Hey guys,

I have a 5 month old male, choc lab. He's right at 50 lbs now and looks like he's going to be in that 80 - 90lb range. I will be using him for waterfowling and upland birds.

He's house and crate trained, been exposed to his first shotgun blasts (started off with caps, then shotgun blasts closer and closer until standing over him as if in a blind) with no problems. He's sleeping outside in a well insulated crate/house setup to get him weather acclimated not to mention keeping the house cleaner.....of all things he's not doing well yet is his retreiving. I am working on it but also have two young kids (the 12 year old boy is also getting gun and hunting trained as well....bought his first hunting liscence this year) that have been teaching him the game of "keep away" when my back is turned. I think I've got that issue solved....

This is my second lab and I used a shock/training collar on my first one and it really did the trick to correct some issues as well as train the dog. I used it very sparingly and don't consider myself an expert at using it. I have got two books on order that should help me use it properly.

Two questions until my books arrive....First, how soon should the collar be used and second, does anyone have a used one in good condition that is for sale.

They are spendy and for the type of training I will do it seems hard to spend top dollar on a training collar. But, any and all advice will surely be listened to....thanks!

Try this link:

Hunting Dog Forum

I've used that forum as well as several books to help with my now 11 month old Chesapeake.

It really depends on your dogs personality. This might sound funny but certain dogs respond to discipline different then others. From what I have noticed there are two different types of dogs. Those who are hardheaded and those who are not. Hardheaded dogs are harder to train but respond better to corrective discipline such as shock collars. Using a shock collar on a young timid dog can be detrimental to its future performance.

BTW buy a TriTronics collar they are the only way to go.

I agree with the use of TriTonics as a brand. I would recommend not using a color on the dog until it was adequately trained in the command you are working toward. I have had trouble with one of my pups I started to early on the collar. She got spooked by the shock. I had to go back to the basics and build up some confidence before using the collor again.

Got my books in the mail. Water Dog and Marshes and Meadows. Not sure if they will address the use of a collar.

Hey Steve,

I have a used collar you could borrow if you'd like. I really don't see a need for it anymore as my lab is over 10 years old. I would like to have it available down the road for use with a new dog so I might need it back in a year or so.

I'm not sure of the brand but I think it was a purchased from Pets Mart or some similar store. I know that it has a beep function and a beep/shock function. The shock is adjustable from 1-9 (or something like that). One major downside of the one I have is that you have to reprogram the strength every time you turn it on (and bumping up each level of strength creates the same beep tone as when it shocks).

As far as use, I couldn't agree more with huntncoug in that the dog's personality really determines how effective (or ruinous) the collar can be. My dog is a seriously hard-headed male and he responded well to responsible use of the collar.

Let me know if you want to check out the one I have and see if it works for you.

-Aaron

Hey Aaron, just now saw your post. I think I am going to just buy a new one out of Cabela's. Seems the prices have come way down and the features have gone way up on the collars since I last bought one 12 years or more years ago. Thanks anyway!

Reading up on my two books. Pretty good read from Wolters.

Ended up ordering a TriTronic today. Cabela's. One thing, I noticed they didn't charge me tax. Thought they might since there is a Cabela's in WA now. Free shipping too.

Try to do everthing possible before going to a collar. A lot of the time it's time that is the issue. Standard basic training will do wonders, it just takes time. Once you got a collar dog, you must rely on the collar for a good day of hunting for a while. Do what you can before going that direction.

That there be sound advise!

Agreed rt. Right now I need to keep this dog from bolting out into the street. That will be about all the use the collar gets for now. He takes off to give "puppy love" to everyone and everthing he sees that walks by our house. We live in your basic housing track.

Collar arrives tomorrow (Dec 21st). I plan to take it slow and easy.

Getting through Water Dog before I move on to read Marshes and Meadows.

Good luck brother safety always comes first and if that is what you got to do then do it. so good look.

Make sure you use verbal command to stop first, if no reaction then hit the verbal again along with the voltage button. They need to relate the non responce to the hair burning on their neck!

Not saying I would never use one but, I wonder how people and dogs got along before the invention of shock collars ?