How Dog Training Collars Have Changed

Dog training collars have changed substantially over the past few years. As technology has improved, advances in this field have made it possible for dog training collars to be even more effective when it comes to training dogs.

Electronic dog collars used to be called "shock collars." They were used by some trainers, but most avoided them. The reason that they were thought to be inhumane by some trainers were that they offered one jolt of electric shock to the dog whenever he did something wrong. Sure, it was effective - but was it necessary?

Imagine trying to train a child. Each time the child does something wrong, he or she gets the same punishment. If they write all over the wall with a marker they are talked to in the same manner as if they forget to put a glass in the sink. Not very effective or fair - is it?

Well, training a dog is pretty much like training a child. In fact, it is said that a dog has the mentality of a two year old child. The electronic dog collar is effective because it corrects the dog’s behavior immediately. Dogs, like children, do not have a long memory and will not remember something that they did a minute or so ago that may have been wrong. So they will not understand why you are yelling and screaming at them. When you use an electronic collar, they get a "nick" right away that tells them that their behavior is inappropriate.

The problem with the old shock collars is that they delivered the same "nick." It wasn’t fair. Trainers felt that they were always punishing the dogs. Too much negative enforcement is not good or effective when it comes to getting a dog to do what you want it to do. The new electronic dog collars, however, are much more effective.

How are the new collars better?

The new electronic dog collars are more effective than the old shock collars because they deliver two different types of stimulation - both continuous and momentary as well as different levels of stimulation. You can use a very low level of stimulation when you are giving a dog an instruction. This is especially important when you are training a dog to do a specific job, like hunting. Although he has natural instincts for this, he needs to be trained so he can be an asset to the hunting party.

For the most part, you can use the momentary means of stimulation on the lowest level to teach the dog how to do what you want him to do in the field. If, however, the dog gets it into his head to go running off after a bird or some other animal, you can use the continuous stimulation. This should give your dog enough stimulation that will stop him from running off.

Time out for safer use

A continuous stimulation would be ineffective and painful for a dog if used for a prolonged period of time. To stop this from happening, electronic collars will time out after about 7 seconds of using this stimulation, making it impossible to harm your dog. This is one of the safety features that have been added, along with levels of stimulation, to make today’s electronic dog collars much safer, gentler and easier to use for training dogs today.

Geoffrey A. English is the Founder of GundogsOnline.com, the internet's premiere online magazine dedicated to bird dogs. Visit their site for more information on training bird dogs and hunting dog supplies including a wide variety of dog collars, shooting glasses, and hearing protection.