any body ever use www.sitmeanssit.com

akhoopes

i have seen this in 3 different states now, and i am really considering using it for dogs, any body have any experience with it, just making sure its not a demonstration walk over, and real people in here use it. any other suggestions.

thanks so much, glad to be here in the forum.

samckinner · Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 9:59 am Post subject:

I looked at the site. It looks like they use an E collar of some kind. I don't know if that is the best training method. Their results look impressive but I'm leary of those collars.

Sam and Haus

akhoopes · Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 3:49 pm Post subject:

Rosko · Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 7:22 pm Post subject:

We met the local sitmeanssit people here in Utah at the Strut Your Mutt event this year and they were very nice and obviously loved dogs.

They had just lost a Weim that was a part of FEMA's search and rescue/recover team at the Katrina site. I believe it was the only Weim at that level in search in rescue/recover they said. Was a big boy too at 29 inches tall.

Regardless, I used to question the e-collar; however, after spending time with the Tektronic guys and actually getting myself 'shocked' many times I'm pretty much over it. The Sport G3, even at the highest setting, was barely a '2' on the tens unit (out of 10). I seriously could barely feel it even. They also put a 'no shock' option in that uses a buzzer or vibration (depends on brand/model) so you dont' have to shock all the time.

I simply can't see an e-collar as cruel really after playing with them for a bit. I certainly would never use on on a puppy (under a year old at least) because it may be simply too startling during that important part of their personality development; however, I don't think of them as inhumane anymore... that is for sure. I still wouldn't focus on them for training either, but for me I think it would be an invaluable tool for signaling the dog when in the wilderness and he chases something out of vocal range to get his arse back to camp. Rosko will be getting one and trained to a strong recall on it for his birthday most likely.

LANichols · Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 7:51 pm Post subject:

We use the sport G3 for our GS and our weim and they are a blessing. We tried them at the recommendation of our trainer, who trains both our dogs in obediance/ protrection. He said the decision to use them is based a lot on personality and that they aren't meant for all dogs (esp. more skiddish dogs). He also said it's very important to first use it in tandem with a prong collar correction and verbal correction (ie- have the prong collar on and correct the dog w the leash and remote collar simutaneously) so that they understand the meaning. For our two, the trick now is they listen 100x better with them on, so we're trying to "confuse" them about when they have it on and when they don't (sometimes putting two on at once, taking only one off, etc.) so it doesn't become the only reason they listen. If you have any questions, please let me know.

PamK · Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 8:15 pm Post subject:

I use the sport G3 on both my dogs, but I think we use it differently. Its on a really low setting and we use it for every command, not correction. So every time I tell them to sit at the same time I hit the button. Its just like tapping them on the shoulder to get their attention.

anne · Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 3:52 pm Post subject:

I use an ecollar for field training. I do not use them for regular obedience etc. simply because you can pretty much do anything for obedience without one and also the consequences for making a training error in obedience can have more negative repercussions.

It bothers me when people say that ecollars are cruel, yet so many people are just A-OK with using squirt bottles and other negatives. The concept is the same! Sure a shock is probably worse for most dogs, but for a dog that hates water, they might "prefer" a level 1 shock.

All that said, an ecollar in the hands of someone inexperienced can cause all sorts of problems, depending as a previous poster said, on the dogs temperament. This is why in general, I think obedience should be trained with positive reinforcement, that is usually enough for the large majority of dogs, and only enhance your relationship with your dog anyway.