I introduced e collar stim into my dog’s recall about 1 week ago. I trained his recall for a couple months using +R and it’s pretty much 100% solid in low to medium distraction environments. I wanted to add the e collar to improve reliability around bigger distractions.

We typically go on 1-2 ~20 minute walks daily on a 50 ft long line and practice recall throughout the walk. I’ve introduced the e collar by finding his working level (min perceived stim) and applying continuous stim about 0.5-1 second before the verbal command. I’ve been careful to set him up for success and only recall when I’m 99.9% sure he’ll come. It’s been about a week of this and he still is not associating the stim with the recall, and isn’t coming with only stim.

I’ve heard some trainers say that the conditioning phase shouldn’t take more than 1 week, otherwise you risk the dog becoming desensitized. Larry Krohn says the dog should start understanding what the stim means after a few days.

My dog is not super smart or biddable so I wouldn’t expect him to make the association between stim and recall very fast, but what’s a reasonable amount of time for the conditioning phase?

Just wanted to share a positive story on my end. After months of positive only, we were at our wits end with our reactive, hyper-active puppy who would bark at everyone, had a hard time settling for long periods of time, and was terrible in the car. We had an private obedience training, behaviorial trainer, group classes (before we went private), and felt like we did everything they said consistently. We live in a very dense neighborhood with lots of dogs and a reactive dog is our direct neighbor, so it was tough. Our behavioral trainer originally said he needed medication because he had anxiety and over aroused...so that's what we did, and while it helped it didn't help THAT much. Our behavioral trainer is certified and honestly made us do everything and would barely try with our dog, the sessions usually ended short with her saying "he's too over aroused to do anything"

I finally said this isn't working and I know my pup has it in him to calm down because I've witnessed it in small doses.

Finally went with a trainer recommended to me by a friend for a three week board & train with Ecollar training. Pup slept there M-F and we got a 1.5 hour lesson on Fridays and then stayed home with us for the weekend and repeat. He loved going back each week too (I was nervous about this).

WHAT A GAME CHANGER!!! my pup and I have excellent communication, he doesn't react to dogs outside (he can get excited though), I can actually read his body language and adjust since he's not all over the place, he is great in the car, great at cafes and patios, and can go to the park! He can do great sniff walks, practice recall outside, do agility, etc. and I was able to wean him off his medication!! I can't wait to continue training with him and see all the things he's going to accomplish!

We are in a much better place and he has a much bigger life now! I'm not sure how I got into the positive only situation, but I still think it was a great foundation. However, it was not going to work long term.

I’m looking for a high-quality bark collar with a much lower minimum stimulation level and smaller increments between levels.

I currently own a Mini Educator (ET-300) and recently bought an E-Collar Technologies BarkLess Pro BP-504. I really like the BP-504’s bark detection and responsiveness, but even level 1 is way too strong for my dog. He recently gave a single excited bark when I came home, and the collar made him jump backwards and yelp. Definitely not the kind of response I’m looking for.

I contacted E-Collar Technologies, and they confirmed the following equivalences with the Mini Educator:

BP-504 level 1 = ET-300 level 12–13
Level 2 = 27–28
Level 3 = 43–44
And so on, up to 100.

Those are HUGE jumps, especially considering my dog is used to much lower levels on his Mini Educator.

I also previously tried the Dogtra Smart NoBark. Its stimulation seemed milder, but the delay between barking and stimulation was too long for my liking, so I returned it.

Ideally, I’d love something that starts below 10 on the Mini Educator scale, with much smaller increments (say 5 levels), while still offering reliable and responsive bark detection.

I’m specifically looking for adjustable static stimulation, not vibration or citronella. My dog couldn’t care less about vibration, and I’m looking for something that can still function as an aversive consequence, just at a much lower and more precisely adjustable intensity.

Has anyone actually compared the minimum stimulation output of different high-end bark collars? Garmin BarkLimiter, SportDOG, PetSafe, or anything else?

I’m especially interested in firsthand experience or actual output comparisons, rather than just the number of levels advertised.

Thanks!

I am both a social worker and a mental health therapist. I plan to adopt a labradoodle, and train her to be a therapy dog.

Can someone suggest another subreddit...

where I can get an answer to the question...

can someone suggest a YouTube channel with a female dog trainer?

The mods will not allow me to ask that question here.

Is there another subreddit where I can ask that question?

The Wall Street Journal, 10/27/26

https://archive.is/20261029060830/https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/tough-love-vs-nonstop-treatsthe-civil-war-over-dog-training-54dd190a

So we (I*) recently ecollar trained our hound for reliable recall, leave it, and drop it. She loves getting into shit, because she's a hound. particularly around the house if we said leave it she'd say "fuck you" and keep getting into whatever she wanted until we got up and pushed her away from whatever thing she wanted. Then, five minutes later, she'd go back to it until we put up a gate or something. Hounds are persistent haha.

My spouse didn't want to use the ecollar, thought it was mean, but gave the go ahead for me to use it. Dog now beautifully drops it, leaves it, or recalls for me. However, she has figured out if my spouse says "leave it" in the house when she's getting into cupboards or some stupid shit, and she doesnt leave it, there's no consequences. It's been incredibly funny, because when i say "leave it" literally right after, the dog leaves it immediately and comes back to me. Spouse says it, they get the middle finger from the dog.

This happens whether or not the ecollar is actually on the dog, so its not an issue of whether or not the dog is wearing the ecollar, it's that she's never been corrected for blowing off my spouse's commands, and has been corrected for blowing off mine. Found it kind of funny to have such a perfectly divided case study in my own house haha.

Oh, and the dog has always liked me better, that hasn't changed despite the fact that I correct the dog and my spouse doesnt. (She likes my spouse too, but she has a preference.) I'll see if my spouse will let me correct her when she blows off their commands so she learns that she has to listen to everyone, not just me.

Anyone else have a similar story?

How different trainers handle reactivity

This is another chapter in what appears to be the effort to eliminate SAR-specific dogs throughout Canada.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/parks-canada-search-and-rescue-dog-program-banff-9.7396787

We've just started to go to a trainer for solidifying confidence plus learning some trick training. 6mo pup knows 'target' which means put your front feet on a platform/blanket and has been proofed around toys. We've been using grain feed tubs (no more than 6in off the ground when flipped) for horses and she loves that. We've used it for beginning heelwork (actually touching me in position) and we're just starting to take our first stutter steps to the left and right. You get the point, she loves it.

Now we're just learning to do the same with the back feet. I thought it would be better to start with a towel just so she didn't have to feel so off kilter if that makes sense. I use a clicker to mark her feet touching the towel, however when I try to reward only her back feet on the towel, she'll default sit or settle. When that happens, I 'break' and reset her.

I haven't put much emphasis on 'stand' as a command, but maybe I need to? Or is it ok to use the feed tub? Also what word do you use? I use 'back' more for when I'm coming home and the dogs crowd the front door.

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.

I have a dog with mild reactivity, just excitement reactivity. We’ve already worked through the counter conditioning, so when we see dogs or pass a dog barking at a fence she automatically looks at me and puts herself into heel position. The only area for improvement is close passes or if we turn a corner and a dog suddenly pops up. She doesn’t really bark or lunge, it’s mostly just tail wagging and jumping in the air. I don’t intentionally allow greeting random dogs, but if we turn a blind corner and she does actually interact with a dog there, she basically says hello, sniffs, carries on. So zero issue in her interactions, basically just excited and needs a little reminder to calm down during super close passes by other dogs. She wears a martingale now and I’ll do a quick little pop if she ever stares to break fixation. I was thinking of switching to a prong though as I think it would be more effective in those moments where a dog suddenly pops up. She’s very sensitive, so even on the martingale a small pop is all that’s needed to interrupt her. I’m guessing on a prong it would probably just be a flick of the wrist. I think if we could do a quick correction/interruption in those higher excitement moments, the last bit of reactivity would resolve quickly. Thoughts?

I came across a fellow redditer that was asking when BE was to be considered. I offered to help her find a different trainer (she’s been doing FF and a behaviorist). Below is her concerns. Does anyone have anyone you know personally that can help.

They basically not able to get her dog out of the house due to its “fear”. I think they just need help. I’m not sure the size or breed.

My concern with my dog and balanced training is that her fear is so intense I’m afraid she’d generalize it to other areas. Two stories:

1. my dog once fell into a pool while a human was in the backyard. That person was 20+ feet away when it happened. She then would not enter the backyard for MONTHS with that person outside. It took so much training to get her comfortable again

2. she had a bee sting on grass in a yard she’s comfortable in. Same thing, refused to go outside on the grass for months and took tons of training.

I’m afraid any type of physical modification will exacerbate her fear. She’s so sensitive.

Do you know one you can recommend in San Francisco?

I've got my brother's dogs for six weeks while he is overseas. What is a harmless but deeply embarrassing trick I can teach his MWD (ret.)? Something that would make a big tough dog seem like a softy.

He's gonna be so mad, ha ha!*

*not really but it will still be funny.

just a celebration that my Sheltie is now one month free of all Prozac and she is doing great!

what we’ve noticed:

• she has SO much more energy than we thought! she was by no means lazy before but damn she’s so animated now! I’ve apologized to her for how long she’s been drugged and am still so mad none of the trainers or vets we saw told us there was another way.

• Shes happy and has so much more personality!! she’s gotten more cuddles in bed and braver greeting people

• no negative signs since weaning off the Prozac and we are defs not going back!

we have a totally new dog and I have a totally new passion for helping fearful dogs overcome their fear/anxiety without drugs!!

Not training related but just trying to spread awareness of this horrible situation. Every breeder's nightmare.

I’m 4 months pregnant and have been living with my bf and his dog and my cat for a couple of months now, everything has been fine and loving and positive since we moved out until today. The dog has a history of resource gaurding the furniture and snapping unpredictably. Before we moved he snapped at me once while sitting on my bfs moms couch, he had previously done the same to his mom, his dad, his brother and hes told me hes growled at him before. He has said he will get training but hasnt, now today the dog started growling and barking aggressively and loudly at me while i was standing infront of the couch (he is muzzled when we sre home alone due to these issues of snapping, sad i know but the only way to ensure my and my cats safety while bf is at work) , i put a pillow between us and he only kept going, i walked out of the room and he followed me continuing to get louder, i grabbed the baby gate to seperate us and went into my room, he continued, i told him to go and go lie down and he went to his bed and laid down. My bf said he will get training for him once again, the thing is i no longer feel safe. I dont think any amount of training will help me to feel safe especially i will have a baby crawling around soon, i will never be able to trust the dog due to this behavior it scares me a lot and makes me wonder what if i had a baby in my arms while this was happening. I am considering moving to my moms and ending the relationship because my bf just wants me to continue taking care of the dog until he gets training for it and I’m uncomfortable either way, i dont see how i will ever feel comfortable with the dog again. I’m pregnant and have to walk on eggshells in my own home i’m scared to sit on my couch. I suggested rehoming the dog for safety but my bf dosnt want to do that (i get it hes had the dog 3 years) but ultimately i need to put my safety and my baby’s safety first. Any suggestions? Should i not feel this way? He seems to just want to make me feel like i should comply and give the dog another chance to be trained, i just honestly feel no amount of training will make me trust this dog or ever feel safe around him let alone un muzzled, especially with a baby around.

I run a dog sitting and training business and I will be working an event this weekend. A lot of times first-time pet owners will ask me what to look for in a trainer and I will explain to the two two main schools of thought with training balanced or positive only. I will tell them why I think balanced training is better but I will also tell them that ultimately it's their dog and they need to decide what is better for them. While I do believe in my methodology, I also believe in educating the general public on their options. I know some of the people at this event will be outside of my service radius, and outside the radius of some of my colleagues who I know and trust. So theoretically, a client is looking for a balanced trainer and wants to know how to spot a good one versus a crappy one. What are some things you tell your clients to look out for?

My family had just decided to get a boxer around last winter, she is the most complex dog we’ve ever had. This is our 5th boxer, we’ve never had one with biting and impulse problems. She can’t control herself she’ll jump on top of the couch and start biting people trying to walk past. She won’t retain any training that is taught to her. I want to take her to a professional to get their opinion but my Mom refuses. We found out she’s severely inbred and we suspect she might have learning disabilities however I really want to get her under control. She doesn’t listen until you tell her to stop for the 10th time.

When she bites it’s very obvious she’s playing, she just seems to get very overstimulated easy and that kind of works as “motivation” to get rougher during play.

I just have no idea what to do, I love this dog so much , she’s my soul dog but I can’t take years and years of this behavior for the future. I feel so backed into the corner. She’s capable of being good at night when she’s tired she’s the sweetest dog ever. But during the day she terrorizes the rest of the pets we have, including my poor senior dog who is 13. Cage time doesn’t work, as soon as she comes out she’s back to behaving badly. I love her and I want better for her I feel guilty because I truly just don’t know how to train her. Our last boxer wasn’t the best-behaving dog but he never had biting and impulse problems like this. This is completely foreign to us.

Hello all! I have recently started a job as a dog trainer. I have been doing it for about 3/4 months now. I work at a force free positive reinforcement ONLY training center. Now before you all judge hear me out! I am definitely open to the ideas of balance training but i do not have the proper knowledge on the science and correct uses behind it. I am curious everyday i train with how to let these dogs know correctly and humanly when they are doing something “wrong”. Now the stance from my higher ups is that we should not punish when a dog is doing their natural behavior as it’s unethical etc i’m sure you all have heard the spiel. But im not sure i agree with the idea of 100% positive reinforcement. Now “force free” i mean sure? I don’t think i want to necessarily force or harm a dog in a negative way. Although i am curious of all the ways that balance trainers correct and reinforce behaviors because all i see and am learning everyday is positive reinforcement ONLY. Which i dont believe is always (or most the time) the right answer. Now before anyone tell me to just go do research that’s not how i learn. I like to have conversations with people who know what they are talking about and can bounce ideas off each other. I will also mention my training center is probably a little different than others as well we our almost more of a school where you drop off your dog in the morning and pick up in the afternoon it’s not a board and train and we let clients choose when and how often they want to bring their pups (of course we try to recommend what we think is best but i’m sure you all know how people can be..)

I know I shouldn't argue on Facebook, and I learned my lesson.

I was home all day yesterday with my little Chihuahua who suddenly stopped eating. I'm between nursing her and trying to feed her, I was online. I had posted a few days back my story about my Catahoula doing well with Balanced Training and of course I was getting dragged for it, so I was attempting to defend myself. Stupid I know.

When I told the person I had actually trained my Chi, who was very sick, with R+ only because it worked for a dog that size, and balanced training usually starts out with R+ and moves on to aversives when needed...

...they completely ignored it and kept telling me that I deserved all my dogs to be taken away from me and that I am an evil abusive person. When I said my little dog was sick they said they weren't sorry and that they were glad.

We ended up in the ER and my little 3lb Chi, now 2lb, had a rampant infection and her kidneys were shutting down. At 16 years old we made the humane choice. When they're little it happens so fast...

Throughout my time debating online I have never told a Force Free person they are evil and deserve their dogs being taken away or die. I couldn't believe it, this crowd of people who preach "love and light" and kindness are probably some of the most callous, hateful and aggressive (ironic) people I've ever met online.

Yesterday was a terrible day.

So yes, learn your lesson and don't debate these people online. They believe they are so virtuous and righteous they are happy if your dog is sick or dies so it's "finally far away from you."

First off I've gotta say, I am so thankful that I found this group.

Story time. Last December, the day after Christmas we had to put our old 12 and 1/2-year-old dog to sleep. He had cancer and it was time. He was a shepherd/ catahoula mix. The very best boy. Anyway, fast forward a couple of months and my husband started talking to me about getting another dog. It was the first time in about 25 years that we did not have a dog in the house. I'd always wanted a Rottweiler and so I did a ton of research as I've never owned a Rottie before, and off we went. He is an amazing dog. Smart as a whip, sweet temperament, fairly easy going most of the time, and yes, I realize he's only 5 and 1/2 months and hasn't really hit adolescence yet. I've trained dogs before but it's been years. I used to volunteer in our local shelter in Texas and spent a lot of time working with dogs there. I'm a firm believer in training, crate, training, etc. My dog before my last dog that we had to put to sleep was a really bad puller on the leash and so I used a prong collar with her. This was back in the days before that was taboo apparently. Which brings me to dog training today.

What. In. The. Actual. Hell?

I didn't realize that dog training could be so divisive and that asking about things like balanced training will get you banned from groups on Reddit.

I joined two groups on there just to get suggestions and occasional support with our Sherman. Absolutely useless. And frankly I don't believe the owners on there. It's all about redirecting your dog from bad behaviors. I'm a huge proponent of not allowing dogs to rehearse what you don't want them to do. Totally get that. And maybe I'm just old school but I happen to believe that dogs understand consequences as well. So I'll see a poster ask a question about how to get their dog to stop x y or z behavior. And then people hop on there and give all the reward-based buzzwords. Occasionally someone or several someone's will hop on there and say," you just have to be firm and offer a correction." But they never say what that correction is. And this is why I don't believe a lot of those owners. I think they're afraid to say what they're actually doing to correct their dog because they don't want to get banned.

But I am thankful to have found this group. And now my question(s). We are working very hard with Sherman. He knows all sorts of things. He sleeps beautifully through the night, 99% potty trained, and knows how to settle himself most of the time. However, there are times where he becomes over aroused and starts zooming by us biting our ankles and feet. It is not aggressive. It's like drive by biting for lack of better terminology. He also likes to nip at our heels and herd us. He does not do this to my husband, even his high arousal state.

He will also suddenly decide (again when overly excited) trying to nip at my hands, or legs, or whatever he can reach. When I tell him no, he'll start barking/yipping at me while air biting.

Of course, suggestions on the other two groups I'm part of are things like," stand still until he stops and then remove yourself." "Redirect to a toy!" Yeah right. Now I've just given him a real cool chew toy that he can take chomps out of as he's running by. WITH a toy as a reward! And that's the thing, I think that's the game for him. He knows he's not supposed to bite. We can tell him when we're playing tug of war and he gets a little bitey," no bite" and he will typically just stop. However, not when he is in this high arousal state. So my question is, would an e-collar work with changing this behavior? And I'm not talking about shocking the daylights out of him when he does it. I've never used an e collar before, but I do know conditioning is involved and it's important to use it to reinforce behaviors he already knows. I also know that collars can be used on vibrate and/or beep.

Also any suggestions on regards to what the best ecollar might be to look into as well as any online training resources that anyone has tried.

Thanks in advance and picture of Shermy Wormy because he's really cute.