Does anyone have any experience with remote training collars?

[mypreciouspups]

I have nothing to say but to wish you luck in the training methods that I have read here and found interesting...anne

[cesar49]

[QUOTE=punkie;2026322]Guys, I realize that some of you may disagree with the use of these collars, but I'm really just looking for suggestions and feedback from people who have used them in the past. I'm not looking for someone to call me cruel, misinformed or a sadist.
So if there are any owners out there who have used these collars in the past, I would greatly appreciate the feedback.
Having said that, I hope anyone who is against these collars is a vegan. Otherwise they're just being hypocritical.[/QUO

it appears you dont care enough to even consider reading a book....you should not even own a dog

[punkie]

[quote=cesar49;2027009]

Originally Posted by punkie

Guys, I realize that some of you may disagree with the use of these collars, but I'm really just looking for suggestions and feedback from people who have used them in the past. I'm not looking for someone to call me cruel, misinformed or a sadist.
So if there are any owners out there who have used these collars in the past, I would greatly appreciate the feedback.
Having said that, I hope anyone who is against these collars is a vegan. Otherwise they're just being hypocritical.[/QUO

it appears you dont care enough to even consider reading a book....you should not even own a dog

It appears you don't care enough to even consider reading previous posts (to see that I have changed my mind) before putting your two cents in... you should not even post in a forum

[punkie]

Originally Posted by mypreciouspups

I have nothing to say but to wish you luck in the training methods that I have read here and found interesting...anne

Thank you!

[punkie]

Originally Posted by Yorkieluv

I think you've gotten a lot of great advice I don't really have anything to add except that consistency is the most important thing when trying to train a dog. Consistency will keep the dog from getting mixed signals. Good luck!

Thanks!

[RawfedYorkieLuv]

I find it ironic that my posts are being regarded by you as hostile when you were the one firing off remarks about hypocrisy and making a jab at vegans! I doesn't matter that I don't know you or your dog but any good dog trainer will tell you that a dog's behavior is a direct link to the owner and never the dog's fault and you clearly have no clue yet about dog rearing or you would look to yourself to correct the problem and not try to force your dog into submission! By entertaining the idea of shocking him every time he does something that displeases you is truly what is repulsive here! The use of shock collars is frowned upon and regarded as inhumane by the sources I named. I do not recall getting into a debate wether or not we should share PETA's views on animals as pets so I don't know what you're talking about or why you're even bringing this up! You clearly have a lot to learn still and hopefully somebody can help your dog! I wish you and especially him good luck for the future!

Originally Posted by punkie

First of all, what repulses me is the fact that you're trying to jump down my throat for not sharing your views. You have no idea what places I have been to for research or what methods I have tried and on top of it all, you have never met my dog. Perhaps you should try to keep more of an open mind, instead of being so judgmental and telling me that my dog's behaviour is my fault.
Also for your information, PETA is against the keeping of animals as pets. Maybe you're the one who needs to do some research!

[punkie]

Originally Posted by RawfedYorkieLuv

I find it ironic that my posts are being regarded by you as hostile when you were the one firing off remarks about hypocrisy and making a jab at vegans! I doesn't matter that I don't know you or your dog but any good dog trainer will tell you that a dog's behavior is a direct link to the owner and never the dog's fault and you clearly have no clue yet about dog rearing or you would look to yourself to correct the problem and not try to force your dog into submission! By entertaining the idea of shocking him every time he does something that displeases you is truly what is repulsive here! The use of shock collars is frowned upon and regarded as inhumane by the sources I named. I do not recall getting into a debate wether or not we should share PETA's views on animals as pets so I don't know what you're talking about or why you're even bringing this up! You clearly have a lot to learn still and hopefully somebody can help your dog! I wish you and especially him good luck for the future!

LOL, I did not make a jab at vegans. I AM a vegan (for my own reasons entirely). I meant that if you're against animal cruelty and want to speak out about it, you really have no credibility unless you're a vegan. Does that make sense? I think so.
Also, I did not bring up PETA, you did. You said that I should consider PETA as a source for humane training. So, I wanted to let you know that according to PETA, there is no such thing!
Anyway, I'm not here to debate you and I couldn't care less about what you think about me or my dog. Clearly, you're not someone who can help me. So, let's just agree to to disagree and leave it at that.

[ScootieBootie]

Originally Posted by ScootieBootie

Here is what to do about your issues:

1. Chewing: Get a spray bottle and fill with distilled white vinegar. When your dog goes to chew something, say "no chew" and spray the object of his interest.

2. Wear your dog. Attach his leash to your belt loop and you will know what he is doing and when.

3. If you can't watch your dog, crate him.

4. If your dog barks when you are not home, read this: Separation Anxiety and Destructive Dogs

5. If your dog barks excessively at everyone and everything, he does not see you as the pack leader and is confused about his place.

-Revoke furniture priveleges.
-Eat before he does and let him see you eat.
-Mix his food in his bowl with your hands to put your scent on it.
-Make him sit and stay before you let him eat.
-If he goes to bark or starts to bark, say "Ah Ah" in a sharp tone of voice. (Think Victoria Stillwell on "It's Me or the Dog."
-Praise him when he does well. This will enforce the good behavior.
-If your dog barks, whines, jumps or vies for your attention, ignore him. Do not give him attention until he is calm.

Invest in a good behaviorist to come out to your home and work with you on what you want to get fixed. Petsmart teaches basic obedience...it does not teach you how to deal with "problem behaviors." Also, not all trainers are behaviorists and therefore are NOT qualified to work with you and your dog on problem behaviors.

I know you did not intend to put this post up to get slammed, but I was in total shock when I read that you are even considering this type of collar for your yorkshire terrier! If any trainer or behaviorist even suggests this to you, get your money back and find someone qualified!

Walk your dog! Several times a day, if you must! Get a friend/neighbor/family member/professoinal dog walker if you must. Exercise is key to a well behaved dog as well. Some people mistakenly think that a small dog does not need good exercise or mental stimulation from a controlled walk, but they do.

Shock collars should ONLY be used by someone who knows what they are doing with them. The average dog owner does NOT know how to properly use them, therefore abuses it without even knowing it.

PM me if I can be of any more help to you. I wish I lived closer to you (I'm in NC!) because I'd love to help you one on one. However, I have had extensive experience with these issues, and these techniques have worked for my clients.

You do need to take into account that change will not happen overnight. It takes patience and consistency. Your dog needs to see you as the pack leader. Fear is NOT the way to get yourself that status.

Good luck and I hope you put these techniques into play!

Monique (The Dog Nanny in Fayetteville NC)
Owner of Liberty Dog Training

I am positive you have not tried the above all together. I assure you, if you follow this advice, you will see improvement. Your success depends on your consistency.

This also means that anyone who comes to your door also must ignore the nips, whines and barks and walk away. If he goes to jump on you or company, turn your back and walk away WITHOUT saying a word!!!!

This dog, based on several of your posts, in insecure and needs guidance and direction!

Your dog only has behavior issues because he has no idea what is expected of him. And if some people laugh and giggle (which there always is someone who does) when he behaves this way, he will get mixed signals and continue the unwanted behavior.

Put a "Please Ignore the Dog...In Training" sign on your door for company to see.

Put it all together. Do it all for a couple of weeks. It seems like a lot, but when you do it, it doesn't seem like that much at all.

You are NOT going to find a miracle. It will take hard work, patience, and consistency on your part to make a change.

If you are unable or unwilling to follow FREE advise from a professional behaviorist, I suggest you rehome your dog before you become overly frustrated with him.

FYI if I go to an in home consult to observe the dog and give advice, it costs between $75 - $100!

Please, take my advice, put it into effect, and stay consistent!!!! I would be shocked if you honestly put 100% effort into these techniques and are consistent and don't get any good results.

C'mon! You have nothing to lose! A squirt bottle and distilled white vinegar together cost less than $5 and you didn't even have to pay for a behaviorist!!!

Just remember: He didn't become this way over night, so he will not become the "perfect dog" over night either!

[ARCHIE]

Yorkies are not dumb dogs ,just very smart. I say that because it's true.
Belive me not ALL Yorkies require intensive training and I have no idea why
some do and some don't. I can tell you that consistency is key.
I did not know about YT when I purchased my Yorkie. I just assumed
all were the same. Small, adorable, playfull and loving. I was shocked
to find out, in months to come, that this Yorkie had a mind of it's own and wanted to do what it wanted and that was that. I had dog's my whole
life but never a Yorkie. I will say that I have given Buddy more training than
I ever thought possible. He went threw toy aggression, food aggression,
bed aggression etc. I thought he was just plain nuts to be honest with you.
With each new challenge I read up on and learned how to turn the
problem around. It took time, patience and stress but today he is a loving
beautiful campanion and I wonder what he would have been like if he went
into someone's else's home. Probably turned in at the pound I"m sure.
I had to learn how to be the Alpha and take charge of his life. I had no idea
a dog can get stressed thinking no one is in charge. Who ever thought dogs
even could think? Yorkies can and do and demand to be cared for.
Listen to people here on YT. I wish I had found them that first year.
With all that I went through I never even thought about such a collar.
I was looking to have that sweet little dog love me not fear me.
Well anyhow we have been through lot's of training and believe me today
he is worth it. He's friendly, loves children, shares toys, allows meto touch
his food and sleeps in bed with me. All because I ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN.
Please re-think this over. Take charge of your Yorkie. Be his trainer. He
will love you for it and as long as he knows your in charge of everything
he will relax and enjoy his training and you. Don't be stressed be in charge.
Good luck,

[punkie]

Originally Posted by ScootieBootie

I am positive you have not tried the above all together. I assure you, if you follow this advice, you will see improvement. Your success depends on your consistency.

This also means that anyone who comes to your door also must ignore the nips, whines and barks and walk away. If he goes to jump on you or company, turn your back and walk away WITHOUT saying a word!!!!

This dog, based on several of your posts, in insecure and needs guidance and direction!

Your dog only has behavior issues because he has no idea what is expected of him. And if some people laugh and giggle (which there always is someone who does) when he behaves this way, he will get mixed signals and continue the unwanted behavior.

Put a "Please Ignore the Dog...In Training" sign on your door for company to see.

Put it all together. Do it all for a couple of weeks. It seems like a lot, but when you do it, it doesn't seem like that much at all.

You are NOT going to find a miracle. It will take hard work, patience, and consistency on your part to make a change.

If you are unable or unwilling to follow FREE advise from a professional behaviorist, I suggest you rehome your dog before you become overly frustrated with him.

FYI if I go to an in home consult to observe the dog and give advice, it costs between $75 - $100!

Please, take my advice, put it into effect, and stay consistent!!!! I would be shocked if you honestly put 100% effort into these techniques and are consistent and don't get any good results.

C'mon! You have nothing to lose! A squirt bottle and distilled white vinegar together cost less than $5 and you didn't even have to pay for a behaviorist!!!

Just remember: He didn't become this way over night, so he will not become the "perfect dog" over night either!

Thanks for all the valuable advice. I returned the remote collar today and would like to start trying to calm Milo down and teach him to obey.

But one of the biggest problems I have is this. You had said to walk him several times a day. But when I take him out, he acts completely freaked out. He's friendly enough with other people and other dogs when they come close to him and try to touch him. He's actually over-friendly with people. But he barks at absolutely everyone and everything and won't stop. It's really humiliating. Because of this, I don't really walk him anymore.

Another problem I have with walking him is, if he doesn't feel like going where I want to take him or if he just doesn't feel like walking for whatever reason, he'll just stop. I tell him to come, I pull on the leash and nothing. Then I'll just have to pick him up and carry him. I even try bribing him with his favourite treat and he won't even look at it as long as we're outside.

I don't know what to do about that. Any suggestions?

[ScootieBootie]

When you say he doesn't walk, can you explain the circumstances? Does he just sit, lie down? Or does the try to back away?

Does this behavior seem to be triggered by storm drains, passing cars, or any other environmental factor? (Does it happen when you try to pass a particular house, etc?)

When you implement these tactics, the barking should begin to subside. If you are walking, and your pup decides to bark excessively, make a sharp sound with your voice to get your dog's attention, and then praise and pet! Also, deem a spot (open field, small wooded area, etc) as a reward area. If your dog walks with you, then allow your dog to sniff/paw/play at the designated "potty/play" area as a reward!

I need more info on the walking issue to help you through that...

[punkie]

Originally Posted by ScootieBootie

When you say he doesn't walk, can you explain the circumstances? Does he just sit, lie down? Or does the try to back away?

Does this behavior seem to be triggered by storm drains, passing cars, or any other environmental factor? (Does it happen when you try to pass a particular house, etc?)

When you implement these tactics, the barking should begin to subside. If you are walking, and your pup decides to bark excessively, make a sharp sound with your voice to get your dog's attention, and then praise and pet! Also, deem a spot (open field, small wooded area, etc) as a reward area. If your dog walks with you, then allow your dog to sniff/paw/play at the designated "potty/play" area as a reward!

I need more info on the walking issue to help you through that...

It doesn't seem like it's triggered by anything most of the time. When he realizes that he's going to go in the car, he immediately refuses to go any further and just lies down. But he also does it outside on grass, on pavement, when there are people, when there are no people, around cars and when there are no cars, etc... So, it's really random. I don't know why he does this.
Sometimes I think it might be because he wants to spend more time sniffing in a particular area and other times I think it might just be that he's nervous. Sometimes he he might not like being outside if it's a bit chilly I think, but I really have no idea. He also shakes like crazy whenever we go out, so he's pretty much nervous all the time. I don't know why this is. I was taking him to the pet food store the other day. Every time I put him down on the sidewalk, he refused to walk. So I had to carry him the whole time. It's really annoying and makes me not want to take him anywhere.

We went to PetSmart today as I'm looking for a carrier for him to go in the plane and he barked non stop the entire time we were there. If I pick him up, he stops, but as soon as I put him down again, he barks like crazy and won't stop. It was really embarrassing. I hate taking him out in public.

[sheshark]

I'm glad that i found your post! I've been having similar issues with my Mister (the barking, but not so badly, and not wanting to walk or wants to go his way) and also have toyed with the idea of looking for a remote collar for his barking at the neighbors when they move around their own yard or at kids on the street. and i'd like so say, quickly, that while i have considered the idea, i haven't gotten one, yet.

What I have done for barking and furniture issues is the squirt bottle. I bought an industrial/cleaning solution type bottle instead of something small and cute, with an adjustable nozzle (light spray to high powered stream, its never left the stream) and i use them on both of our dogs when they bark or climb on the couch. Just a couple of quick squirts along with a nice deep "NO". Its helped a bit, but there are places in the yard that its impossible to get their attention with a spray bottle and often i'm not right there with them (the point of having a yard for the dogs) and can't correct them quickly enough. I'd bet my neighbors probably think i'm horrible, because at that point i have to "verbally reprimand" the barking, or yell "NO BARKING" at the top of my voice from various parts of the house. We're getting closer, but Mister has come to recognize that i can't do much to reprimand him if i'm not in sight, and will continue barking like a wind-up toy. I'm stuck for what to do there, because i don't want him to think that he can bark like a nut to get attention or be let back in the house. I'm hoping that a strong "No" and going back into the house with out giving in to demanding barking will sink in, but that's still attention and i don't want to upset the neighbors (who've been saints, firstly with an excitable lab jumping all over them, and now with a loud-mouthed Yorkie) by just ignoring his barking.

As for the walking, or not wanting to walk, I walk both dogs at the same time and can't stop for just one, so when Mister stops, he's ignored and tugged along with the "pack". I did have his leash attached to Shadow's at first but she is much more powerful and faster than he is and he was dragged once or twice, so that stopped. But my advice with that would be to just ignore him and keep walking. Go for a walk for yourself and have him attached to your hip if possible, ignore him and just walk. He'll eventually learn that the walk is about what YOU want and not what HE wants.

And the barking on walks... a leash correction and a "leave" command helped me with both dogs (of course more gentle correction with Mister ) every time, and often. Now we just have issues with Mister being startled by quiet, quick moving objects, like kids on bikes or dogs that he doesn't see right away. But we're working on it!

As far as "shock" collar training and those who've poo-pooed it, it sometimes is a necessary tool. Its not fear that drives the training, those collars are designed to be a long-distance leash correction, or similar to a nip from a pack leader. If the instructions are followed and the collar is used correctly, there is no issue. Admittedly Yorkies are a small breed, and not that i've looked very hard, but I've not even seen any small enough to be used on Yorkies. All of the training issues that we've had with Mister, we also had with Shadow (the lab) and we did end up using a collar in her training. That worked very well, i'm glad to report, with barking at inappropriate times and with her running off when she gets excited. She was so focused on what she saw that excited her, that she was deaf to any and all commands. She's also a fairly large dog and would jump excitedly (much like a Yorkie) on people and scratch them with her claws unknowingly, all while my boyfriend and i are trying to call her back and get her under control. But she is a large dog; 50 lbs at least, and that behavior needed to be halted immediately, before she jumped on and injured a not-so-understanding friend or stranger. The collar worked, though she still runs AT people, she now just licks once and runs back. Point being, the collar helped with training the lab, but a Yorkie is smaller and easier to control/dominate. It has been longer and harder training with Mister, but we're still getting positive results with out the use of a shock collar.

And crating for a "time-out" as has been discussed in other threads, is not punishment, in my opinion. Its a loss of privileges: time with me, the privilege to roam, loss of decision-making on their part. It doesn't have to be long, ten to fifteen at the most depending on the offence. Mister was crated almost all the time at his first home (their solution to potty training) and so was put off from it a bit when i got him, but we've worked together and he understands that it's his bed, his "safe place", and his "time-out" area, as does Shadow. They will both lay in their kennels just as a place to lay down, and neither fears time in the kennel.

Sorry for the long post, i hope this helps. Most of all I wish you luck in training, you'll get it!



PS. Both dogs are kenneled when there's nobody home, also. Still no fear or weariness of kennel time.

[mavalos]

Hi! Don't worry your baby is still young. You definetely need to enroll in puppy class. I just enroll my baby. But please don;t use those shock collars! What you will be amazed how well behave he will be!

[Franceen]

I have just put a post on Yorkie products in error. I meant to put it here, Anyway, I am having trouble with my Yorkie being animal aggressive and wanted to know about remote control collars, BUT the ones I am interested in are the water ones. They spray a jet of water at the dogs neck to stop the behavior. I wouldn't use one that shocked my dog - too awful to contemplate! (But, I don't know anything about them so I shouldn't comment - it just sounds dreadful.) I thought the water spray one may be the answer, but I don't know of anyone who has used one. I was hoping someone on the forum might have tried one?

After reading all the posts here perhaps I will try the water bottle first and see if that helps. I am just a little concerned about the use of white vinegar, is it absolutely safe to spray at your dog and what mixture of vinegar and water do I use? Would it hurt if it got in her eyes?

Luv
Franceen