Customer Reviews

Remote Dog Training Shock Collar for 1 Dog

5 star:		(68)
4 star:		(47)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(28)
1 star:		(80)

 

 

Our rescue dog had been locked in an apartment bathroom for 10-12 hours a day since he was 6 weeks old. When his owner decided to give him up at 8-1/2 months of age, he had raging hormones, had had no training whatsoever, no socialization, no shots--nothing. Needless to say, he was a wild child! Moving from a city apartment to 10 acres (2 of which are fenced homesite) with cattle, cats, poultry, children and another (grumpy & old) dog was sensory overload for him to put it mildly. Leash training went extremely well, he learned that counter surfing was not okay, we're still working on jumping up on people, and he does have a problem with submissive urinating on occasion. Those are workable and solvable problems though given some time. But despite our best efforts (and we are experienced dog owners), there were some behaviors that we just could not curb and these unfortunately were somewhat urgent as they were getting worse by the day. He had decided that chasing the cats and the chickens was great fun, as well as digging under the fence to get to the calves and roam the pastures. And while I know these were just instinctive behaviors, they are also behaviors that could have disastrous results--both for the livestock and him. We have neighbors who will shoot dogs that roam the pastures and go after their cattle and he needed to learn that the fence was his roaming boundary.

When I received the shock collar (in record fast time!), I opened the package to inspect the contents. Everything was exactly as described, seemed very "sturdy" and the batteries were charged and ready to go; I just needed to read the instructions. While I haven't ever used a shock collar personally, I was familiar with the concept and knew that we would start out with the lowest settings and only graduate to the stronger currents if necessary. I strapped the unit onto the collar, fastened it around his neck and took him out on-leash. Up to this point we had been working with a choke collar at the fence/perimeter with a tug and stern "NO" each time he neared the fence, but the drive to get to those calves was just too strong and he could not help himself from trying to dig or cross the cattle guard. For this session, I walked the fence with him and as before he wanted out and continued to ignore me. Two tugs on the choke collar did nothing, so the next time he attempted it I gave him a light shock with the shock collar. His reaction was instant (and I will say somewhat comical, though I did feel bad about it). He gave a little hop in the air and immediately planted his but on the ground and looked at me as if to say "WHAT was that?" I praised him for his sit, and we continued down the fence line towards the spot he had just dug at earlier in the day. I let go of the leash and let him roam and he made a beeline for his hole. As he stuck his nose down to crawl under, I immediately gave him another slight shock as I said "NO!" He turned around and came back to me to sit. Though I never leave him out alone, I spent the next two days letting him roam the yard alone when I would take him out. Each time he approached the fence or cattle guard and was obviously thinking of going under/across, I would give him a shock and warn "NO!" (and on most occasions I was anywhere from 75-200 yards from him so the range is great!). I'm happy to report that after just 2-1/2 days it seems he has gotten the message as far as the fence is concerned. Just prior to writing this I watched him come within 2 feet of the fence, consider his options (with two calves standing just on the other side) and turn around and come back to me. We now begin the training of leaving the chickens alone but I don't think it will take him long. I used it ONCE (again on the lowest shock level) as he stepped over the threshold of the open coop when I was cleaning and he now makes a wide path around the chicken coop.

I will say here that I have decided not to use the "vibrate" feature--not as a negative but just as an fyi. My dog seems to be very sensitive to it and the vibrate option seemed to scare him more than the shock itself. However, I can see that it might be useful to a dog that is more obstinate or has a higher prey drive than mine.

Overall, this was by far the quickest and best $ I have spent on a dog product in many years. And while I was initially reluctant to use it, it turned out to be the saving grace for my sanity--and possibly my dog's life by way of the instant consequence and continued reinforcement. All of the "pieces" seem to be very well made, and come nicely boxed. OH, and I did test each setting on myself prior to first use just to make sure I wasn't going to harm him--the graduated levels are noticeable and you should take the time to evaluate which setting your dog might require. Don't start out with the highest level, but the lowest and work your way up and you'll find the setting that works for both of you.

Thanks for a great product!

I have a 60 lb 2yo Pit mix who is kept in a crate all day while I'm at work. When I get home he's starved for attention and shows it- he gets into EVERYTHING. It doesn't help I live in a 3 story house with 3 female roommates (and 2 cats) who leave trash cans unguarded, clothes on the floor, and doors open all the time. By the time I make it up the stairs to correct him, he's already ingested a tampon.... NOT SAFE. I've tried gates, positive reinforcement, offering alternatives like toys, Caesar's sounds and touches... he just doesn't listen.

I finally broke down and bought this "shock" collar. I put "shock" in parenthesis becaue I very RARELY have to use the shock setting- the vibration works just fine to deter my little brat. I tell him NO, wait, tell him NO again, and if he still doesn't listen I hit him with the vibrate. No lie, after the first night of using the vibrate he has started listening to my voice commands alone!!! Sometimes I say no, he doesn't listen, and I just have to reach for the remote and he stops. It's amazing after a week of owning this product- I feel like I have my life back!

Pros

IT WORKS!!

Rechargeable like a cell phone

Comes with a collar- I keep my dogs collar with ID tags on all the time and add the shock collar only when needed (take it off when in crate all day and sleeping at night)

Range is great- I live on the 3rd floor in a stucco rowhome and have "shocked" him on the ground floor.

Vibration option- mostly all I use or need to use.

Level 1 shock strong enough to startle (I felt this shock)

Guy friend asked me to shock him with a 6 and said it wasn't much worse than the 1

Cons

Receiver tends to pop off if the dog pulls too hard while walking- I solved this problem by attaching the leash to his normal collar and keeping the receiver on the collar provided in the kit.

Too many levels of shock- might need this with a really unruly dog but I'm constantly afraid I'm going to hit him with a 6 when I really only need a 1.

Vibration button too small- its that little button right in the middle... you can see its easy to slip and shock your dog with a high intensity.

OVERALL WORTH IT!!! BUY THIS PRODUCT!!

Absolutely excellent. I'm a fairly picky person and expect that in today's technological times we can produce products that work and function properly. This product has been outstanding! Excellent quality, great range, very flexible and most importantly: it works!!!

Charge it up, attach it onto the dogs existing collar or use the collar provided. The electrodes do not have to jam into the dogs neck, we attached it quite loose. Now get this: my dog entirely responded to the vibrate mode alone, I never needed to use the shock feature! In less then 3 days my dog stopped running outside our gates and into the street.

Someone asked me "how much did that cost?"...and my reply was "it's not how much it cost, it's how much it saved....at the most, it may have saved the dogs life, our kids being freaked by a hit dog and at the very least hundreds of dollars of vet bills"

True story: at night I open our front gates as I walk out to our mailbox to put some paperwork in it (my crews pick-up the paperwork each morning). Our dog usually bolts past me and runs right across the street to sniff and what-not...she always runs past me and I'd yell and try to stop her...she just did her thing. After a few buzz-vibrates she no longer does this. Last night I went out to put stuff in the mailbox....as I approached our gate our dog started to run towards me, I also noticed a mini-van coming down the street at a very fast rate...had the dog bolted past me, it would have been a perfect collision; all I had to do was say "wait" and our dog stopped and did not run out into the street. As the speeding mini-van passed (at excessive speed). I noticed a teenager laying on top of the roof grabbing onto the roof rack! Just some High School kids goofing off....but just imagine my dog having run right out in front of that mini-van...hard brakes, maybe a swerve, potential loss of control...and what about the dumb-ass kid laying on top? Yeah, pretty ugly. It never happened, and this device is what curbed that behavior. Definnitely 5-stars!

Like others I first purchased this remote shock collar due to its low price and generally good reviews. I was a bit concerned about having sealed rechargeable batteries and, sure enough, after a couple of months the collar unit went dead and would not accept a charge.

I then purchased a second unit (the price had gone down quite a bit). When it arrived I noticed that the red light on the collar unit was a bright red, indicating a good charge. However, the next day the collar unit was dead, and would not charge. I thought `dud', and made a mental note to return it to Amazon.

Doing some internet research I found a Canadian seller who sold just the collar unit (i.e., no remote) for a good price. Since I liked how the unit worked on my dog I ordered it.

The seller gave instructions on how to `pair' your old remote with the new collar unit, to wit: using a small Phillips screwdriver, remove the screw found on the collar unit; next, stick a toothpick or pin into the hole left by the screw and press down gently; when the red light begins to blink, press the `vibrate' button (the small middle one) on your remote (which should be next to the collar unit); when the red light becomes steady, your remote and collar unit are paired.

As I was doing this, I noted that using the toothpick or pin method also seemed to turn the collar unit on or off (if you do not apply steady pressure, but a quick poke). I quickly pulled out the `dud', removed the screw, inserted the toothpick, and lo and behold! The unit turned on! It works perfectly now. I guess that the unit had turned itself off somehow. I now wish I had not tossed the original unit: perhaps it had turned itself off too.

Anyway, for those who receive a `dud', try this method. As for the collar itself, we like it. It works well on our 80 pound dog, with a thick coat. To date we have not had to use the `shock': he responds beautifully to the vibration.

I was pretty reticent about using a dog zapper, but I was at my wit's end in training my German Shepherd not to run away when he was off leash, and to come when called. He was otherwise obedient, but I could not shake his idea that being off leash was a game for him to play catch-me-if-you-can. I tested the collar on myself first, and then used it very scarcely being meticulous to zap only when my dog was running away in contradiction to my simultaneous command to come. The thing worked a treat. The dog's recall is now 100%, and it only took a few zaps to get there. The rechargeable collar is great; it lasts quite a few days, and is easily recharged without needing to find obscure replacement batteries. Worth every cent.

My collar came dead as well. I charged for 8 hrs as instructed. The battery light was lit at that point on the collar. once removed from the charger it went dead in a few minutes without using it. Item was returned to Amazon which they refunded my money. Thanks Amazon !!

I was very iffy about purchasing this item for our lab because I was thinking I would feel bad for using it. I finally decided to go ahead with it being that she would not listen to us 1/2 the time and she takes off running when she shouldn't. I just received it yesterday so I cannot completely give a full review, but in one day she has improved A LOT! Our dog is a very hyper puppy and walking her was a nightmare, especially because she is a big dog. We had our first walk last night without a problem! The vibration just leaves her wondering what is going on. She sits and stares waiting for a command. I will not use anything highter than the #1 shock button. I tested it on myself and got a good little shock. I used it maybe twice and that is all it took, we were able to walk her. She walked right past my shoes last night without me saying NO! I now call it the magical collar; I cannot wait to see how much more she will improve her behavior! Thanks for a great product!

The description of the unit says its rechargeable. However, when I received it in the mail, it came with Four (4) alkaline batteries. That's the main reason I chose this particular training collar because it said that it was rechargeable. Also, I tried the shock feature to see how strong it is, and all the settings are the same level of shock. I am definitely returning this item for a refund and getting one that is actually rechargeable.

This is a cheap shock collar. It worked great for 1 week. Now 2-3 weeks later the shock collar is on the fritz and won't hold a charge. Even when it did hold a charge after the 1st week, it wouldn't work half the time. Unless you know how to fix this thing, I do not reccommend it.

If you are looking to buy this device, be sure you have a smaller to medium sized dog and an additional collar that the shock device will fit on. This has trained my dogs after just a few uses, however I have pug and the collar itself is too big and keeps coming loose so it needs constant adjustment. I do like the 6 levels as an option and consistentcy is the key to this product working, so be sure you have the time to be with your dog. I tried this on my Rottweillers as well, it did not even phase them. So I would say the dog has to weigh no more than 65lbs to be effective. I will continue to use this device on an as needed basis but would not buy it again as I was under the impression it would work for all my dogs, event he bigger ones.