Positive reinforcement is a difficult and amazing concept for training your dog, but for developing some more complex and long behaviors you might want to use a shock collar. Read more about shock collars here.
Here’s how you can train your dog with a shock collar:
Before using a shock collar
First, teach your dog some behavior without using a shock collar. This is crucial, you should never go to training with shock collar directly. The best place to start is by teaching your dog recall in the yard of your house by using treats and a clicker. Once your dog has mastered coming well in the yard, you can take it to some other locations and try the same technique there. Always with treats, you should do this before getting a shock collar.
Also read: My post about leather options you can pick out for your canine
Overlaying
This means using a different aversion before using a shock collar. That means that if you’re training your dog to come and you wanted to reinforce it with a shock collar you should first give the come command while tugging on a long leash. Next, you’ll do it by tugging the long leash while stimulating the shock collar simultaneously. After some time, you should start reinforcing only with the collar, no check cord. This way your dog will understand the meaning of a shock collar and how to turn it off.
Increasing voltage is not a solution
It never works and it’s a completely wrong concept. You will not achieve anything by increasing the voltage. Just like shocking your dog for a command it doesn’t understand will not work, it will only confuse him.
But sometimes you do need a little bit more voltage
But little. Sometimes your dog does understand but he’s just destructed. If this is the case you can increase the voltage a bit, so you attract your dog’s attention. But don’t forget, do it little by little, and if you can’t notice any results from the increase of voltage – stop increasing it.
And sometimes you need to decrease the voltage
This happens when your dog gets wet and the shock is just too hot. In these occasions don’t forget to start with lower voltage level than usual.
Even no voltage sometimes
Don’t forget that the lower level of voltage you can use the better. The idea is to obtain compliance to a command that your dog already knows, and do it with the least voltage you can. And it’s similar with training with traits – once your dog learns better, you stop using them. After some time you won’t need the shock collar anymore. When this time comes, you should stop using the collar and give your dog a chance to behave on its own.
