I also duck hunt this dog I am going to teach hand commands of Back, Left, and Right this winter.


The Collar is a great tool however. But the use comes way after the dog has a good understanding of the command used and is basicaly disobeying the command. The collar is a great tool for trash breaking too such as running deer, skunks, porkies, snakes, etc.

Others may disagree but I have helped untrain far too many collar sensitve dogs. Do your hands on basics first and use lots of praise and or treats and short sessions several times a day. You will see greater results.

I agree with JW on most of his points. Think of the collar as a long leash. If you can't get the pup to do it on a short leash a long one won't help you. With that said by 4-5 months I will "collar condition" the pup. As they get older they will ignore the collar longer making the conditioning harder.

pup
 

I agree also 4 months is to young. An ecollar is to reinforce commands. Get you a book that tells you how to use it.