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No matter if you are a proud owner of pop or dog, things are a bit difficult during the phase when your pet child seems to show his or her weakness towards persistent barking. In some cases, pet parents have a tricky parenting life due to dogs not staying inside their specific yard.
And so, the tough choice of buying a shock collar seems only option. These devices help to modify your misbehaving pet’s life. Of course, there are both pros and cons to using the device.
However, if you know how to train a dog with a shock collar following some thumb of rules or tactics and don’t mess with safety boundaries, things may not lead towards any cons at all.
How to Train a Dog with Shock Collar with 6 Safe Thumb of Rules.
Now I don’t really think using a shock collar should be your very first step towards a misbehaving pet. You should refer to other safer options first and check if those work. This is because some pet parents don’t really think too much and go for a shock collar directly believing it’s a quicker route.
Understand the Shock Collars Working Mechanism.
Shock collars were first seen during the 1960s when aversive training was necessary for hunting dogs. Today, these are widely used to deal with family dogs who suffer from stubborn and unwanted behaviors. This could be aggressive food reactions to the excessive barking problem. Or maybe you just want your pup to be inside the safe property line.
By no means, shock collars are supposed to be abusive. It actually depends on user if he or she is causing pain to the dog or not. One should use these devices as a mean to deterrent unusual and unsafe behaviors.
Due to jolt causing from a shock collar, the dog gets to know about problematic behaviors. They start believing the reason for that particular uncomfortable feeling is their certain action. And as a result, they stop doing it.
You keep up with this training until there’s no need to remind your dog about that unwanted action. It is not causing any long-lasting physical harm. The only intension is to get your pet’s attention, that’s it!
You have complete control over the enforcement level. Since these collars come with adjustable jolt levels. Some devices come with an extra feature of causing a vibration before the jolt. A few use beep to replace the vibration.
This is meant to work as a No or Down command for your dog’s understanding. Its’ sort of a warning that a jolt may happen instant. And at some point, you can stop using the jolt since this beep or vibration will be enough to make your dog aware of unwanted actions.
Start by Teaching Some Commands Without Collar.
This is the best way to implement any training program. You should try making your dog develop a certain behavior without the use of a shock collar first. A few command teachings should be enough. For example, try teaching it the recall command. Use a clicker and treat to make it learn recall. It should learn to come to the yard properly.
Once it learns the coming action inside your yard, go for teaching recall at other locations as well. You should simply use treats in this initial phase. This is highly recommended before trying shock collar straps on your dog.
Increasing Voltage Irresponsibly is Never Going to Work.
I’ve heard about a lot of stories where trainers lose overall control over training because they made the mistake of increasing voltage quite irresponsibly. You see, increasing voltage will not be a very effective solution unless the problem really needs it. Don’t fall for this fallacy.
Imagine you never had any classes in history and your teacher wants you to give an exam ignoring that fact. Even if she taunts, shouts or hits you, you’ll fail that exam. And eventually, you’ll hate her for behaving that way without teaching anything. That’s exactly what happens with a high voltage implemented dog’s training.
If your dog does not understand a certain command, no matter how bad the voltage is it’ll never work. And of course, it becomes abuse more than training. Take a step back and go for fundamentals.
Make sure you try that voltage on your hand first. If it does not hurt but rather surprises, this should be an ideal level to try. But never go for an intensity level that feels hurtful to your hand. Imagine what it would do to your poor pup.
A Little More Voltage to Get Your Dog’s Attention is Okay.
Pay attention to the term little. If you notice that your dog is distracted by certain things or simply the surrounding environment, then certainly training level is not sufficient. A driven and distracted dog will not be able to catch your commands and react. So, if that’s the case, you want to increase voltage slightly. Go for one click at a time.
Figure Out Right Intensity.
The two-pronged device attached to your dog’s collar should have an intensity level that is identified by your pet. The collar that works for erupting a dog’s improper barking is meant to make vibration on dog’s vocal cord.
You should start from the lowest intensity and stand a bit far from your dog. Start the vibration and see if your dog reacts. Chances are at the least setting, it won’t react. So, you can take the levels one step up and check again.
Keep on doing this until you receive a reaction. Once you find the right intensity level that makes your dog react, use it for further training. Now, of course, make sure that the intensity level is purely getting your dog’s attention only. Not causing it any sort of pain!
Eliminate Voltage Once Your Dog Acts According to Command.
Remember the days when you use to give treats for teaching your dog certain acts. You must have stopped giving treats once it started acknowledging the act. That’s the very same thing you should follow with a shock collar as well. You need to completely fade out the stimulation once your dog starts adopting a taught behavior.
If you keep on using the shock further from this point, it might cause trauma and stress issues later. So, don’t be careless about identifying the phase when you need to stop providing voltage. In fact, you should be desperately waiting for that moment. Since it’s an assurance of a successful training session.
Wrap Up
Good Job Fellow Trainers! You have learned some must-know rules on how to train a dog with a shock collar. Now go ahead and implement these tactics. Hopefully the results will be pleasing. And your dog will start behaving like an adorable child who understands your words.
You don’t have to be guilty of using a shock collar. It’s not a torture and aids to reform your dog’s behavior only… But you must be responsible for using the device. You don’t want to destroy the relationship with your darling pet by being irresponsible or careless.
Shock Collar Training for Dogs in 3 Easy Steps (For Beginners)