WTB - E collar - suggestions?

[jlirot]

My 7 month old GWP has been an absolute peach - until about 2 weeks ago. Her recall has been amazing. She sits, 'leaves it', down, come, etc, etc. But, the past couple of weeks when she wants to play with other dogs I can't get her to stop and recall. It's frustrating because she's been so damn good until now.

I will get to spend a little more time with her in the next couple weeks and I'm sure that will help. But I'm thinking that it's almost time to get the collar going.

As far as bird training goes, she's started pointing, I whoa her to food and just for shits and giggles once in a while. She's good. I haven't worked too much on whoa-ing her from a distance but I'm SLOWLY getting there. And, I've started making her hold things in her mouth for 'fetch'. She generally won't take it from me without my forcing her mouth open but after that she'll hold for as long as I ask her to (probably 30-60 seconds at this point).

She's bird crazy and chases after every tweety bird in the woods. I'm taking her to a couple of training days with some pointer clubs in the next couple of weeks. We'll see how she does.

Any suggestions on dog collars? Someone highly recommended the Dogtra. Thoughts?

[xfactor]

I have and use the Tri-tronics pro 500 G3. pricey but excellent…that being said, dogs can be ruined very quickly unless you know how to train with the collar. not a tool for an amateur to train with...can be done, but please do your research, don't just throw the collar on the dog and expect all the bad habits to disappear.

[Foxton Gundogs]

I have and use the Tri-tronics pro 500 G3. pricey but excellent…that being said, dogs can be ruined very quickly unless you know how to train with the collar. not a tool for an amateur to train with...can be done, but please do your research, don't just throw the collar on the dog and expect all the bad habits to disappear.

What the Xman said. I actually have all 3 brands my go to is an old TriTronics, but I have lower end $250 Sport Dog and Dogtra as well. I don't like the Dogtra feature that you must use the control to shut the collar off by pairing up a special spot on each not is the control rechargeable. For an inexpensive collar the Sport Dog 1200 or 1600 is the best bet the only down side is you can't shut the controller off but it is rechargeable at the same time as the collar. TriTronics were always the best going but as stated they aren't cheap. Most important attend a collar clinic and learn how to use one before you strap it on a dog. Good Luck FG

[FirePower]

I have and use the Tri-tronics pro 500 G3. pricey but excellent…that being said, dogs can be ruined very quickly unless you know how to train with the collar. not a tool for an amateur to train with...can be done, but please do your research, don't just throw the collar on the dog and expect all the bad habits to disappear.

Excellent advice sir.

[Cdn-Redneck]

I have a dogtra and it works good. I think the tritronics is easier to adjust the stimulation as needed. Make sure you learn how to use the collar first. Conditioning your dog to the collar is the key. Excellent training tool.

[Trav]

Put a Sport Dog (not sure the model) collar on our springer. Possibly the best money I've ever spent. The dog caught on within two walks. Have only used the actually shock function twice, and the vibrate maybe a handful of times. Now when the dog is too far away or misbehaving, a single beep and she is at my side. No more yelling and cursing and chasing after her when she decides to go play with someone else. I highly recommend it!

[huntergirl86]

I have the Dogtra T&B 2500 - has a beeper on it. Works great. They must know the commands really well first before you start using the e-collar on them.
I had tried the sportdog on my GSP, and at 8 months it barely worked on him.. It is a small reciever on the neck, more suitable for a smaller dog like a brittany. For a GWP I wouldn't choose sportdog because of all that hair as well.

[Foxton Gundogs]

I have the Dogtra T&B 2500 - has a beeper on it. Works great. They must know the commands really well first before you start using the e-collar on them.
I had tried the sportdog on my GSP, and at 8 months it barely worked on him.. It is a small reciever on the neck, more suitable for a smaller dog like a brittany. For a GWP I wouldn't choose sportdog because of all that hair as well.

Not sure what model Sport Dog you had but I use the 12 and 1600s and they have both worked fine for 2 yrs. They all have different ranges so be sure you have one with a bit of range and you can change the length of the electrodes for coat type, receiver size is every bit as big as the DogTra, maybe bigger. As for settings there are multiple settings and I have used mine on everything from a 32 lb Spaniel to an 85 lb 'meth'Lab with no issues what so ever. As one who uses collars almost every day on multiple dogs I would tell anyone don't discount a Sport Dog 12 or 1600, they work as well or better than any "lower end" collar. I would suggest HG86(and I do not mean this in a nasty way) that if you can't get your 8mo old dogs 'attention' with a Sport Dog you need to heed your own advice and go back to the basics and re condition him he should be responding to beep alone with little need for stimulation at that point.

[Iron Glove]

Please heed what the experts like Foxton are saying - get a Trainer who is experienced with humane E Collar use.
Watched a Professional Trainer light up a young Lab with an E Collar, wasn't a pretty sight.

[jlirot]

Thanks for the advice guys. Always appreciated. No worries about me zapping the shite outta my dog. She's REALLY good. I just see that she's getting a little bit of an attitude sometimes and I want to make sure she knows how things are supposed to work. She's very bright and generally sensitive to what I want so I don't think it'll take much. Just a buzz might work.

And, i've been reading up a bit on conditioning and I'm planning to buy one of the DVD's I've seen online and go through it before any zapping.

Girl is coming along quite nicely but when I say 'sit' or 'come' - she needs to listen right now. :-)

Cheers,

[huntergirl86]

I have the Dogtra T&B 2500 - has a beeper on it. Works great. They must know the commands really well first before you start using the e-collar on them.
I had tried the sportdog on my GSP, and at 8 months it barely worked on him.. It is a small reciever on the neck, more suitable for a smaller dog like a brittany. For a GWP I wouldn't choose sportdog because of all that hair as well.

Not sure what model Sport Dog you had but I use the 12 and 1600s and they have both worked fine for 2 yrs. They all have different ranges so be sure you have one with a bit of range and you can change the length of the electrodes for coat type, receiver size is every bit as big as the DogTra, maybe bigger. As for settings there are multiple settings and I have used mine on everything from a 32 lb Spaniel to an 85 lb 'meth'Lab with no issues what so ever. As one who uses collars almost every day on multiple dogs I would tell anyone don't discount a Sport Dog 12 or 1600, they work as well or better than any "lower end" collar. I would suggest HG86(and I do not mean this in a nasty way) that if you can't get your 8mo old dogs 'attention' with a Sport Dog you need to heed your own advice and go back to the basics and re condition him he should be responding to beep alone with little need for stimulation at that point.

I am not sure which model I had, I returned it after 2 months, because I don't even think it was working sometimes, so maybe I just had a lemon. The receiver on the one that I had was definitely smaller than the Dogtra one I have now.
I switched to the Dogtra and I don't think I would go back. It is consistent for me. Also, for grouse hunting it is awesome having a beeper right on the receiver incase he gets pretty far into the thick trees. I don't zap my dog if I cannot see him, so if he is gone for more than 5 minutes then I press the beeper and he knows to find me. Works great. The level as well seems a lot less for stimulation for my gsp too. Sportdog I was using a 7. I switched to Dogtra and I only have to use a 3 or 4. Mind you, I don't have to use it that much anymore. I mainly use it for the beeper.

[lorneparker1]

I picked up this. should have it in my hands next week, then I have a few CC classes booked. should be good!


http://www.gundogsupply.com/garmin-tri-tronics-pro-550.html

Lorne

[Foxton Gundogs]

You'll get lots of years out of that one Lorne those TriTronics are the Caddys of collars IMO, My go to collar is a old TriTronics that we have been trying unsuccessfully to 'kill' for 10 or 12 years.

[labguy]

Just a FYI. Tritonics was recently bought out by Garmin ( the GPS people). Since then, many people have been very dissatisfied with the customer service provided by Garmin/Tritronics.

In addition to the customer service issues, Garmin/Tritronics has stopped repairing the older models. They have discontinued replacement batteries making some of these "older" model collars obsolete.

The new collars are, as yet, unproven but there has been complaints as to collar strap size ( too narrow and cheap) no "D" ring and a few other complaints. Time will tell if the new collars will stand up and if Garmin/Tritronics will improve their customer service.

Tritronics used to be the industry standard for e-collars. Most serious, professional e collar trainers used them. Since Garmin took over, many of the old Tritronics faithful customers have switched to the Dogtra collars.

[lorneparker1]

weird. that is the opposite of what my research has shown. in fact pretty much every serious handler in our retriever club who has a newer collar owns a 550 and is very happy with it.

[Foxton Gundogs]

I have no experience with the new Garvin/TriTronics so I can't comment but I would take what LabGuy says as solid information as he is "in the loop"

[Sarge789]

Just a FYI. Tritonics was recently bought out by Garmin ( the GPS people). Since then, many people have been very dissatisfied with the customer service provided by Garmin/Tritronics.

In addition to the customer service issues, Garmin/Tritronics has stopped repairing the older models. They have discontinued replacement batteries making some of these "older" model collars obsolete.

The new collars are, as yet, unproven but there has been complaints as to collar strap size ( too narrow and cheap) no "D" ring and a few other complaints. Time will tell if the new collars will stand up and if Garmin/Tritronics will improve their customer service.

Tritronics used to be the industry standard for e-collars. Most serious, professional e collar trainers used them. Since Garmin took over, many of the old Tritronics faithful customers have switched to the Dogtra collars.


Have be you heard anything of the Garmin Alpha, or any of the other GPS models?

And has anyone here tried using anything combined with a bark coller? You know, for those of us with whiny dogs

[cpearen]

I second the sport dog brand. Picked it up from wholesale
Great product, waterproof and very long range

[Barracuda]

Tri Tronics exp 70 has been fantastic for us and Garmin has also been great also so I cant see quality going down hill. First I have heard about the TriTronics going sour (cept for the GPS upload on the trackers)

[Andrewh]

Well I have the Garmin Delta sport that was purchased Aug of 2013. It was great up until the other week when the stimulation level would not show up on the display. All other features would show up and vibrate/beep still worked but I was unable to determine the stim level. I rarely ever have to use the stim so I never really pay attention to it, 99% of the time a deep always reinforces the command for my GSP.

I have tried to figure out a way to reset the unit but no reset feature other than taking it apart to remove battery. I turned the stim all the way down (kept hitting down button for a while) and worked my way up testing on myself. It went up 3 or 4 levels then felt like it jumped to the top level...they pack a punch when not expecting the stimulation.

Called Garmin and they said out of warranty by 8 or so months and basically too bad.

[ruger#1]

I have a Tritronic multi sport two. Only have to beep the dog. Brought it when S.I.R. were still around, They work good. The remote isn't water proof. Had to buy one batterie, For one of the collars. Bought it off of eBay. Every time I show the dog the collar, It goes nuts, Jumping up and down. It loves going for walks. And when it sees the collar it knows whats going on.

[Barracuda]

I think you may have to reset the battery on the collar. have you tried it with a friends collar?

[Andrewh]

Ya I want to reset the units but I can't find a torx bit small enough. I have a complete torx set but Garmin uses a torx on par with screws for a watch, size wise.

[Foxton Gundogs]

Just a FYI. Tritonics was recently bought out by Garmin ( the GPS people). Since then, many people have been very dissatisfied with the customer service provided by Garmin/Tritronics.

In addition to the customer service issues, Garmin/Tritronics has stopped repairing the older models. They have discontinued replacement batteries making some of these "older" model collars obsolete.

The new collars are, as yet, unproven but there has been complaints as to collar strap size ( too narrow and cheap) no "D" ring and a few other complaints. Time will tell if the new collars will stand up and if Garmin/Tritronics will improve their customer service.

Tritronics used to be the industry standard for e-collars. Most serious, professional e collar trainers used them. Since Garmin took over, many of the old Tritronics faithful customers have switched to the Dogtra collars.

Just talked to a friend he sent his older TriTronics to The Collar Clinic a while ago and they fixed it no problem. Second Hand info though

[labguy]

Just talked to a friend he sent his older TriTronics to The Collar Clinic a while ago and they fixed it no problem. Second Hand info though

Depends on what parts are needed.

Collar Clinic does have some parts but Garmin/Tritronics has stopped making parts for most of the older (5 or more years) models when they bought out Tritronics.

Once these parts are gone that's it......the collar becomes obsolete.

Some of the original Tritronics collars are still going strong but like everything else, it doesn't make good business sense to make something that lasts. I have a spare collar that is about 20 years old and it still works fine. I bought a new Pro 500 3 dog collar about 3 years ago and it's been back for repair twice. Last time they told me they are running out of replacement part for this unit and once their gone, their gone. This is a 3 year old collar that cost 700 dollars that will be useless next time it breaks unless I can find something used.

Tritronics used to be a great company that made a great product and took excellent care of their customers. Not so since Garmin took over. They pissed off a lot of faithful customers who will avoid anything Garmin related.

[Foxton Gundogs]

Depends on what parts are needed.

Collar Clinic does have some parts but Garmin/Tritronics has stopped making parts for most of the older (5 or more years) models when they bought out Tritronics.

Once these parts are gone that's it......the collar becomes obsolete.

Some of the original Tritronics collars are still going strong but like everything else, it doesn't make good business sense to make something that lasts. I have a spare collar that is about 20 years old and it still works fine. I bought a new Pro 500 3 dog collar about 3 years ago and it's been back for repair twice. Last time they told me they are running out of replacement part for this unit and once their gone, their gone. This is a 3 year old collar that cost 700 dollars that will be useless next time it breaks unless I can find something used.

Tritronics used to be a great company that made a great product and took excellent care of their customers. Not so since Garmin took over. They pissed off a lot of faithful customers who will avoid anything Garmin related.

No I get you, not saying the Collar Clinic will be the end all and bee all forever but if someone has a collar go T/U its worth a try. My TT is about ready to pack it in but every time I strap it on I say a lil prayer and so far its worked lol.

[Frango]

She is going thru a bit of rebellion stage. Start her back on a leash with the basics she need to be re taught who is pack leader..E collars can do way more harm than good. I only deal with German Shepherds and have had this problem before. Start from basic .Time to put on the big training panties..Good luck.

[RebuiltMosin]

I have a sport dog model as well and works well when I need to use it with my two dogs linked..... Which isn't often since they usually obey the whistle calls. Only time they don't fully is for about the first 15 min after my truck gets to the "field" now I'll stop before I get to where I'm hunting and let them burn off a little of the spaniel ADHD brought on by the excitement.

[Foxton Gundogs]

Just bought Dogtra 2000 I'llhave a report in a month or so but the real proof will be in longevity and customer service