What is a Remote Training Collar / Electronic Training Collar (E-Collar) or “Dog Correction Collar”?

Remote training collars allow you to reinforce obedience commands and correct your dog's undesired behaviors with excellent timing and at a distance. Depending on the brand and model of electronic training collar, some e collars are able to communicate many miles away.

The basic function of a remote training collar is to provide stimulation to serve as a distraction because your dog will find the stimulus unpleasant. By following your obedience command or by stopping the undesired behavior, your dog will learn to avoid the correction and therefore stop the undesired behavior or lack of response to an obedience cue.

What level of correction/stimulation should I set the collar at?

It is important to always start with a level and work your way up as needed. You will know when you have found the correct level of stimulus when your dog responds to the stimulation with a mild movement of the head or neck, looks around curiously or perks his ears up and down. If your dog yelps or whines when you are finding the correct level that means it is set too high and you need adjust the stimulation level.

What is the appropriate age for a dog to begin remote collar training?

I suggest that your dog be about 6 months or older before using a remote collar, although exceptions can be made with the guidance of a professional trainer. An example would be if you have a dog that is 5 months old but maturing quickly and has already been through some basic training, introducing remote collar would most likely be ok in a case like this. Prior to beginning remote collar training your dog should be able to respond to basic obedience commands such as “sit”, “heel”, “come” etc. The remote collar is designed to help reinforce learned behaviors rather then teach them…although in some cases I will use the collar to teach it is usually directed at a behavioral issue, not an obedience command.

Will the remote training collar hurt my dog?  

Stimulation from the e-collar is intended to distract your dog by delivering an unpleasant but harmless stimulus. The sensation can be described as that of a Chiropractic muscle stimulus machine, it is an unpleasant sensation but it isn’t harmful. Another setting option on some remote collar systems is the “pager” setting, which feels just like a cell phone vibration.

Training collars provide many different stimulation levels. Generally trainers and owners find they can achieve their desired results using a low level of stimulation…Personally, I can’t feel the stimulus on my arm at the level that my own dog responds to and I find that with many dogs I train. Additionally, some remote training collars allow you to choose a vibration correction. Not all dogs will respond to this stimulus but it is generally worth trying or even using with specific commands to differentiate between corrections. Not all remote training collars include a vibration correction, be sure to read the detailed product description if you plan on utilizing the vibration function.

What is the proper fit for a remote collar/e collar?

The remote collar should be tight enough that it doesn’t flip around and rub back and forth on your dogs neck but lose enough that you can fit one finger under the collar. The contact points must be touching the skin in order to be effective and again not rotate from the position it was set in. This is important because if your collar is too loose it will actually create more irritation on the neck due to the friction. If your dog is showing signs of having trouble breathing or drinking then it is too tight.

Remote training collars are safe, effective and have become a very popular way to train. When used the right way the collars are humane and any myths about electronic training collars being unsafe or cruel are simply not true. World-renowned dog trainers and behaviorists use and suggest remote training devices, including myself. I would not suggest equipment that was unsafe and I definitely wouldn’t use them on my own dogs if I felt that they were not a safe and helpful tool.

Graham Bloem, - Animal Behavior College Certified Dog Trainer