I am totally in love with this thing - this morning while making breakfast for Wayne, I put the collar on Ami just to see if the thing would work with the short probes.  I had the transmitter set for vibrate/tone only.  Then, Ami went to sniff the counter with the butter and eggs sitting next to the stove cooking home fries.  (Butter is a big temptation for Ami - if I'm more than 3' away and it's out, it's gone    I thought, I wonder...just as he lifted his head, I held down the vibrate button (feels like a cell phone set to vibrate - tried it on my wrist, first).  Mr Dog looked startled, backed up, I let off the button, Ami looked around, looked at the counter as if to say "WTF!" and walked away.  He went around the island to approach the counter from a different point, repeat above.  Ditto when I put Wayne's breakfast plate on the kitchen table.  I was actually able to continue to work at the stove with Wayne's plate on the table unattended (did not take any more vibrations).

For the rest of the morning, Ami stayed out of the work triangle, looked at the counters as if they were possessed  I would say his primary affect regarding the whole experience was bewilderment and mild annoyance.  We treated him lavishly in the "safe" zones and he was a happy camper.

Note:  I did try to use the collar to keep him out of the family room without the cardboard barrier - but I was stupid.  I removed the barrier, Wayne was at the computer and when Ami stepped into the room, I pushed the button - made Mr. Dog run INTO the room, not back away, then in my confusion and Wayne's shock, Mr. Dog was on the couch, I let go of the button, Mr Dog leaped over the couch, into the sun room, up on the coffee table, onto love-seat, then the couch.  Where he hid his snout in the pillows as Wayne was hollering in the other room and I was trying to catch the beast.  End of story - I gently calmed both hubby and Mr. Dog, led Mr. Dog back to the kitchen.   So, I'll leave that one for a week or two and do it properly, ie. I'll leash him, let him approach the door opening, buzz him and pull him back with the leash.

Hopefully, I'll be able to do the training with just the vibration as I suspected.  Really, the puzzled, slightly annoyed and very suspicious look on his face is priceless.

Yay, Amy. I'm glad it's working out for you. please tell me that yours has a way to leash him or do you have to use separate collars? that's the only thing I don't like about hers. Let me know how you're doing that, I'll make hubby upgrade if you can use the leash too. Your description made me laugh so hard, Miya gave me this look like huh? what you laughing about.

Nope - separate collar and leash. I believe all ecollars tell you not to use a leash. If you think about it, the ecollar has the probes - if the leash is attached and dog pulls on leash or bolts, it could pull the probes hard enough to puncture the skin!

Actually, Ami is collared to death - metal belt buckle collar of ID tags, prong collar for control on leash and only while walking, another collar with separate leash for back-up in case the prong collar fails while walking. These 2 come off when walk is done. Then, there's his preventic tick collar. Poor boy. I think for training recall with the ecollar, I'll use only the back-up collar.

Gosh, I didn't sleep enough, had a question for you thought I posted it.....Uggg....can you take a pic with your set up so I have an idea on how you're doing it? The reason I'm asking I need to retrain Miya on leash, If I want to go anywhere with her in town I have to bring hubby because Miya is a major puller, well duh, anyways, she is so good walks right with me on e-collar, I need to retrain, thinking your way maybe the way to go, any help?

MiyasMomma wrote:

Gosh, I didn't sleep enough, had a question for you thought I posted it.....Uggg....can you take a pic with your set up so I have an idea on how you're doing it? The reason I'm asking I need to retrain Miya on leash, If I want to go anywhere with her in town I have to bring hubby because Miya is a major puller, well duh, anyways, she is so good walks right with me on e-collar, I need to retrain, thinking your way maybe the way to go, any help?

I'm not sure what you mean by "set" - the sport dog SD425? my leash set up with prong collar?

I'm sorry your set up for his training with the e-collar, am I reading wrong "I'll leash him, let him approach the door opening, buzz him and pull him back with the leash." leash collar, leash and e-collar, no? that's what i would like to see.

MiyasMomma wrote:

I'm sorry your set up for his training with the e-collar, am I reading wrong  "I'll leash him, let him approach the door opening, buzz him and pull him back with the leash." leash collar, leash and e-collar, no? that's what i would like to see.

Yes

oops, spilled rice on floor gotta go

amymeme wrote:

MiyasMomma wrote:

I'm sorry your set up for his training with the e-collar, am I reading wrong  "I'll leash him, let him approach the door opening, buzz him and pull him back with the leash." leash collar, leash and e-collar, no? that's what i would like to see.

Yes

oops, spilled rice on floor gotta go

OK - now I can answer more thoughtfully (Husband's movie time is inviolate and non-negotiable. As is Chinese takeout on the oriental rug  )

He wears the collars (prong collar, redundant collar, ID tag collar, Preventic Collar) on his neck like bangle bracelets on a wrist - when I start to use the ecollar for boundary training at the door opening, he won't need the prong collar so I will not put that one on. Essentially, I am adapting the recall training described here: http://www.loucastle.com/recall (thank you Jen!).

One of the reasons I like to give Ami "house time", other than for mutual company, is so he can walk around, lay around without all the collars and leads (except the ID tag collar - that is non-negotiable except for when grooming his neck.)

Does that help? Another thought - if you are having pulling issues on leash, I sincerely endorse the prong collar - read this entire thread: https://www.itsahuskything.com/t3462p60-am-i-really-so-bad-for-wanting-to-try-a-choke-collar?highlight=hemr+sprenger+prong+collar

Thanks Amy,

I'll read in depth and figure out best way to go. Can't believe you can put that much on him. I look at her neck and just can't imagine having 2 collars on her. The funny thing with her on leash is she follows all commands, but the walking part, she wants to sniff everything, hehe, she'll sit, stay etc. perfect. Tell her let's go, our command for walk, and off to the races we go. She pulls for my husband too, but he's 6' 6'' and 240 pounds, double my size, and Miya is slightly larger than most huskies at about 70 pounds, 22-24 inches tall at the shoulders. She was the runt of her litter, I got blessed, or so I thought, both of her parents are smaller than her. I have a pup pouting this morning, kept waiting for daddy. We're goining for extra walks today, although it's a hundred already.
Thanks Amy

Well, Ami is 63 pounds, stands 24-ish inches (you get him to stand still to be measured  ) and has lots of neck (actually, the preventic is supposed to be placed underneath his primary collar.) The prong collar is very narrow, the strap on the ecollar is also narrow - maybe 3/4"? The other 2 are nylon flat collars and usually, his redundant collar slides over the prong. I dunno, it works just like a stack of bangle bracelets (do they still call them bangle?)

Haha Amy, you're too funny, don't know either, but I knew what you meant. She wouldn't stand still, either. so I resorted to standing next to her and drew a line on me and then measured me, so rough guess was 22-24 inches. I'm guessing that she'll have one more growth spurt, since she won't be 2 until November.

I seen your scrapbook for Ami, he's so gorgeous, Your pics made me homesick, the culvert diving, lol, I have to back Miya off of the culverts here, too afraid a rattle snake is there, she get's a rattle snake shot, but it only lessens the toxins if she were struck. With a 20 minute ride to the vet, I don't want to take any chances.

I started to read the lou castle recall section that you highlighted for me. Very informative(also thanks Jen), her recall is excellent too, just the"heel, not pull part" so we are going to work on that tomorrow, since it will take me today to read and get a handle on it.

My husband got a video of a trainer, I didn't like his approach, and wasn't in the slightest bit as in depth as lou castle, it's amazing all the different training approaches out there. Funny we sat down to watch this guy, within a minute my husband turned it off and said, this guy's dogs have no soul, he was right, whenever his dog was just "there" while the guy was talking, dog was laying down head flat, no tail wagging and no excitement in its eyes. Can't say he was abusive, but those dogs were overly obedient, he had multiple breed dogs(3 or 4) he used to demonstrate and everyone was like that. Made my husband throw the video away. Had to vent sorry.

MiyasMomma wrote:

My husband got a video of a trainer, I didn't like his approach, and wasn't in the slightest bit as in depth as lou castle, it's amazing all the different training approaches out there. Funny we sat down to watch this guy, within a  minute my husband turned it off and said, this guy's dogs have no soul, he was right, whenever his dog was just "there" while the guy was talking, dog was laying down head flat, no tail wagging and no excitement in its eyes. Can't say he was abusive, but those dogs were overly obedient, he had multiple breed dogs(3 or 4) he used to demonstrate and everyone was like that. Made my husband throw the video away. Had to vent sorry.

My biggest fear is a zombie dog. I cherish Ami's impudent ways - I just want him to be safe and I want to make him socially acceptable in the house so if, god forbid, anything should happen to us, Ami is adoptable!

Per Jen's recommendation, I exchanged the Sport Dog field trainer for a mini Educator, primary reason was for the ability to lock the stimulation level (I inadvertently moved the dial to a much higher level and traumatized both Ami and me) and to have 100 levels rather than just the 14 or so on the sport dog - allows for much finer adjustment between levels so you don't go from one level the dog cannot feel to another that is to much. Also, the sport dog really had only 6 or 7 levels but on 2 ranges - I once needed a higher level due to some squirrels but I was at the top of the low range and it was most inconvenient to change the range and cope with squirrels and dogs at the same time.

I really like the mini educator - the stimulation level can be locked in...but, I find Ami (and Archer) respond just fine with the "tap" feature (it's like a cell phone on vibrate.)

Now for the real reason for the post...I had a new milestone with Ami and the collar today Watching Jen's videos with Dizzy, I got the courage last week to have Ami out with us while stacking wood. I put the ecollar on, then a 9 ft leash with a 4 inch, heavy stainless steel carabiner to drag on the ground. He stayed right near us (ok, he laid on the tarps, stepped on the wood, chewed on the wood, stood in front of the cart...) But not once did he attempt to dash off.

And now the big news - today, when I went to bring in the wood, I outfitted him the same as above. After we brought the wood in the house, we went for a little walk around the lower part of the property...including, spying Miss Kitty on the corner of the garage at about 30 ft. He was definitely interested but I told him"no...no, Ami" and though he kept watching her, he also kept walking towards the field. We continued our walk, I sometimes got 30-40 ft ahead of him, including one time on a path in the woods where I was around a corner and out of site. Every time I called him, he came trotting to me. And I never once used the ecollar. It just sat there on his neck!

I am now more thrilled than ever. Plus, Mr. Archer was here for 5 days and I only had to use the tap feature twice and he has not tried to go on the pool deck - even when Ami is up there sniffing the water bags.