# Any SportDOG SD-425 E-Collar users out there?



## woogyboogy (Dec 25, 2013)

Has anyone ever used the SportDOG SD-425 FieldTrainer A-Series E-Collar before?

Now that Loki is almost 7 months, I am looking at purchasing an E-Collar in the near future for training purposes. As far as reviews online, it looks really good.

Amazon.com: SportDOG SD-425 FieldTrainer A-Series 500 Yard Remote Trainer: Sports & Outdoors

If anyone has any input, I'd greatly appreciate it!

Thanks!


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

My breeder has one she is very happy with. Others have them that aren't and said the stim is not reliable. 

I went with Tritronics and love it so far.


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## lalachka (Aug 13, 2013)

how is it discovered that the stim isn't reliable. honest question


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

by putting it on yourself and feeling it


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## lalachka (Aug 13, 2013)

I wouldn't be able to tell whether the level is 20 or 40. or it doesn't stim at all?

do people really put the collar on and keep shocking themselves to test it? I didn't do that. just tried a few levels and that's all. 

was I supposed to?


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## VTGirlT (May 23, 2013)

How many levels does that ecollar have? More levels the better.

Looks like it has good reviews online. I always look at the 1 and 2 stars to see what the "worst" was according to people. If the "worst" is, "dont shock your dog." Than you realize why the rating was why it was. If its something about the actual ecollar, than its a problem. 

I really was looking into dogtra and einstein, and i went with dogtra 1900ncp, and am very happy with it so far. It has 127 levels and great reviews. [ame]http://www.amazon.com/Dogtra-1900NCP-Training-Collar-Single/dp/B001COT8LU/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1407639558&sr=1-1&keywords=Dogtra+1900ncp[/ame]

I tried the e-collar on myself. I wen't to the highest level on nick that i could. And i go about 20 above the working levels, that i usually use on Zelda, on continuous. So i realize what she is feeling, i am going to try 127 one of these days on myself. lol
I think all people who plan on using an ecollar use it on themselves first. 

I'm new to ecollars, so thats my opinion!


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

VTGirlT said:


> How many levels does that ecollar have? More levels the better.


that isn't necessarily true. My tritonics has 6 levels, medium and high so 12. There is no reason to go past level 2 unless it's a super hard dog.


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## Gib_laut (Jul 25, 2014)

Jax08 said:


> that isn't necessarily true. My tritonics has 6 levels, medium and high so 12. There is no reason to go past level 2 unless it's a super hard dog.


How is more levels not better? 

So on your collar 2 is for a normal dog and suddenly level 3 is for a hard dog? Wow.


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

Einstein makes a great e collar and reasonably priced too. One of the selling points (they claim) is the consistency of the stim.

Leerburg | Educator ET300 Mini Remote Dog Trainer


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## Baillif (Jun 26, 2013)

I used one this last board and train period that came in with a dog named Loki interestingly enough. I prefer the dogtra IQ to it because it has more levels but I didn't see anything wrong with the model.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Gib_laut said:


> How is more levels not better?
> 
> So on your collar 2 is for a normal dog and suddenly level 3 is for a hard dog? Wow.


Gib Laut/Blitzkrieg - go get a Tritronics and try it instead of yapping your jaws about something you apparently know nothing about. If you had ever used a Tritronics you would know what I meant. And that is NOT what I said.

Unless you just like to fry your dog. In that case, carry on. Do you ever NOT have a snarky comment just to pick a fight?


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## MiraC (Dec 7, 2012)

I had a sportdog collar and I could never relie on it sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't and it was hard to adjust the level of stimulation! I switched to an E Collar ( Einstein) 300 and the difference was remarkable! I also used it on myself I took Ed Frawleys advice ?


Sent from Petguide.com App


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## David Winners (Apr 30, 2012)

The number of levels, or lack thereof, limits your ability to adjust the stim in minute levels necessary for some types of training. It's not about the max level of stim, but the fine tuning you can do with the stim level.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I understand that. I had a Dogtra with 127 levels which I've sold. I said "that isn't necessarily true" NOT that is was totally incorrect. I prefer the tritronics. I am sincerely sorry I ever post anything on this board anymore. Everything is a fight.


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## VTGirlT (May 23, 2013)

Jax08 said:


> I understand that. I had a Dogtra with 127 levels which I've sold. I said "that isn't necessarily true" NOT that is was totally incorrect. I prefer the tritronics. I am sincerely sorry I ever post anything on this board anymore. Everything is a fight.


Dont be sorry for any posts you do Jax! What you say has importance.
If i can find someone with a tritronics maybe i will feel for the stims myself and see what i think about it. Maybe they are still gradual enough to find the just right stim.


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## David Winners (Apr 30, 2012)

Jax08 said:


> I understand that. I had a Dogtra with 127 levels which I've sold. I said "that isn't necessarily true" NOT that is was totally incorrect. I prefer the tritronics. I am sincerely sorry I ever post anything on this board anymore. Everything is a fight.


I wasn't disagreeing with you at all, only stating that some trainers like the flexibility of the collars with more settings.


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## jafo220 (Mar 16, 2013)

I have a Sportdog I got from SMS training. It has seven levels on the remote with two extra buttons to increase stim setting in half settings without touching the dial. The collar also has three levels. It works great. I just don't like the dial as if you have that clammy sweat going, the dial can be hard to adjust on the fly and that's kind of a critical thing. You miss opportunities at times not being able to adjust when you need to and is kind of frustrating.

I bought Jax's old Dogtra collar. I am switching because I am changing my training slightly and it requires finer adjustments on the stims. I see nothing wrong with Tritronics. Seems like a great collar. I'm just trying something different.


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## Gib_laut (Jul 25, 2014)

Jax08 said:


> Gib Laut/Blitzkrieg - go get a Tritronics and try it instead of yapping your jaws about something you apparently know nothing about. If you had ever used a Tritronics you would know what I meant. And that is NOT what I said.
> 
> Unless you just like to fry your dog. In that case, carry on. Do you ever NOT have a snarky comment just to pick a fight?


Maybe I'm just not very smart but you quoted someone saying that more levels isn't necessarily better. It would be beneficial to the op if you maybe explained why not? 

I've used the tritonics. Turning the dial and then having to choose between 4 different button combinations just for 24 different levels doesn't sound efficient to me. 127 is more versatile than 24.


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## jafo220 (Mar 16, 2013)

woogyboogy said:


> Has anyone ever used the SportDOG SD-425 FieldTrainer A-Series E-Collar before?
> 
> Now that Loki is almost 7 months, I am looking at purchasing an E-Collar in the near future for training purposes. As far as reviews online, it looks really good.
> 
> ...


Basically what I have now. Like I said in a previous post, the dial can be a little temper mental if your fingers get greasy or wet. It can be hard to adjust. But the collar works fine for what it's designed for. 

If you're going this route, make sure you get with an experienced trainer to point you in the right direction. Just my advice.


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## jafo220 (Mar 16, 2013)

Gib_laut said:


> Maybe I'm just not very smart but you quoted someone saying that more levels isn't necessarily better. It would be beneficial to the op if you maybe explained why not?
> 
> I've used the tritonics. Turning the dial and then having to choose between 4 different button combinations just for 24 different levels doesn't sound efficient to me. 127 is more versatile than 24.


It's their opinion. They used both and preferred the Tritronics over the Dogtra. It boils down to what you're comfortable with. Doesn't necessarily mean your going to have a better trained dog from a collar with 127 levels than one with less levels.


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

jafo220 said:


> It's their opinion. They used both and preferred the Tritronics over the Dogtra. It boils down to what you're comfortable with. Doesn't necessarily mean your going to have a better trained dog from a collar with 127 levels than one with less levels.


Good point, my wife worked with a trainer using a Dogtra 2300ncp. I looked into e collars and found a lot of folks liking the Einstein and wanted to try it, but she became familiar with and liked the Dogtra and went with them. I ended up getting the ET300 later so it all worked out, both are happy. Research and go with the unit that works best for your situation.


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## woogyboogy (Dec 25, 2013)

Well we decided not to buy the SportDog SD-425 because one of our friends who is a K9 Officer for the Police force, gave us his Dogtra 1700NCP for free.

I've researched it a little bit and discovered that the 1700NCP was replaced by the 1900NCP. But the only major difference is size of the transmitter and receiver. 

I'm not going to start training with it until I am 100% confident I know what I'm doing. I've been researching LouCastle's methods for e-collars, and he seems to be what the majority of people like as far as technique.


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