I just got a Sportdog SD-400 to help do some more training with my dog. She is a small dog (about 20 pounds or so), and Sportdog says the collar is good for dogs over 8 lbs.

I put it on her yesterday to get her used to it while playing and working with her, but today when I went to find the recognition level, I discovered a problem...

I started her off at level 1, and she yelped and wigged out and put her tail between her legs. Even with just a nick she jumps and gets very skiddish. I tried the collar on myself at level 1 and I could hardly feel a thing.

I called sportdog and they said that it might just have surprised her and to try to keep testing it on level 1 to see if she will "get used to it" a little bit.

Has anyone experienced something like that? How do you get past that reaction?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Eric

What breed is the dog and how old is the dog. My experience with e-collars is that all dogs react differently to them. To clarify, my EP is fine with my collar when using low level stimulation; however, when I used my buddy's collar (same brand but newer model) he behaved differently and exhibited different behaviors than when I use mine. Sport dog could be right as far as it being such a new experience for the dog. I would really keep a watchful eye on how your dog responds after a few more attempts, so he/she does not become apprehensive to your purpose. I have used e-collars for some time now and have observed others using them and all though they can really be a great tool, they can also set you back in training if your dog really has issues with it. You might try using someone else' collar at a really low level just to get a comparison.
Hope this helps some.

Does your collar have the "beep" or vibration option? My coon dog does well with just the beep, every once in a while I will have to nick him, but it isn't often. Good luck with you pup.

I let my dog (as a puppy) wear the collar around often without ever shocking he. I wanted her to not associate the new collar with the zap. If she is a puppy and not trained, don't zap her yet.

She is a mutt, mostly basenji though. I'd say she is about 2 and a half, found her roaming the streets and took her in.

I'm going to try just nicking her one or two more times and then I'm going to go to radioshack and buy some resistors (recommended by sport dog) that are supposed to reduce the stim by 50%-75% depending on which one I get. This will allow me to start her off even lower than level 1.

I have been putting the collar on about an hour to an hour and a half before even turning it on and I play with her and work on basic commands right after putting it on her so that she hopefully won't become afraid of the collar. When I get it out, she still walks up to me and doesn't mind when I put it on her, so I don't think that is the problem. After working with her for a bit, I have been leaving the collar on for 30 mins to an hour before taking it off. Seems to be working alright so far.

Thanks for the help, I just don't want her to take steps backwards in training because of the e-collar. If it doesn't end up working out, its not that big of a deal.

It does have that function, but I bought it off ebay used and the side button that is used to control the beep is missing.

If I continue to use the collar, I can buy a new transmitter through Sportdog for $40, which I plan to do... IF I am going to be able to use it.

Thanks

You might have a extremely soft dog that will not tolerate an E-collar at all. What are you trying to acomplish with the collar? In spite of what some people think using an E-collar is not like flying a mode airplane with a remotecontreol unit. If this is a mutt, a basic obedience training book might be all you need.

i just have the pager option and thats all i have to use. it just took him a while to relize vibration will end up being a shock