Lou Castle

There can be some problems if a dog has received high level stims as might come from a bark collar or from someone who uses them in his training. The dog will associate a low level stim with the high level stim for quite some time. With some, they'll react the same! It usually takes me a day or two before the dog starts to realize that the low level stim he's feeling now is NOT the same as the high level stim he's felt in the past. It's common for a dog who's had high level stim to be "down" when the Ecollar is first put on. This usually lasts until he realizes that he's not getting that anymore. I prefer to teach the recall first but haven't had any problems teaching the sit first. There are some articles on my website that will help people with their training. www.loucastle.com

I've been in dozens of these conversations and they almost always go the same way. 1. People with next to no experience with the tool hate them. 2. Those people say that the tool is cruel. 3. They base their opinions on emotions rather than logic and reason. 4. They often approach hysteria in their quest to "badmouth" the tool. 5. They won't listen to facts. 6. They have some idea about how the tool is used, and it's usually one they've heard, rather than seen. 7. They may have seen an Ecollar used but it was an older model, not the modern tools available today. 8. They use the phrase "zapped into submission." 9. They talk about pain. 10. They talk of their experience with dog training which is usually very limited, often only to a couple of their own pets. 11. They continue in their beliefs no matter what information is presented to them. Now on the upside. People with open minds learn something about the tool. Many new users are converted or at least inquire as to their proper use.