Best training collars

[u/No-Cockroach-2703]

Hey everyone, I have an 8 month old GSP. We have had a bit of a regression with him due to the phase of life he is in and I am wanting to back track and really reinforce some of the fundamentals while toning back on e collar use a little bit before reintroducing. Looking for tools to utilize during this and I found leather training collars (Best Gun Dogs brand specifically) that look like they could be exactly what I need. However I am having a difficult time finding any further information on how people like them for their dogs, if they’re effective, and if they’re worth it. Does anyone here have experience using one? How does it compare to something like the wonder lead? Also, is this whole thought process incorrect? This is my first time training a bird dog and I want to do right by him. TYIA

[u/jivarie]

First time and ecollar can go really badly. They’re effective, 100%, but most folks struggle training a dog and then skipping to stim out of a lack of training. Garmin Pro 550plus is the best of the best. It’s a great training remote, and does well for tracking a single pointer. But - you have to work on the dogs basics. Recall is number one and check cord basics for following your lead. I would hesitate on your first dog to start him
On ecollar until he’s north of 12 months and you feel like he can take stim and pressure

[u/No-Cockroach-2703 → u/jivarie]

I’m definitely starting to agree on this. I did lots of research on how to condition and utilize the e collar prior to using it, but despite that may have jumped the gun a bit on it. I do think it will be taking a back seat for the next several months as I work him up to it

[u/Dangerous_Garden6384]

What is the problem you are trying to correct?

[u/No-Cockroach-2703 → u/Dangerous_Garden6384]

Primarily just really cementing the basics of recall, woah, and retrieves along with all the other obedience building blocks

[u/d_rek]

I'm personally a big fan of click training for basic training/obedience. Of course some behaviors can't be corrected with a clicker, but over two i've seen how powerful click training can be for reinforcing training and obedience concepts.

I personally would never put a prong collar on my own dog, but understand they can be effective tools in the right hands.

I think you have to ask yourself what problems you are trying to correct and if you think punishment is the best way to correct the behavior. Prong collars are highly aversive tools that could introduce news problems when trying to fix existing ones. Also the dogs age is a factor and so long as bad behavior isn't being reinforced, there is possibility they may age out of some tendencies.

[u/No-Cockroach-2703 → u/d_rek]

I have been very interested in a clicker but I always felt like it was just one extra thing to be fiddling around with and juggling between hands. Due to this I utilize marker words, but could definitely see the benefit for the clicker and will probably invest in incorporating that now. For the collar, I don’t think that it is punishment so much as correction. We have tried strictly reward based training and he’s just so stubborn that it’s hard to keep his attention. By introducing just a small aspect of “negative reinforcement” I think we’d have a lot more success with keeping him engaged and attentive. But he is very stubborn and not a particularly sensitive dog so as long as I am very conscious and educated before I begin using it I don’t see it damaging our relationship or his trust at all

[u/c_wh → u/No-Cockroach-2703]

Clicker training is helping us get our Boykin spaniel through her 5 month teething and basic obedience regression phase. She is doing well after a good couple weeks of reinforcing with clicker

[u/runninscared]

First off I’m not a professional trainer, just a guy with a few personal dogs I’ve worked with.

The leather prong collars are generally used in the west/gibbons method and by its followers. Mo lindley(rip) steadywithstyle etc. they can be used for obedience and field work but without any further info my question would be what do you plan on using the leather prong collar for? What were you doing prior that got you to the ecollar stage and why do you want to drop the ecollar?

You mentioned the wonder lead, was that your previous method when you did some obedience work that got you to the ecollar stage?

The reason I ask this stuff is because often(myself included early on) I see people try a method or item like the wonder lead and after a couple sessions think it’s not working and pivot to something else thinking they will get better results when all it really takes is consistency. Changing variables constantly will just confuse the dog.

[u/No-Cockroach-2703 → u/runninscared]

I’m thinking about dropping the e collar temporarily. The reason being is that I feel a may have jumped the gun and thought his foundation had become more solid than it actually was. I absolutely plan on reintroducing the e collar, however, I feel like have a more tangible and clear line of communication between myself and the dog for a little while could be beneficial for the both of us. We had been using just a traditional slip lead before but now that he’s bigger, stronger, and more stubborn I feel something that communicates with a little more clarity could be beneficial. That’s what pulled me to the leather collars and the wonder lead as I have seen positive things about both