# Best E-Collar



## Laney_Doggs (Jul 8, 2013)

Looking for the first time investing in a e-collar. Last thread with this topic was a while ago. No negative comments please. I have a 2 year old female and a 7month old male. Anyone with experience on a 2 dog e collar. Or just buy 2 separate ones? Thanks in advance!


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I like the Tritronics if you can find them. I hear Garmin may bring them back because of demand. I have a pro100. That's for up to 3 dogs.


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## Bear L (Feb 9, 2012)

I've the two dog version, Educator 400. It works fine, light is helpful when it gets dark. 

Only limitation I found with the 2 dog e-collar is I can only leave one of the dials on one dog not fixed rather than both dogs' not fixed, in case i want to adjust them at will. So if dog A is not fixed, dog B will have to be fixed if I don't want to affect the level of dog B's, vice versa. For example, if i want dog A set at 5 (and not fixed at that level so I can adjust without having to "unfix" it) and dog B set at 10 then dog B can't be unfixed without it being affected by the adjustments I'm making to dog A's. This is not much of an issue for me since only one of the dogs needs to be unfixed. With two individual remotes, the going back and forth I don't think is faster/easier than just unfixing it with one remote. 

Not sure if this is the same "issue" with other brands/versions.

I've accidentally pressed the wrong buttons before. My dogs just looked at me like "did you want me to stay close?" I apologized and they got over it in a second since it's just a working level ping. With two remotes, I think I'll probably confuse the two in moments of distractions as well. 

I've the one dog as well and prefers the two dogs when I'm out with both.


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## jafo220 (Mar 16, 2013)

Dogtra makes a good collar also. Make sure when looking that the collar has a high number of settings. This allows smaller gaps between levels. The fewer there are the bigger the jump between levels.


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## LouCastle (Sep 25, 2006)

Laney_Doggs said:


> Looking for the first time investing in a e-collar. Last thread with this topic was a while ago. No negative comments please. I have a 2 year old female and a 7month old male. Anyone with experience on a 2 dog e collar. Or just buy 2 separate ones? Thanks in advance!


I prefer two brands. Dogtra and Educator (formerly known as Einstein). 

I use both two dog and single dog models. The advantage to the two dog units is that they're less expensive (you get two receivers and one transmitter). With the single dog units you get one receiver and one transmitter. If you have two dogs and want both to wear Ecollars, you need two complete single dog units. The advantage is that if your SO wants to take one dog and go in a different direction, you each have a complete unit. 

There are some other advantages to having two complete units, as to the details of how they work, but it's semi−complicated.


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## LouCastle (Sep 25, 2006)

Bear L said:


> I've the two dog version, Educator 400. It works fine, light is helpful when it gets dark.
> 
> * Only limitation I found with the 2 dog e-collar is I can only leave one of the dials on one dog not fixed rather than both dogs' not fixed, *


On my two dog Educator, each collar can be locked or unlocked independently of the other. There may be something amiss with your unit, if you're following the instructions properly. 



Bear L said:


> I've accidentally pressed the wrong buttons before. My dogs just looked at me like "did you want me to stay close?" I apologized and they got over it in a second since it's just a working level ping. With two remotes, I think I'll probably confuse the two in moments of distractions as well.


If you've got two dogs out on either a two dog unit or two separate units, it's inevitable that you'll hit the wrong button at some point. If you've laid the proper foundation and you're working at low levels of stim it's not going to be a big deal. If you've not laid the foundation properly, or if you're using high levels of stim, you can cause some confusion, and confusion leads to unreliability.


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## GatorDog (Aug 17, 2011)

I have had good luck with my Sport Dog collar.


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## Bear L (Feb 9, 2012)

LouCastle said:


> On my two dog Educator, each collar can be locked or unlocked independently of the other. There may be something amiss with your unit, if you're following the instructions properly.
> 
> 
> 
> If you've got two dogs out on either a two dog unit or two separate units, it's inevitable that you'll hit the wrong button at some point. If you've laid the proper foundation and you're working at low levels of stim it's not going to be a big deal. If you've not laid the foundation properly, or if you're using high levels of stim, you can cause some confusion, and confusion leads to unreliability.


I can lock each one independently but when I leave both unlocked, adjusting the level on one affects the other when I switch it back - they ended up both at the same level. I'll check the instructions again. 

I've mis-pressed at high levels too and they've gotten over that quickly. They're too busy to linger on mistakes like that when they're off leash... such as spotting some bush that urgently needs to be peed on.


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## LouCastle (Sep 25, 2006)

Bear L said:


> I can lock each one independently but when I leave both unlocked, adjusting the level on one affects the other when I switch it back - they ended up both at the same level. I'll check the instructions again.


Now I understand. That's how the system is supposed to work. It's one of the drawbacks of a two dog system. If you want one dog to be stimmed at a certain level, you should lock that setting into the transmitter. The other dog will be stimmed at the level that's set by turning the dial.


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## jaudlee (Mar 28, 2013)

GatorDog said:


> I have had good luck with my Sport Dog collar.



I also have had good luck with the Sport dog 425S version. I only use it on my dog, but it is capable for multiple I am fairly sure. Large range distance. Shock (7 levels) tone and vibrate as well. cost me $180 new


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## LouCastle (Sep 25, 2006)

Laney_Doggs I don't now what method of Ecollar training you're planning to use, but if you're going to use my methods or any other low level stim system, you'll want either a Dogtra or an Educator. Many people on my forum have said that they had a Sport Dog unit and that they were going to try it, since they had it. Many of them said that the lowest level was still too high for their dog. I'm pretty sure that none of them stuck with it. 

Generally with these systems, the more stim levels, the better. The Dogtra has 127 levels and the Educator has 100.


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## Laney_Doggs (Jul 8, 2013)

LouCastle said:


> Laney_Doggs I don't now what method of Ecollar training you're planning to use, but if you're going to use my methods or any other low level stim system, you'll want either a Dogtra or an Educator. Many people on my forum have said that they had a Sport Dog unit and that they were going to try it, since they had it. Many of them said that the lowest level was still too high for their dog. I'm pretty sure that none of them stuck with it.
> 
> 
> 
> Generally with these systems, the more stim levels, the better. The Dogtra has 127 levels and the Educator has 100.



Thank you for the help! I've heard a lot of good with Dogtra. Both do very well on basic commands. This is my first time having 2 at the same time. I would just like a little more focus on recall and walking off leash/ loose leash.


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## lrodptl (Nov 12, 2009)

I use the 2 collar dogtra. One collar I have marked with orange to match the orange button for the second dog. Same dog gets the same collars every day. Both dogs swim and the collars are 100% waterproof. This past Jan I lost the remote while walking after a 30" snowstorm and it was found 10 weeks and 6 feet of snow later. It was still fully charged and 100% operational.


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## lrodptl (Nov 12, 2009)

Laney_Doggs said:


> Thank you for the help! I've heard a lot of good with Dogtra. Both do very well on basic commands. This is my first time having 2 at the same time. I would just like a little more focus on recall and walking off leash/ loose leash.
> View attachment 285913


My dogs are 95% off leash and a low level nick brings them right to my side. They are almost perfect recall when not distracted but if we encounter people or another dog they can hesitate and a low nick regains their attention. When they see me pull the remote out of my pocket they come running without me nicking.


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## LouCastle (Sep 25, 2006)

lrodptl said:


> This past Jan I lost the remote while walking after a 30" snowstorm and it was found 10 weeks and 6 feet of snow later. It was still fully charged and 100% operational.


Great testimonial to the hardiness of these units. I accidentally dropped my first Dogtra into a sink full of soapy dishwater and dirty dishes while I was opening the package. I let it sit overnight. That was in the late 1990's I think. It's still working and has (purposefully) been dropped onto hard surfaces from a height of about 8' over 40 times. 



lrodptl said:


> When they see me pull the remote out of my pocket they come running without me nicking.


A lot of people only use the Ecollar to either teach or to proof the recall. That can cause problems if the dog ONLY associates the stim, or things like taking the TX out of a pocket as you describe. 

A recall calls the dog away from distant danger, a busy street, gopher poison, etc., very well. But if the danger is between the dog and the handler, for example a logging road with a truck coming, and the dog is on the other side of the road and moving towards the handler, you need to be able to stop the dog on the other side of that road and have him stay there until the danger has passed. 

If all the dog knows of the stim is to recall you won't be able to reinforce the sit or down command with the Ecollar. 

So I STRONGLY recommend ALSO teaching the sit and the down (which includes those commands at a distance) if you use the Ecollar.


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## lrodptl (Nov 12, 2009)

LouCastle said:


> Great testimonial to the hardiness of these units. I accidentally dropped my first Dogtra into a sink full of soapy dishwater and dirty dishes while I was opening the package. I let it sit overnight. That was in the late 1990's I think. It's still working and has (purposefully) been dropped onto hard surfaces from a height of about 8' over 40 times.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That is a great point. In my situation,the dogs are only off leash on Bogs,woods or open fields which there is an abundance of near me. I use the stim when I want them to stop barking,sit,down,stay,come,whatever situation arises and always accompanied by a verbal command. I take the transmitter out at the beginning of the walk and so they come,but it's useless in the pocket so the situation you describe should never be in play for us,but it is a great and valid point.


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## LouCastle (Sep 25, 2006)

impig33 said:


> A lot of electric collar can be chosen. * Aetertek seems to be the top brand on Amazon. *


Impig over 85% of your seven posts on this forum recommend this brand of Ecollar. What evidence do you have that this is _"the top brand on Amazon."_ 

In researching this company I found several forums where you had only one post on them, and those posts also recommended this brand of Ecollar. 

Do you have some connection to the company?


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## scarfish (Apr 9, 2013)

LouCastle said:


> Impig over 85% of your seven posts on this forum recommend this brand of Ecollar. What evidence do you have that this is _"the top brand on Amazon."_
> 
> In researching this company I found several forums where you had only one post on them, and those posts also recommended this brand of Ecollar.
> 
> Do you have some connection to the company?



yeah i noticed he went crazy bumping every e'collar thread with pushing the one he uses. almost makes you think he works for that company. do me a favor and tell him i use dogtras and they work perfect.


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## sourdough44 (Oct 26, 2013)

Dogtra here, tried others. You really need a 'page'/vibration feature with whatever you get.

If our dog needs a reminder, just a slight page is usually all that's needed.


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## Graychamp (Nov 17, 2014)

LouCastle said:


> Many people on my forum have said that they had a Sport Dog unit and that they were going to try it, since they had it. Many of them said that the lowest level was still too high for their dog.


Really? Hmmm...I have this collar and while I can agree in places that are low distraction it isn't the case in high distraction areas. The other day Emma saw a rabbit and began chasing it. She ignored level 7 held on continuous for about 15 seconds and then finally stopped and came to me.

The amount of drive these dogs can have is pretty impressive.


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## LouCastle (Sep 25, 2006)

Earlier I wrote, _"Many people on my forum have said that they had a Sport Dog unit and that they were going to try it, since they had it. Many of them said that the lowest level was still too high for their dog."_



Graychamp said:


> Really? Hmmm...


Yes, Really! Lol. 



Graychamp said:


> I have this collar and while I can agree in places that are low distraction it isn't the case in high distraction areas. The other day Emma saw a rabbit and began chasing it. She ignored level 7 held on continuous for about 15 seconds and then finally stopped and came to me.
> 
> * The amount of drive these dogs can have is pretty impressive. *


'Apples and oranges.' You are talking about the fact that some dogs, when in drive, can blow of fairly high levels of stim. This occurs particularly if the dog has not been trained as to what the stim means and how to shut it off by their behavior. 

I'm talking about the level of stim that a dog will first feel in a low distraction environment. For many, the lowest level of stim of the SD collars is still too high.


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## Graychamp (Nov 17, 2014)

LouCastle said:


> Earlier I wrote, _"Many people on my forum have said that they had a Sport Dog unit and that they were going to try it, since they had it. Many of them said that the lowest level was still too high for their dog."_
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Oh I completely agree with the apples and oranges. One dog doesn't = another dog. She definitely knows come + stim and heel + stim but yeah she's very stubborn. Outside there are times she just doesn't want to listen and she'll (sas) bark at me as loud as she can. Her way of saying "I don't want to". 

To the person asking about which shock collar...do reviews..do research and mostly learn how to properly use it. Your best tool will truly be your consistency in training. Best of luck with your training!


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