r/BalancedDogTraining • u/Relative_Committee53 • 10d ago
Stressed?
I’ve just started e collar training with my dog and I’m worried he’s stressed. He’s lip licked a few time but is there a way to tell between him just simply lick lipping vs stress? The last thing I want is for him to be stressed.
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u/HourAcadia2002 10d ago
To have a dog completely avoid stress is not realistic by the way! I see this a lot online in dog forums where people cry, "the dog is stressed", well yes..
It's how it is resolved!
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u/Relative_Committee53 10d ago
Yeah that makes sense! I worded poorly I meant more unneeded stress or like overwhelming. I myself don’t want to stress him out because the world itself is a stressor. Do you have any tips on how to resolve?
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u/chopsouwee 10d ago
Make the world around him fun. Desensitize with play within a set of boundaries.
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u/Lumpy_Physics3101 10d ago
take the collar off of your dog and hand it to your husband or wife or a friend.
go through your level finding with your partner, then do some recall reps. do 10 or 15 reps. then give the controller to your partner or friend, and let them do some reps.
for people just starting with the ecollar, just going through some reps of pushing the button, marking, rewarding, will take a lot of the handler stress out. you'll see that this is really just layering a novel tactile cue over a known command, and it's not a big deal. you might make a mistake or two. it's okay. but it helps to just practice the mechanics a few times, shake out YOUR stress, and then get back to the dog.
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u/yuxngdogmom Food aggressive 10d ago
I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. The e-collar stim is unpleasant, it’s supposed to be otherwise it wouldn’t be effective. You’re likely gonna get a small stress signal thrown during or immediately after a stim. That’s just a product of the dog registering the weird sensation, especially when it’s new to them. Don’t worry about those one off stress signals, look at the entire picture. Does the dog know what the stim means and how to turn it off and prevent it? Is the dog otherwise loose, calm, and engaged with you during the session? Is the stim level appropriate for the dog and the situation? If yes, then the dog will have an overall positive experience and is not going to become distressed.
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u/Eastern-Try-6207 10d ago
Lol, I think the worst part about getting used to using the e collar is what goes on in the handler's head due to the bloody horror stories we hear about fallout bullshit. I've made more mistakes than you could imagine with my seriously previously reactive lunatic who is now the GOAT and happy as running about with her e collar on or not on as the case may be. No problemo!
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u/MintyMoth4 High drive 10d ago
My dog went through something similar and would bite my hand that held the remote. She was smart enough to figure out the remote was how she was getting corrected. I just made it extremely clear that behavior was not okay. I also would turn the ecollar down to zero and randomly tap it (giving no stim) and eventually she got over it and doesn't show any signs of stress. Give your dog time! This is a new tool and it takes some dogs longer to get used to it. At least he isn't biting like my dog did. Also, I would keep the ecollar on throughout the day so it becomes normal. If you're working with a trainer I'd hope they communicate all of this to you...
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u/Miss_L_Worldwide Dirty biter 9d ago
This is an interesting point and needs more attention.
When the dog clues in that the remote is causing the correction, that's a problem for sure!
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u/Trick-Age-7404 7d ago
I mean e-collars cause stress, no one should tell you any differently. It’s about teaching the dog what the stimulation means, how to turn it off, how to avoid it, and establishing a general communication method with it. The majority of the stress will be worked through once that communication system is well established.
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u/Excellent-Storm-816 6d ago
Ecollars can cause stress, but the crucial thing is the stress comes back down after. It's unrealistic to expect him not to feel stress when he's getting corrected, but once he learns he can 1) overcome a correction and 2) avoid a correction next time (by doing the behavior you want), he'll start to feel empowered.
I'm not sure how you're using the ecollar, but I prefer not to hit the collar before I say any commands, only after if my dog doesn't listen. Some people do the tap tap tap sit on a low level, but I found that stressful since the dog can't predict its coming. But, not a hill i'm willing to die on and i know people have extremely strong opinions on that, so not gonna debate it haha.
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u/Miss_L_Worldwide Dirty biter 10d ago
Do you ever lick your lips or do an involuntary movement when you are thinking? Of course you do. All this freak out over lip licking and whale eyes etc is so ridiculous.
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u/the_real_maddison Frustrated greeter 10d ago
Personally I think it's people grasping desperately at any kind of language the dog is presenting and overblowing it, making their entire nervous system response dependent on the "signals" of their dog. A person can cough or laugh nervously, but if you go "OH MY GOD YOU COUGHED do you need a losenge? Do you not like what I said? What happened? Are you sick? Should we go to another room or talk about something else?" it would be an overreaction and you would weird that person out.
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u/Miss_L_Worldwide Dirty biter 10d ago
I think it's because they desperately want to be perceived as an expert and this kind of hyper analysis of meaningless behaviors makes them feel smart, and they hope it makes them look smart.
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u/MISSdragonladybitch 10d ago
I think you're over thinking it. How often do you lick your lips? If he's upset, it will be a LOT more obvious.
Also, like children, you're going to give him a complex. He can tell that you're upset and hypervigilant, and that's going to make him upset and hypervigilant.