E-Collar Training
Last week, Nukka and I went back to TOPS K9 Kennel to have a private lesson with our trainer to introduce her (and myself) to E-collar training. Nukka's listening skills are great when she is in training mode but if I were to just let her off leash at a park or the beach, there was a slim chance she would respond to anything I said.
So my options were to keep her on a long-line anytime I wanted to take her somewhere that wasn't fenced for 6-8 months or E-collar train her. I tried out the long-line for a week before deciding to get the E-collar and then continued to use the long-line until our lesson. She just wasn't responding the way I liked. I chose the E-collar because I felt I would get faster and clearer results.
We spent a half hour with Krista on Tuesday night. During this time we taught Nukka how to associate the e-collar zap with a prong collar correction, then gave her more freedom in the training hall and then took it outside. We drove over to the old fair grounds down the road and roamed through fields and barns. The difference in her behavior was AMAZING. As soon as I said "Nukka Come!" she would turn her little fluff butt around and come running back and sit in front of me!
The following day, I took her to Lake Park in Milwaukee. We walked around off leash, past the kids playing at the park, past running dogs and dogs playing fetch, past stick twirling men (..?) and past birds. I only had to correct her once! She sniffed and explored but never got too far away. It makes me feel so much more confident about bringing her places. Especially with other dogs around, she LOVES to make friends. Before this training she would've taken off sprinting across the field for the other dogs we saw. But she just stood calmly and watched them.
The next step will be to use this training at the dog park. I am excited to actually have her come to me when I call! We are also going to hike around Harrington Beach State Park and will be able to let her off leash on the beach without worrying if she will take off.
A big thanks to Krista and TOPS Kennel!!
-Tori & Nukka
So my options were to keep her on a long-line anytime I wanted to take her somewhere that wasn't fenced for 6-8 months or E-collar train her. I tried out the long-line for a week before deciding to get the E-collar and then continued to use the long-line until our lesson. She just wasn't responding the way I liked. I chose the E-collar because I felt I would get faster and clearer results.
We spent a half hour with Krista on Tuesday night. During this time we taught Nukka how to associate the e-collar zap with a prong collar correction, then gave her more freedom in the training hall and then took it outside. We drove over to the old fair grounds down the road and roamed through fields and barns. The difference in her behavior was AMAZING. As soon as I said "Nukka Come!" she would turn her little fluff butt around and come running back and sit in front of me!
The following day, I took her to Lake Park in Milwaukee. We walked around off leash, past the kids playing at the park, past running dogs and dogs playing fetch, past stick twirling men (..?) and past birds. I only had to correct her once! She sniffed and explored but never got too far away. It makes me feel so much more confident about bringing her places. Especially with other dogs around, she LOVES to make friends. Before this training she would've taken off sprinting across the field for the other dogs we saw. But she just stood calmly and watched them.
The next step will be to use this training at the dog park. I am excited to actually have her come to me when I call! We are also going to hike around Harrington Beach State Park and will be able to let her off leash on the beach without worrying if she will take off.
A big thanks to Krista and TOPS Kennel!!
-Tori & Nukka
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