Remote leash? - Poodle Forum - Standard Poodle, Toy Poodle, Miniature Poodle Forum ALL Poodle owners too!

doggielover · 04-21-2009, 09:22 PM

Anyone here ever used a remote leash for dog training? It sounds a little out there to me, but it may be a fantastic training method....I'm just not familiar with it. I'm open to you who are more knowledgable than me.

Thanks in advance--
Dee

WonderPup · 04-22-2009, 05:46 AM

I'm not familiar with the term remote leash, are you talking about a shock or a spray collar by chance? Or maybe one of those sonic ones(wich I think are useless by the way lol).

Aidan · 04-22-2009, 06:20 AM

I used a remote training collar on my German Shepherd.

I had a lot of people flame me for it but it was a last resort. This was after trying a martingale, head collar and pinch collar, all of which failed her. She was also horrible on recall and although she's not dog aggressive she's very dominant so she would sometimes sound aggressive when seeing other dogs at the park, etc...

I would try all other ways of training before jumping to a shock collar (that's basically what it is) some dogs can be very sensitive and its easy to break a sensitive dog (poodles being extremely sensitive) I would also suggest getting a high quality collar, one that has both the shock and the tone button, it's the easiest to use for training and i think it's more humane than just having a shock option.

I had a trainer help me use it with Pandora to make sure I wasn't going to hurt her. Once the trainer found the level that worked for her he had me feel it and it didn't hurt, it was a bit stronger than a static shock from the carpet, but enough to get her attention. She's never whined on it her ear will perk up a bit when being corrected but no vocal noises come from her so I don't believe it causes her pain.

When using it for correction I would FIRST use the tone button and then right after the shock button and eventually now when I take her out off leash if I want her to come and she doesnt all I have to do is hit the TONE button without having to shock her. She knows if she hears that tone button what follows so she comes right away.

It's worked very well but like I said I had a trainer guide me with using it to ensure I was not hurting my dog.

She was just very stubborn as a pup and now I can take her off leash at the lake and at the park to play frisbee and she does just fine. I've never had a scare where I thought she wouldn't come back. I don't even need the collar 100% of the time but I ALWAYS have it when not in a fenced area for her own safety. I don't believe any dog can be 100% reliable off leash. There is always something that could be more interesting than me!

Good luck!

roxy25 · 04-22-2009, 08:16 AM

I bought a shock collar on my GSD when I was a teen because I did not understand the behavior of dogs completely.

It was the worst dog training tool I have every bought. It made her crouch down in fear every time she would hear the warning beep ! and I used it on my self and it HURTS so i threw it away !

roxy25 · 04-22-2009, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doggielover

Anyone here ever used a remote leash for dog training? It sounds a little out there to me, but it may be a fantastic training method....I'm just not familiar with it. I'm open to you who are more knowledgable than me.

Thanks in advance--
Dee

What problems are you having with your dog ? maybe I can suggest some methods to try.

Aidan · 04-22-2009, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roxy25

I bought a shock collar on my GSD when I was a teen because I did not understand the behavior of dogs completely.

It was the works dog training tool I have every bought. It made her crouch down in fear every time she would hear the warning beep ! and I used it on my self and it HURTS so i threw it away !

Eep, I dunno what kind of collar that would have been. Mine doesn't hurt and Pandora gets all excited when I show her the collar and can't wait. She knows if I have that collar it means that we're going to the lake or out to the park for some off leash fun so she's never cowered from it. You're supposed to only have it high enough to either see an ear perk or the dog start looking around, basically as an attention getter not as a form of punishment.

roxy25 · 04-22-2009, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aidan

Eep, I dunno what kind of collar that would have been. Mine doesn't hurt and Pandora gets all excited when I show her the collar and can't wait. She knows if I have that collar it means that we're going to the lake or out to the park for some off leash fun so she's never cowered from it. You're supposed to only have it high enough to either see an ear perk or the dog start looking around, basically as an attention getter not as a form of punishment.

I was a shock collar ..... again this was when I was 14 companies change how animal products preform over the years. I am guarantee that some still hurt.

T o d d · 04-22-2009, 09:03 AM

I think I posted about one... I got a 'training collar' for moose, it has good beep, bad beep, and then shock with a setting from 1 to 6. I've used it on myself up to a 4 and could barely feel it. I used it on moose on a 3 or 4, and know what it's amazing... I only used it a couple times.

He learned VERY QUICKLY what it meant. I also trained with it with a reward system, and how the manual said to use it. It's more of a 'scare thing' than a 'omg your burning my skin off' thing.

Within minutes he was a different dog! It's worked SO WELL. I only charged the darn thing once or twice and it's been in the cabinet.

I think they work well if you use them how they are supposed to be used and FOLLOW THROUGH (like any other training too) it will work fine.

We got it so we could let him wonder around our new property and not worry he'd wonder off. He's gotten much braver since we moved in but he still comes when I yell at him to get on over here, sometimes it takes a bit because he's gotten so far. The next thing I need to train him is to stay within distance of site! L O LThat will be fun.

WonderPup · 04-22-2009, 11:53 AM

Aidan, I just wanted to point out that a martingale is not a training collar... It is designed to prevent dogs from slipping their heads back out of the collar and escaping. Some people try and use them as a limited choke collar, but they really don't work well for that purpose

What you might want to keep in mind when considering a shock collar is that where force begins knowledge ends. People who rely are such method don't have a clue about dog behavior and training in general. Nor does it appear that many of them are willing to learn. They don't have the knowledge to teach the behavior they are looking for so they jump right to things like choke chains, shock collars and alpha rolls... non of which are needed in 99% of cases.

Remote training systems have their place for sure, but not in the hands of most people I'm afraid. I've used them for backing up cues with gun dogs and such. If the dog is in the middle of the field of in the middle of the lake you have to have a way to reach out and touch them so to speak. For general training though, I wouldn't even dare, nor would I work with a client who did.

Of course, to each his own...

WonderPup · 04-22-2009, 11:57 AM

Oh and one more little tid bit you don't have to resort to the static shock collars. There is a system that relies on a harmless and painless spray of citronella, one of the brands that jump to mind is the spray commander... if it's still called that lol. It's made by premire. The remote on it has a button for a tone and one for a spray. Haha, we had one out of the box last week testing the batteries, and I shot my mother with it