Correction Collar

[Moosey8]

How do you feel about Correction Collars?

[Riverkatie]

I try not to think about them and wish they didn't exist.

I wish people would get a clicker and train their dog properly, or buy a gentle leader or similar if they really cannot, or if they wish a child or elderly person to walk the dog.

How to train your dog not to pull- Loose Leash Walking - YouTube

How to train your dog not to pull- Loose Leash Walking - YouTube

And the same goes for barking, and other things people use correction collars for. Train, using positive methods, so your dog behaves in a way you like. Humping, barking, pulling etc are all normal doggy behaviours. if we don't want our dog to indulge then show them how you would like them to behave and reward them for doing it.

[Moosey8]

What if they are putting their lives in danger by jumping over the fence and almost getting hit by cars?

[Brenna's Mom]

Get and electric "fence". DD has one for her doodle, the radio is in a closet and after a few days of training, the dog will not leave the yard.
She said pup will not leave the yard even with her collar off.

[Moosey8]

We don't own our home and we got 2 quotes for the invisible fence company which was 1900 for the fence and 489 for the collar. We just can't afford that. The other company was 2150 rounded up and 323 for the collar. The landlord won't allow us to make these kinds of modifications even if we could afford it. (I spoke to her tonight about paying for half).
My doodle jumped the fence about 2 hours ago and I chased him for 45 min. I won't even go into how many cars honked at us and almost hit us both.
Before someone suggest it, I did have 2 different trainers come out for 75.00 dollars and hour to help with training him and we didn't get much results. This is becoming a matter of safety for my Doodle and I am becoming sad and frustrated.

[Daisy'sMom]

You may not like this idea, but what about using a tie-out cable. That's what we use for Daisy. We are fenced in on our sides of our house but our yard backs up to a prairie grass/preserve area and the back part is just open with no fence. We tried training her to stay in our yard and 95% of the time she does. But once in awhile when she sees a rabbit or squirrel she can't resist and takes off which terrifies me. The day we bought a tie-out was the day my hubby was already gone for work, I had 2 young kids sleeping still, it was about 10 degrees out with snow everywhere - and Daisy took off on me. I was wandering our neighborhood street in my PJs, snow boots and total bedhair yelling for my dog, praying she would come back. I was so scared. I gave up and went home and guess where she was? Sitting on our back patio looking at me like "What? I didn't go anywhere!" I know that doesn't compare to your Doodle jumping a fence, but my point is, even though we are 3/4 of the way fenced in we still put Daisy on a leash (tie-out). It's long and reaches to most of the yard so I don't feel like she's tied up, she can totally wander and sniff and spend lots of time in our yard w/o me worrying. Just a thought. Regardless, I feel bad for you and wish you the best. Safety is the #1 concern and it's so hard when your Doodle just can't resist!

[Moosey8]

Hey Daisy'sMom,
I DID like that idea. We tried that idea about 3 weeks ago.. He pulls the stake out of the ground or wraps himself around a tree. When he wrapped himself around the tree I panicked and bought a shorter one, however he started pulling the stake out. I appreciate your advice. I don't know what to do with my big Doodle. I am NOT a huge fan of collars that correct but I was thinking about the ones that BEEPS instead of using the "zap" setting. I don't want to hurt him, I just want him to be safe. :/

[browndog]

we used a citronella spray collar for katey when barking at people,bikes,etc going past our house as it was becoming a major problem. We only had to give her a spray about four times and then she got the point. After that all we had to do was give her the beep warning sound (no spray) and she would stop barking right away. Now we never really use it, maybe only once every 3-4 weeks for about five minutes as a
reminder. It is very humane and worked wonders for us. You could get the remote control one and try that. It won't work for every dog but it's worth a shot. You can always return it in 30 days if it doesnt work.

[Moosey8]

I love that idea. However, I looked online. My Doodle doesn't have a barking problem just a fence jumping issue. These are bark only. :/

[Daisy'sMom]

Wow, you certainly have a challenge on your hands Our tie-out is not a stake one, we have it attached to our tree and it just circles around as Daisy walks around. In the last 9-10 months since we've been doing this I've only had to untangle it 2-3 times. We have it looped around the base of the tree and it's an actual wire so it doesn't get knotted or anything. Our yard is not just grass either, we have a brick patio with furniture and plenty of landscaping with boulders, etc and she still doesn't get tangled really. Maybe we are just lucky? Because yes, tie-outs can be a nightmare. My friend's Old English Sheep Dog is having similar issues as you and he as well ends up yanking the tie out stake out of the ground. Everyone tells my friend "training, training, training". But you've already heard that. I would possibly consider one of those remote control collars that just beeps but like you said, those are for barking. Does the correction collar have a "beep" only setting? I know a few people who've used correction collars. They have said they use pretty much the lowest setting possible on it and literally only after a few times of use the dog knows what to do and not to do just by simply having the collar on.

[Nikkiey]

We bought a correction collar from Petsmart a few months ago. The guy helping us was great. We bought one that had a beep setting and a vibration setting (not static). The guy at petsmart said that if the colllar didn't work for us to just bring it back, and if it worked really well for us, we could still bring it back (even though it was used) within the 30 day window! Well, we ended up bringing it back after it worked.

If this is the way you need to go I suggest getting one with sound or vibration and always try it on yourself first. If it's uncomfortable for you then don't use it on your dog. And it's all in the timing, if you aren't going to 'give the correction' at the exact moment the behavior happens then it will not be an effective training method.

When a dogs life is put in danger because of their actions, sometimes you don't have the 1 or 2 weeks to try other training methods, you just have to find something that works.

Also, if your dog is a fence jumper maybe invest in some latice and just attach it to the top of your fence. It may look seriously tacky, but adding extra height to your fence may be enough deterant???

[Ace's Place]

Here is a different perspective. I live in a condo. My dog does not get let out into a yard to do its own thing. We take him out - walk him, play with him, for runs he goes to the dog park or an enclosed space like a tennis court. Yes its a lot of extra work on our part but he gets more than his share of exercise - maybe more than most dogs because we are so concientious about it. If my dog were in a dangerous situation as you describe - my decision would be to take them out of the dangerous situation - in other words don't put them in the yard to begin with. I don't care for these collars. I would rather put the energy into structured walks, playtime at dog parks, and further training the kind that riverkatie describes.

[RodneyPierce]

there is nothing wrong with a correction collar IF USED CORRECTLY!! The point of the collar is to just give enough stimulation that the dog notices it. Not to shock the ever living day lights out of your pet, like many seem to think people do with them. You start at the lowest setting, and slowly turn it up until you notice a small reaction in the dog. Usually a scratch at the collar, or a slight head shake. YOU SHOULD NEVER GET A YELP FROM THE DOG!! If you do, you just over did it, and now the dog is scared of the collar. Using one correctly is a problem free, and honestly a very very good training tool. Some dogs just plain and simple dont respond to standard training methods. Bailey, our 4 month old doodle is exactly the case. I have NEVER had a dog so hard to train in my life! The clicker doesnt work. She is way too smart, just listens until she thinks the treats are gone, then back to whatever she wants to do. Every traditional training method has failed with this dog. CORRECTION COLLARS ARE NOT BAD WHEN USED CORRECTLY!

[jesstat]

I honestly don't know what we'd do without Diego's correction collar. We sent him to a board and train program when we went on vacation this spring where they trained him with a static collar that also has a vibrate warning function. He is not scared of the collar and he doesn't yelp when we correct him. It just gets his attention and stops him from doing whatever he is doing. The trainer made us try it first and it uses nothing more than a static shock that you get from the carpet. We use it for walks, to stop unwanted barking, jumping, etc. It works great and I don't think it has caused any sort of damage psychologically.

If you are able to watch your doodle when he approaches the fence, this may be a perfect training tool with you just watching from the window.

And of course, anyone who is going to use the remote has to try it on themselves first!

[Moosey8]

To address a few responses. One, he is NEVER in the yard alone. He jumps the fence in front of my face which usually results in me jumping the fence and yelling at cars to STOP. Which is why I would purchase a remote trainer, I would be able to correct his behavior the min he does it.
I think I am going to purchase a correction collar this week. My goal is to not put him on the ground with a ZAP it's to simply keep him and myself safe. That is MY goal.
I love my Doodle very much and would only try the correction collar knowing it was the right choice. We have tried clicker training, boot camps and people coming out to the home to come up with different ideas. This is our last resort.
I will keep everyone posted on how he does. Hopefully, the collar will only have to be used a few times. He is very smart and catches on quickly.
Oh, and another thing taking him to the dog park doesn't keep him in OUR yard. He goes to the dog park 4x a week. We thought about making the fence higher with some kind of mesh wiring or something to put on top of the fence and the HOA won't approve it. Thanks everyone for your feedback. I really appreciate your time and reading my thread. Will keep you updated.