E collar for family dog

[ryjack70ss]

Hi. I have read a lot of reviews and posts on e collars. Our pup is a beagle coon hound mix per the vet. He will be around 50 lbs. He is a good boy and picking up commands well. We have a farm on a river and he does well there. I am wanting a collar for a couple of reasons. 1. To continue his training. 2. To be able to correct him at the farm. 3. He is doing well socializing but gets a little nervous and nippy near certain people. Typically males while with my wife.

We do not upland hunt here so I don’t necessarily need features for that. He may retrieve some. We may get him into squirrel hunting for fun. He will go on hikes at our farm and my family has a place near bigger forest in southern illinois.

I am not sure if that level of activity is worth a GPS unit. The costs of them, such as garmin alpha, is quite high and the collar seems bulkier and the remotes seem bigger. Any advice on GPS vs. non for my uses? Can the antenna be taken off if we are leashing him but still want the training collar capabilities? I like the idea of a smaller more streamlined collar and smaller handheld unit for my wife when they are around town.

If I go GPS it would likely be the 550 pro or alpha. Non gps seems to have a lot of good options like the Garmin sport pro and the dogtra 1900s seem popular.

Thanks for any advice.


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[Cant hit em]

My lab is small , she will probably end up 55lbs ish. I looked at 3 ecollars , Sport dog 450x, Dogtra 1900, Garmin Delta Sport XC. I chose the Garmin because its very simple and the main reason was the transmitter on the collar is smaller than the others mentioned and didn’t seem so bulky on her smaller neck.

 

[Bluumoon]

E-Collar educator mini is what we use w our dogs, my German Shepard had to go to doggy boot camp for aggression issues w other dogs, it was the collar the trainer uses. Only half mile range, so may not fit what you want, but simple to use, has lasted 3 years, and 100 levels of stim to match the dogs requirements. Some of the other collars have large jumps in stim levels and your dog may get more than they require. The GS responds to a 7, which is barely perceptible to me.

 

[KurtR]

Garmin sport pro. Easy function with a small controller. A light on the collar so if it’s dark you can see them. It functions as a bark collar also. My second choice would be the dogtra 1900s. More precise correction settings I feel but no light or bark collar.

 

[Claroue]

I have both collars for my GWP. I use the sport pro for around house and walks. I use the pro 550 with mini tt15 collar for hunting.

I like the sport pro for the small and easy to use handheld remote. The light has been really useful for nighttime outdoor activities.

 

[displacedtexan]

Garmin Sport Pro sounds perfect for you.

I have several GPS collars because I have bird dogs, but for a dog that you're not essentially wanting to run away from you, I don't see much value.

 

[BravoNovember]

Have the sport pro as well. Really like it especially the light function.

Would also recommend reading up on collar conditioning and how to do it proper if it’s your first time.

 

[See_Bennie_Point]

I have a 50lb GWP. We use the mini Educator for walks and playing at the park. Can go from 0-100 on stim and has a dedicated vibrate button. The remote is small enough to palm the entire thing with no large antennas sticking out. The collar is very compact and water proof as well. We just use the larger/longer prongs. Wish it had a tone though. For hunting I run him with a 550 Pro Plus with the TT15. The peace of mind of the GPS is more than worth the money. I lost him for over an hour in the woods grouse hunting a couple years ago when I was running the Garmin Pro 70.

The mini Educator also charges up super fast, 5-10 min of charging while getting ready will easily get you about an hour of use to get a quick walk/park session in if you forgot to charge up.

I've tried Sportdog's training collar and had continuous issues keeping the collar and remote connected while out hunting and training, have never had that issue with Garmin (this is just my experience). Also like that I can sync the collar to my watch and phone, so I don't have to use the remote to locate my dog.

 

[Macintosh]

I'm definitely not an expert on these dogs, but I never met a beagle or coonhound that didnt take off after rabbits or raccons, etc. It's what they were designed to do, and they do it the way a lab retrieves or a pointer points-it's hard-wired, not trained. If that's a concern I might not write off a GPS collar.

 

[Trial153]

I wouldn’t run any hound without a Garmin. Biggest game changer in the 28 years I been running hounds

 

[cuttiebrownbow]

Judging by the mix of the dogs in yours then I would just pick something that could stop a horse in its tracks, because you will need it.

Just kidding... kind of LOL

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[*zap*]

Be sure all the humans get training on how to use the collar.

 

[Aaron-in-CO]

My experience is with an adult GSP that we've had now for several months. We went with the Mini Educator. Its functionality and interface is great. We use it for off leash hiking and dog parks. I haven't gotten into upland hunting yet, but I intend to use it for that as well. My one complaint about it is that the charging method is straight out of the 90's. If you don't have the original AC charging adapter and access to a wall outlet, you are out of luck. That said, the charge lasts a good amount of time. We have used it 10+hours/day for a few consecutive days before (backpacking/camping) without needing a charge.

 

[*zap*]

So, I have a 4.5 month old patterjack terrier. Waiting for his neck size to grow a bit more and then will most likely go with a pro plus 550 and a tt15. Hate to loose a good dog that I love so I will sacrifice somewhere to come up with $800 and be able to locate him if the collar is on him.

tritronics 3 step introduction is a great way to start using an e collar...

 

[ryjack70ss]

Awesome. I just ordered the garmin sport pro to start training. I will keep an eye out for a gps unit and pick one up when/if on sale to have for the farm etc but I think starting with the sport pro will be good for training. Thanks for the advice on a collar and training!


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[North Idaho Stickbow]

I work a police K9 for a living, and I’ll die in defense of the sit-means-sit e-collar. It’s easy, long range, has a pile of intensity settings, and is warrantied for life. I’ve bought one in my 10 year dog career, and every time the battery dies, or it broke, they send a new one. No questions asked.

 

[KurtR]

I work a police K9 for a living, and I’ll die in defense of the sit-means-sit e-collar. It’s easy, long range, has a pile of intensity settings, and is warrantied for life. I’ve bought one in my 10 year dog career, and every time the battery dies, or it broke, they send a new one. No questions asked.

is this the collar? https://shop.sitmeanssit.com/The-Sit-Means-Sit-Collar_p_965.html

 

[Macintosh]

agree with what other posters said regarding training the humans--that's maybe the hardest part. An ecollar is a fantastic tool for almost any dog, but it really forces you to be exceptionally clear and consistent with training your dog, or else you are simply shocking a dog without adding anything--a leash or a shove or a pinch or almost any other physical "pressure" you can put on a dog has DIRECTION and therefore it also assists the dog in understanding what you want while applying that pressure. An ecollar has no implicit direction, so you rely 100% on the dog actually understanding what you want through some other means in order to comply--in this sense you cannot TEACH anything with the ecollar, you can simply reinforce what you have already taught, and do it in a more consistent manner since you can do so off leash, at a distance, and in time for the dog to associate a correction with what it just did or didnt do. Just watch the dog and try to be aware of when it isnt complying because it doesnt really understand what you want, either because you havent taught the command enough, or because you havent generalized a command to other locations, around distraction, etc--at those times back up and you and the dog will be better off for it. Like I said, an ecollar is a great tool, but to use it well you really have to up your game. Get in-person help if you arent relatively well practiced. Some dogs handle pressure and a little inconsistency a lot better than others, but some breeds and individuals are extremely sensitive to it and you can create some real and lasting problems if you arent careful. You probably already know all this, I just have a thing for dogs so I needed to say it, apologies if its old news.

 

[North Idaho Stickbow]

is this the collar? https://shop.sitmeanssit.com/The-Sit-Means-Sit-Collar_p_965.html

That’s the one

 

[Canoecountry]

Had good luck with Tritronics/Garmin over the years. Currently running a Sport Dog Pro and have been happy with the features and performance. CC