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At what age should a houndsman trust their dog enough to stop needing an e-collar?

I'll start..... NEVER. There is no dog that is broke 100%. The only reason to stop using the e-collar is if the handler is abusing it and ruining dogs because of it.

i agree, no dog is 100% broke, but there is a time when it comes that you should trust your dog if he's earned it. i don't think there will ever be a set age limit on a broke dog, some are smarter and less hard headed then others, and some stive to make you love them more than others, and i agree it not very hard to ruin a dog with one, i'm speaking from experience.

Cobalt,

All but one Hound out of 18 we hunt gets an E-collar everytime I load them.

@ the moment every pup and young hound is "Boke in broke company". All the 4, 5 & 6 year old Hounds will hit the tailgate when something barks wrong!

Why would I put them on.....because at some time even the most proven Hound will pull some little stunt that needs to be corrected. In most cases "TONE"ing the Hound will get their minds right.

These older hounds know better but just like children they will try something as seemingly harmless as being slow to come to the truck when a race is over, growling when another Hound is loaded in the truck, not jumping up on the tailgate...any number of anoying little things that if stopped immediately is better than letting them progress to where they become habits.

If you have to wait until the next time they pull the stunt after you have put the E-collar on, it will be too lat as the Hound has gotten away with a new trick and will save it up to pull when you need them to the least!

Just what we do!

CJC

I agree that you should always run them. Many guys use the tone for recalling the hounds and if for no other reason, thats a great reason to wear them. There are just too many variables in the woods that the most experienced hound and houndsman can not alway predict! Plus, it takes a whole 10 seconds to put one on...

Well it is good to hear I'm not the only one that has trashy dogs. As I stated on the rigging lions thread I always put shockers on my dogs. I don't know how to train a dog to be 100% broke. I understand the other benefits of shock collars also. I can't criticize for over use either, I have been at times a little to quick to the button. I don't think there is such a thing as to old. I do believe there is such a thing as to young. The gentlemen speaking of dogs over 3 years old being so straight they don't need shockers anymore almost had me convinced that I was hunting the wrong dogs. But as always I will try to stay realistic and remember that they are dogs. Living, breathing, and capable of making their own decisions. My mongrels do not make the right decision 100% of the time.

I run E collars on my dogs no matter what age... I learned that they will on their best behavior until I take it off of them... Then they laugh at me and run trash

Actually I mainly use it for the tone button... I was short one collar this past winter, so I put them on my most valuable dogs.. Figured I wanted to have a stop button on them if need be...

e collar are great dont get me wrong . i have used them plenty ,but there is more than one way to correct a hound if its doing something wrong . my young dogs wear one even if there flying right . the old dogs dont have to. their going to get corrected if they do something wrong. then i ll go back to the e collar for a reminder . im a firm but fair handler. it works for me . i think the less a puppy gets away with the better a dog he will be .

The e-collar has been one of the best inventions ever for the houndsmen in modern times. This tool has made it possible to fix problems in a matter of minutes that not too many years ago would have taken months, if not years, to correct if the hound lived that long. The added tone made these collars even better. With the e-collar, even the greenest houndsmen can get his new hound to comply with no anger or frustration being applied to the hound. I will admit that you can abuse the use of these tools and will add that they do send tapes as well as training instructions and think it’s a great idea for those that have never used an e-collar to go through the training material before ever strapping them on to your hound. I have even tried them on myself as to get an idea what each level of stimulation that’s being applied to my hounds feels like. What is “broke?” Training hounds is ongoing and continues throughout their whole lives and is not finished because they are trash “broke” put them in bad company and you will find out real quick how “broke” that hound is! That hound that has never caused problems by themselves or with other “broke” hounds may surprise you! Have you ever heard my dog never did that before? And the reply, well he’s doing a pretty good job doing it!


sourdough

I have more dogs than E-collars, so I use mine on a priority basis. Unless the dog is a total knothead (which I've had a few), after 3 years old they rarely get a collar.

One of the mistakes I've made with the e-collar is when my consistency in putting it on a dog either sporadically or when I put it on the dog right before I want to use it(like on a set up). The collars probably should be put on, even if they're off, at the house before I go out to train or hunt. The consequences of this mistake is that the dog can learn what the e-collar is. Once they figure this out their thinking mode is altered and they act one way with it on and another with it off. Consistency in all training keeps a dog from doing more "thinking" than they need to.

Cobalt "Once they figure this out their thinking mode is altered and they act one way with it on and another with it off. Consistency in all training keeps a dog from doing more "thinking" than they need to."

This is exactly why I put all their collars on before leaving the house. I put their tracking collars and E-collars on before they ever get in the truck. Also when I camp with the dogs I put their collars on before letting them off the chains. This way they don't get conditioned to the collar. I will also let them wear the collars around the yard sometimes. I don't think any dog should be running around in the woods without an E-collar.

JMO

cobalt wrote:I'll start.....NEVER!

E-collars fulfill many functions and trash breaking is only a minor portion of their use!

ike

Ike wrote: E-collars fulfill many functions and trash breaking is only a minor portion of their use!

ike

So exactly what kind of bad behavior are you trying to correct using E-collars on your older dogs Ike??

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