LOU CASTLE - FITTING THE ECOLLAR

Fitting the Collar to the Dog

When fitting the Ecollar on the dog it must as high on his neck as it can go, just beneath his jaw. The strap must also go very high, just behind the dog’s ears. A dog’s neck tapers as it joins to his shoulders, that is, it gets bigger. If the Ecollar is put on too loosely it will fit further down on his neck. If this is done, when the dog puts his head down as when sniffing the ground, the Ecollar will move towards the dog’s head, loosening and the contact points won’t make good contact with the skin of the dog’s neck.

The strap must be snug on the dog’s neck. If the dog starts to wheeze, the strap is too tight. SNUG is the operative word. If the dog shakes his head (such as when shaking off water) and the box containing the electronic parts moves to a different position on his neck, it’s too loose. If you can easily grasp the box and move it to another position on his neck, it’s too loose. But even if the Ecollar is put on snugly, if it’s too low on the dog’s neck, it will slide up and loosen when the dog lowers his head to the ground.

After putting the Ecollar on the dog there’s one last thing to be done. Grasp the box and gently press it into the dog’s neck, wiggling it back and forth a little bit, as you do. Think of using the contact points to part the dog’s hair and get it to sit directly against his skin. This is vital with long haired dogs, especially those with an undercoat. It's not as important as dogs with short hair or those that don't have an undercoat. The idea is to get the contact points to make good contact with the skin of the dog's neck.

HOW TO FIND YOUR DOG’S WORKING LEVEL OF STIMULATION

Introduction

Often when I'm training, I'm approached by people who want to know what the “thing” is on the dog’s neck. If I'm not with a client, I'll give them a brief explanation. When I get to the part where I mention giving the dog a stimulation, they'll usually respond with an unhappy face and say, “You mean you shock the dog?”

I'll take the Ecollar off the dog and have them feel the stimulation. I also do this with all my private clients and many people who attend my seminars. Most people are quite fearful because of their past experience with electricity. (Refer to the article on Myths.) When I get to the level that they first feel it, I tell them that’s where I work with the dog. Nearly universally when that happens they say, “Is that all it is?” Almost universally they describe the feeling as a "buzz" or a "tingle."

If they have children with them, they invariably want to feel it too. When I find the level where they first feel it, THEY GIGGLE!

I hardly think that a tool that makes children giggle can be called abusive, cruel, or inhumane when it’s used as I do.

The Process - Finding YOUR Working Level

Before you find your dog's working level of stim I want you to find your own. I do this with all of my private clients and recommend that you do it as well. It will give you an appreciation for a couple of things.

The first is that you'll know what he's feeling when he gets stimmed at the level where he first feels the stim. All mammals process pain in the same way. Most animals, in fact have the same response to discomfort, they avoid it. At the sudden onset of pain, as would be the case from a high level Ecollar stim, they try to get away from it, often quite quickly.

The second is that you'll know what you're dog is feeling when you go too high with the stim. It hurts, and if you know what it's like, I think that you're more likely to be careful with the level of stim that you give to your dog.

Place the "box" on your forearm. You can use the "meaty" part of your thumb but I suggest that you don't use two fingers, placing one on each contact point. The current flows from one point to the other. When it's on the dog's neck, your thumb, your forearm or even your neck, the only nerves that are stimulated at low levels of stim are those between the contact points. When you place one finger on each contact point you've created a much longer path for the current to follow and involved up to four to five more times more nerves.

Follow the directions for finding your dog's working level of stim, start at zero and slowly turn the level up a slight amount at a time, tapping the continuous button three times at each level, until you feel the stim. After you've found the level at which you first feel the stim I want you to go to the next level and the next and the next, until it's too uncomfortable for you to go any higher.

With some methods of training a dog, those involving leash corrections and training collars, it's part of the method that you have to exceed the dog's "threshold of discomfort" for the correction to be aversive and for it to have some training effect. I suggest that you not think this way when you use an Ecollar. It's a significantly different tool and the method of teaching with it is also different.

If you just turn up the stim level beyond where the dog first feels it when your dog doesn't perform, especially when you're first teaching new behaviors with the Ecollar; all you'll do is hurt and confuse him. You don't learn well when you're in pain and neither does your dog.

The Process - Finding Your Dog's Working Level

You want to work the dog at the lowest level of stimulation that he can perceive. Put the dog on a leash and take him outside. Let him settle down so he’s not fixated on anything or highly distracted by anything. With some dogs it may take a few minutes for them to settle down. If he’s sniffing the ground, he’s distracted. If he’s looking at something and his ears are standing up (for dogs whose ears do this) he’s distracted. When his ears relax and stick out to the side rather than straight up, or they lay down, you’re ready to find his level.

For the Dogtra Ecollars which have the continuously variable stimulation, set the dial on “0” and press the Continuous button quickly three times. Since the Ecollar isn't putting out any stim at this setting you won’t see anything from the dog. Turn it up just a little. If you can move it in increments of 1/16" of movement you’re in the right ballpark. Press the button again, three times quickly. Continue in this fashion to SLOWLY turn the dial up until you see some sign that the dog is feeling the stimulation.

For the latest models in the Dogtra line, those that have an LCD readout of the stim level, you can set the digital readout on "zero" and go up one level at a time with great precision until you see a sign that the dog feels the stim.

There are many such signs. One of the most common is that the dog will sit down and scratch as if a flea is biting him. Some signs are subtler than that though. They include an ear flick, a quick look at the ground directly in front of the dog, a pulling back as if a grasshopper landed on the dog, moving to another place, locking up (rigidity of the legs).

Sometimes all that is noticeable is a furrowing of the dog’s brow. A dog may also rear up, raising his front legs off the ground. A dog that does this may do so because of a startle reflex. He’s not in pain he’s just been startled. One of the more subtle signs, especially with very stoical dog is a blink of his eyes.

The technique is just a little bit different for any other brand of Ecollar because of the different way that the stimulation level is set. For the TriTronics “Pro” series of collars that offer continuous stimulation set it on the lowest level available. Press the button and check for a result. For those Ecollars that have three buttons that give you a low for one button, medium for the other and high for both together, press the “low button.” If the dog doesn't respond, go to the next level on the dial and press the “low button.” Use only the “low” button until you find the dog’s level. This allows you to use the medium and high buttons when the dog ignores you later in the training.

If you use another brand or model of Ecollar you'll have to adapt how they work to this philosophy and method. The idea is to be able to stimulate the dog at a very low level, where he first feels it.

With a very few dogs, it's been my experience that it's more common with young dogs, they don't show any outward sign that they're feeling the stim. But as the level increases you can see that there's some muscular twitching going on that's in time with the press-press-press of the button. This is most easily seen in that in time to the button presses some of the dog's fur moves. The muscles just under the surface are being activated by the stim and they're contracting.

It's similar to what happen when a human gets an involuntary muscle twitch. Many people find this bothersome (aversive) but some don't even notice it and apparently it's similar in the dogs. If the dog found it aversive, he'd be showing one of the other signs that he's felt the stim but if he's not, he's not finding it all that bothersome.

My solution to this is to go to the level at which you can first seen the fur moving and work the first stage of the recall protocol.

Do about 15 leash pulls as described in the section called "The Process." If the dog's behavior of going out to the end of the Flexi to explore, does not change, he's not feeling the stim.

Go up one level of and try another 15 leash pulls. Keep doing this until you note a change in the dog's behavior. More than likely that will be that he simply stops going to the end of the leash and stays by you. Then you know that he's feeling the stim and you can move on to the next phase of teaching the recall, the walkways.

You can jump to the recall protocol by clicking here.

Is He Startled or in Pain?

You may find that your dog vocalizes and rears up when he gets a stimulation. There are two reasons that a dog will vocalize with an Ecollar stimulation. One is that he’s in pain. Since I'm using the continuous mode, if this is the reason that a dog is vocalizing, he'll continue to vocalize as long as I hold down the button. If this is occurring YOU’RE TOO HIGH. Another reason that a dog may vocalize is from surprise. Think of yourself sitting in a theater watching a scary movie. Someone taps you on the shoulder and you jump and involuntarily make a noise. This is not from being hurt; it’s from being startled. I think that the first reason given for a dog to vocalize, that he's in pain, is unfair, especially at the teaching phase of using the Ecollar but the second reason is acceptable. The dog isn't being hurt; he’s just being surprised.

One giveaway that the dog is surprised is that he only vocalizes for an instant, even though continuous stimulation is being applied. If he was being hurt, he’d continue to vocalize as long as the button was being held down because it would continue to hurt. If you’re using the nick or tap mode and the dog vocalizes each time the button is pressed, YOU’RE TOO HIGH.

Be aware that some dogs are just plain vocal and will make noise, “just because.” These dogs will make noise before the Ecollar is put on, while it’s on and after it’s taken off. Their noise has nothing to do with the stimulation since it’s not coupled with it. But if the dog starts vocalizing ONLY when the button is pressed, you may be too high. Keep a close eye on the dog and if this is happening, back off on the level a bit. You can always go back up. But also be aware that if you’re using the continuous mode and he’s vocalizing continuously as long as the button is held down as described above, he’s in pain.

When the dog shows you that he just perceives the stimulation level, you've found his working level. This may change slightly up or down. Some dogs become used to that level and it will need to be shifted up a touch. Some dogs become sensitized to that level and it will need to be turned down.

You may find that the continuous stimulation button is too intense for your dog, even just a slight movement from the “off” position of the rheostat. It’s rare but it does happen. If your dog reacts very strongly as you move the dial off the zero position, usually shown by constant vocalization and rearing up, you may have to go to the nick button to work him. This can be done but the communication isn't as effective. AND you'll have to keep pressing the Nick button over and over again until the performance is complete while others are just holding down the Continuous button and then releasing it when the performance is complete.

Your dog’s working level may change from day to day. You should verify that it hasn't changed by checking it every time you take him out to work him. Start out just a bit lower than where you normally work him. Wait till he’s not distracted and press the button. You might find that today, he’s working at that lower level. If he makes no sign that he feels it; you can go back to his usual level. If he’s ignoring you completely, you might need to go a touch higher.

Problems You May Encounter

Unusual Responses You May See

Some dogs may try all sorts of things to make the stim stop. You may see jumping or rearing up. You may see the dog nipping at your jacket, rear end, hand or pants. He may try to get in between your legs. You may see “clamming,” freezing up and remaining stationary, particularly with the more stoical breeds. You may see sitting and scratching as if a flea was biting the dog. You may see a dog try to sit during a moving command. You may see the dog putting a foot on the leash or Flexi. You may see other behaviors. The idea of the training is to convince the dog that there’s only one behavior that will make the stim stop, performing the movement that’s being trained.

Some people will misinterpret this as an indication that the dog is in pain. But the reality is that the dog is feeling an unexpected and unfamiliar sensation that is unpleasant. He's trying various things to see if they make it stop. He'll soon learn that only one behavior makes it stop, performing the desired behavior.

For the most part all you do for any of these behaviors is keep the button down and guide the dog into the right performance. For a dog that tries to get in between your legs, I recommend that as you hold the button down and pull with the Flexi to get him to your right side, that you also squeeze your legs together to make it even more of an uncomfortable place for him. Be careful doing this with a biting dog!

Working With Puppies or Older Dogs

The youngest that I recommend working with a puppy is six months. One problem that is fairly common in working with puppies or older dogs that have never had any training; puppies are often difficult to deal with because they have a short attention span and EVERYTHING distracts them because EVERYTHING is new.

So their distraction level if you were to graph it would be a series of spikes and valleys. This makes it difficult to find their working level, because it bounces around all over the place.

Just be patient and wait for the pup to calm down. Give him time to investigate everything at the end of the Flexi. It may take ten minutes or so but sooner or later he'll plop down and that will allow you to work with him.

Older dogs without any training are used to having their own way. Realize that “no training” really IS training. You're training your dog every moment the two of you are together, even if you aren't consciously engaged in training. The dog has been trained that he can do anything he wants. This dog may fight you for control.

With either dog or puppy, just be patient and it will come. Don’t expect progress to be as fast as with a partially trained dog.

Introducing the Ecollar

Think of the Ecollar as a new language. Even if the dog already know obedience commands and performs them very well he won’t know what an Ecollar stim is or how to shut if off. A lack of understanding of this phenomenon has led to many problems and is sometimes responsible for Ecollars getting a bad reputation. Let’s imagine a well trained obedience dog, perhaps even one that’s scored very well in competition. The owner of the dog knows that the dog know how to sit, for example and so he puts the Ecollar on the dog in an effort to improve the dog’s off leash obedience. He reasons that the Ecollar is just like a conventional correction collar and leash. So he lets the dog wander out into the back yard. At some point he says, “sit” and presses the button on the Ecollar, giving he dog a stim. The dog, who has never before felt a stim and has no idea how to make it stops may think he’s being bitten by a flea, a very common reaction from dogs who don’t know what the Ecollar stim is. And so he sits down and scratches the area of his neck where the “flea is biting him,” the area where the contact points are touching his skin.

With conventional leash and collar training if the dog ignores a command that he knows, the appropriate response is to increase the level of the correction to get through the dog’s threshold of discomfort. And so this handler turns up the level of the stim of the Ecollar. He again says, “sit.” But now the Ecollar stim is into the low pain area as perceived by the dog. And so, rather than sit, he jumps away from the spot where he was just standing. He may think that he ran into a sharp stick or that an insect is biting him.

And so the handler turns the stim up higher, trying to get compliance. He says, “Sit.” And presses the button. Now the stim is well into the level where the dog is feeling some serious pain. And so he runs, in complete panic because now that bug is REALLY biting him and he can’t get away from it.

The handler, not wanting to believe that he could be using he tool improperly, tosses it aside. “That thing just doesn't work!”

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