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How to Choose an Electronic Dog Collar
An electronic dog collar is a valuable tool that can stop many undesirable behaviors in dogs. Electronic collars are especially useful on dogs that do not respond to any other form of training.
The most common uses for electronic collars are to stop excessive barking and to prevent your dog from crossing the boundary of your property.
To accomplish the desired results, an electronic collar will administer a mild shock (the most common), shoot off a spray of citronella liquid or emit an ultrasound.
Shock Electronic Collars
Bark Collar
This type of collar features a battery-operated mechanism that automatically administers a mild shock to a dog's neck when he barks. Most models allow you to control after how many barks to administer a shock and to change the sensitivity level.
A company called Innotek makes a seven level model, Free Spirit No Bark Collar, that works on most dogs (it worked on mine!).
Invisible Fence
These systems work by administering a mild shock (or a combination of an ultrasound and a shock) correction when a dog wearing a special electronic dog collar approaches the boundary of a marked property.
Here are couple of examples...
Innotek UltraSmart™ In-Ground Fencing covers up to 25 acres to prevent your dog from escaping an unfenced yard.
It's an excellent product, especially if you have a large property.
But its best feature is that every time you put the collar on your dog, it automatically checks itself to ensure everything is working properly.
A green light indicates the system status is normal and flashes red if there is a problem. A battery status light on the collar indicates a full, half and low charge on the battery.
A product from Radio Systems, PetSafe Wireless Instant Fence, does not require an underground wire.
The advantages it offers over "wired" systems are:
- You don't need to dig around the perimeter of your property (or pay someone else to do it for you) to lay out the wire
- It's completely portable, meaning you can take it with you when you travel or move
- It sets up in minutes (I am not exaggerating!)
And here is its beast feature:
- Unlike with underground wire units, when your pet leaves a marked area, he receives a mild correction until he returns - which means its escape-proof!
If your backyard is not fenced and you want an easy to install "invisible fence", I strongly recommend PetSafe Wireless Instant Fence.
Oh, forgot to mention – PetSafe system works by using a constant radio signal and covers an area with a radius of 15 to 90 feet.
If you want to learn more about shock collars, visit electronic dog fence and dog shock collar pages. I'll also show you some of the limitations of electronic collars.
Citronella Electronic Dog Collar
This type of collar has a canister that is filled with a citronella liquid. When your dog barks, a harmless spray is released. It startles your dog and forces him to stop barking.
If you feel that a citronella electronic dog collar is more humane than a shock collar, use it.
Citronella electronic dog collars have 2 major drawbacks:
- You need to buy replacement canisters
- Your dog can quickly learn that by barking nonstop, he can exhaust the liquid!
Here is Citronella Bark Dog Collars from Premier Pet Products.
Additional Citronella Bark Dog Collar Spray Refill canisters are available.
Ultrasound Electronic Dog Collar
Instead of administering a mild shock or a spray of citronella, an electronic dog collar emits an ultrasound that startles your dog and stops him from whatever he is doing.
If you feel that shock electronic dog collars are inhumane but don't want to spend money replacing citronella canisters, this may be your answer.
Remote Dog Trainers
Before closing on the subject of an electronic dog collar, let's take a look at two electronic collars that you may find useful.
Each of these collars comes with a remote control that you can use to apply some correction to your dog's behavior or just to get his attention.
Innotek Basic Trainer is a very simple to use system. It's great for basic obedience training and correcting simple behavioral issues.
The next one is more expensive, but it comes with more features...
UltraSmart(TM) Remote Dog Training System also allows you to be in control of the electronic dog collar.
This unit consists of a transmitter and a receiver and you can choose the stimulation type that is most effective for your dog. You control the action with a remote control.
I used UltraSmart(TM) Remote Dog Training System on Bo and while I was satisfied with the results, this unit is around $100 more expensive than the Basic Trainer.
Some of the advantages it offers over a Basic Trainer are…
- It works over greater distance
- Has more stimulation levels
- Is smaller
- The remote offers a better grip
Are these features worth $100? To me, they were, but your needs may be different.
Visit electronic dog training collar page to learn more about remote trainers.
Electronic collars are very effective when you need to eliminate some unwanted dog behavior. If no other training technique worked, an electronic dog collar may be a tool you've been searching for!
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