 |
E-Collar Conditioning, the
Rights, Wrongs and How to's
BY PAT NOLAN
While it is possible to train dogs to mark and handle at a
distance without the e-collar, why would you? The electronic
training collar is a wonderful tool. Modern e-collars are
safe, reliable, and effective. With them, you can make
corrections that are suited to the dog, at the proper time,
for maximum training efficiency. However, corrections to
stop or suppress behavior are only a small part of what you
can do with the e-collar. More importantly, the e-collar is
a powerful tool for encouraging or “forcing” behavior. To
realize the benefits of the e-collar in the field, you must
“collar condition” the dog.
What Is
Collar Conditioning? Why Do We Collar Condition?
In collar conditioning, you teach the dog how to respond
properly to e-collar pressures. In this process, the dog
learns to obey command, first to escape and then to
avoid e-collar pressures.
Escape and
Avoidance Learning
In classic studies on escape and avoidance learning, dogs are
taught to perform an action, such as jump over a bar. Then a
warning signal precedes the start of aversive stimulus,
usually a shock. The dog can escape the stimulus (or
shock) by performing the action. As soon as they learn this,
dogs will begin to perform the action on the warning signal
and avoid the aversive stimulus. At this point, the
absence of the expected aversive stimulation itself
reinforces the behavior.
|
There are two important
truths here for training:
Ø
First, dogs are
more likely to do that which they are doing when
pressure stops.
Ø
Second, these
learned escape/avoidance behaviors, both good and bad,
become deeply ingrained and are self-perpetuating.
Learned responses to pressure are very hard to change,
so it’s important to get them right from the start. |
Dogs, like many mammals, are hard-wired for fight or flight
responses to pressure. (Freezing under pressure is not an
efficient response to pressure for mammals; most dogs that
freeze are created, not born.) Through training, we teach
the dog the proper way to flee or escape pressure for each
command. The ideal force to teach a desired response to
pressure begins after command, ends as soon as the dog
responds properly, and allows no room for undesirable
behaviors. This is why you should do leash work on each
command before e-collar conditioning. Properly done, leash
corrections physically establish the correct escape
response. You leave nothing to chance.
To illustrate this escape and avoidance learning at work,
let’s look at teaching “sit on command.” To start, you place
a dog into a seated position many times and pair this action
with the command, “sit.” When you are sure the dog knows the
desired response to the word, “sit,” you can stop physically
manipulating him into position. You command, “sit,” and when
he does, you praise him. For failure to sit on command you
jerk up on the leash and the dog will sit. The pressure
(here a leash jerk) starts after command, stops when he
sits, and leaves no room for undesirable response: when his
head comes up, his rear goes down. Quickly, dogs move
through the stage of sitting to escape the leash
pressure to one of sitting on command to avoid the
leash pressure.
In the same way, the e-collar works to encourage or “force”
desirable behavior, and not simply to correct or discourage
unwanted behavior. Through proper conditioning, the dog
learns to obey each command, first to escape and then avoid
e-collar pressure.
Conditioning for “Sit” and “Here”
Before turning to the how of e-collar conditioning on
the “sit” and “here” commands, let’s first examine how to
determine the correct intensity setting on the e-collar for
your dog.
What Is the
Correct Setting on the E-collar for My Dog?
The most effective intensity setting provides e-collar
pressure that is significant enough that your dog is
motivated to work to avoid it, but not so significant as to
be overwhelming. If panicked by the e-collar stimulation,
reduce the setting; if he shows little or no response,
increase the setting. Modern e-collars allow you to set the
intensity level of the e-collar from the transmitter. Change
the setting as needed.
Start with a low setting and rapidly move to find the
effective level. If your level of force is too low, you are
teaching the dog how to put up with increasing levels of
discomfort and encouraging further
Checklist
Skills
Your dog must know “sit” and “here” on command and in
response to a leash correction.
Equipment
Electronic training collar with adjustable intensity
setting, preferably from the transmitter
Six-foot leash
Choke chain
Long line |
resistance in the dog. If your level of force is too high, you
risk overwhelming your dog. Too much pressure creates panic
and produces no gain in the learning curve. Dogs learn
faster and retain more when they are calm.
Throughout training, monitor your dog’s reaction to the
e-collar, his overall demeanor, and his training attitude.
To find the effective training level and avoid panicking
your dog, you must be mindful not only of the intensity
setting on the e-collar, but its frequency of use in a given
session and the cumulative effect of pressures from session
to session. Additionally, be sure to provide rewards
frequently. Lots of praise and fun bumpers help to maintain
a positive training attitude.
There is one final factor to consider when choosing an
intensity level for e-collar conditioning: you should not
use levels of pressure in the field that the dog has not
been conditioned to in the yard. You may need only a low
level setting to get through the yard drills. However,
later, when your dog’s level of retrieving desire has
increased and the distractions and demands of advanced
training have increased, the low settings may not be
effective. If you find you need higher settings in the field
than you used during conditioning, you should revisit
conditioning in the yard to ensure proper response at the
new, higher settings.
Introduction to Conditioning
Sessions
Session: 1. Introduce the e-collar
on both “sit” at heel and the “here” or recall commands.
Following sessions.
Once you are getting good responses to the
e-collar for the “sit” at heel and “here,” begin to
condition for sit in front after the recall.
|
Before introducing the conditioning steps, let’s review some
basic rules:
Ø
E-collar condition for known commands only.
Ø
Work through leash corrections first, before
e-collar conditioning for each command.
Ø
Do e-collar conditioning on leash, for each
command.
Finally, it is best to work with a knowledgeable individual
to start.
Conditioning for “sit” at heel
Work with your dog wearing the choke chain collar, his
e-collar, and a six-foot leash attached to the live ring of
the choke chain. Work on heel and sit for a few minutes
until your dog is paying attention and is in a work mode.
Then, stop at heel, command sit, and *nick* with the
e-collar before the dog can respond. Don’t wait to see what
he does; follow the e-collar nick with a quick jerk on the
leash to ensure the correct response. The correct sequence
is: command “sit,” then e-collar nick followed quickly by a
leash jerk up. The dog escapes the nick by sitting on
command.
|
E-collar Nicks
Q.
What do you mean by a nick?
A.Many
e-collars have preset, short, timed stimulations. Often
you can find one that is an effective level of force for
your dog. If not, you can use the continuous button, but
you must be quick to release it. You want to deliver a
short, quick tap from the collar, not
a prolonged
sensation. |
Use the e-collar nick every other time. When the dog expects
the e-collar nick but it doesn’t happen, he begins to make
the connection that he can avoid the e-collar nick
entirely by sitting quickly on command. Once he does, every
time he sits on command without e-collar pressure, the
absence of the stimulation becomes a reinforcer of sit on
command.
Conditioning for “here”
Introduce the e-collar on “here” after using it for “sit.”
Leave your dog on a sit-stay and step off to face him from
six feet in front. After a short pause, call him and before
he can move, nick with the e-collar and follow this with a
quick jerk on the leash. Have him come in and sit in front.
Praise him for a job well done and have him finish to your
side before heeling him off. The nick should come after the
command and before the leash jerk. The leash jerk should
come after the nick and before he can respond. Do not wait
to see what he will do; use the leash to show him. Do
several recalls with sit-stays interspersed. Use the
e-collar nick on every other “here” command. Vary the length
of time you ask him to wait before calling him. He must stay
when told until you give him another command.
In your conditioning sessions, keep a balance of time spent
and pressure applied on both “here” and “sit.” Use as many
e-collar nicks on one command as the other. If you put more
work in on one you will find your dog has trouble doing
both. Either he cannot wait for the command to come or he
will not come when called.
Conditioning for “sit” in front on the recall
|
Caution
To avoid
confusing your dog in the initial work on e-collar
conditioning, do not nick for “sit” in front after using
the e-collar for “here.” Likewise, do not use the
e-collar for “here” after using the nick for the “sit”
prior to leaving the dog on a stay. You should follow
your dog’s proper response to the e-collar with praise,
not an e-collar nick for a different command. |
Leave your dog on a stay and after a pause command, “here.” Do
not nick with the e-collar. Reel in the leash as your
dog comes to you. When he arrives in front of you, grip the
leash about two feet from the snap end. Command “sit,” then
nick with the e-collar and follow this quickly with a jerk
straight up on the leash. Your leash work leaves no time or
room for any response from your dog except a prompt sit. Mix
this up; do not use the nick every time he sits in front,
nor are you to stop using it occasionally by your side.
Two sessions with three or four e-collar nicks on each
command in each session is usually sufficient work on this
introduction.
Progressing
through conditioning
Now that you have established proper responses to the
e-collar, it is time to make two changes. First, do not
automatically follow the e-collar nick with a leash jerk.
Second, instead of using the e-collar after command and
before your dog can respond, only use the e-collar nick for
disobedience to the “sit” or “here” commands. Your dog
should continue to respond properly to the e-collar.
However, be prepared to step in and use the leash to
physically establish the correct response if necessary.
Remember that dogs are individuals. No prescription for
intensity setting or number of e-collar uses in a session
could possibly be correct for your dog. Pay attention to
maintain your dog’s training attitude. Again, it is best to
work with a knowledgeable individual to start.
Usually two days is enough work at this level before moving to
a longer line. However, be sure your dog will, on command
and in response to the nick, sit by your side, sit in front,
and come when called. Before you start using longer lines
and working at greater distances you need to have
well-established, proper e-collar responses. Now that you
do, begin working on your 30-foot line to gradually increase
the distance you move from your dog on the stay and from
which you call him until you are working the full 30 feet
away.
What’s Next?
Now that you have conditioned your dog to the e-collar for
“sit” and “here,” the next step is to teach him to stop on
the whistle at a distance. Sitting on command and in
response to the e-collar by your side does not automatically
transfer to sitting on the whistle at a distance. Before
now, you have never stopped your dog at a distance;
previously, the only response required to the e-collar at a
distance has been to come in. Before using the e-collar to
force or correct for failure to sit on the whistle, you must
first teach him to stop and sit at a distance, then
condition him to the e-collar for sit at a distance. The
next column offers a plan of instruction to do just that.
|
Sign up for your free Thirty page E-Collar Training manual
 |
|
