New puppies are always exciting but after that new puppy feeling has worn off, comes the struggle of training this new family member. The puppy classes, the group classes, and the training tools are all decisions that you need to make. How do you decide what training tools are right for you and your puppy and when do you start incorporating that tool into your puppy’s life? 

After looking at your options you decided on an e-collar will be your training tool of choice. For the conveniences of off-leash use and giving that little bundle of fluff some much needed freedom was why you chose the e-collar. So now the question is when is your puppy ready to wear their new accessory? Unfortunately, there is not a firm age to start training with an e-collar, luckily there are a few tips and tricks to help you judge if your puppy is ready for this new adventure. When speaking with e-collar manufacturers, like Dogtra and E-Collar Technologies, despite there not being a firm age to start with the e-collar, they recommended no younger than 6 months old but for some puppies that still might be too young. Not only should you consider how old your puppy is, but you also need to consider its weight and personality. While you can incorporate an e-collar into any adult dog training, you still need to use some judgment as well.   

Besides looking at if your puppy is ready for the e-collar you also need to consider your level of knowledge and comfortability in using the e-collar. The e-collar is an amazing tool that allows you and your dog many freedoms, you need to be comfortable and confident in using the tool. There are classes available to teach you how to use the e-collar from start to beginning, it is strongly recommended if you are new to the e-collar you enroll in one of these courses regardless of the age of your dog. This class will instruct you on the basics of how to properly use an e-collar, different methods of training, and be able to build your confidence and consistency in using the e-collar. 

Even if your puppy is 6 months old or older, your puppy might not weigh enough to wear an e-collar. Most e-collars recommend that your dog, whether puppy or adult, weighs at least 5 to 15 pounds. Some models have a minimum weight of 5 pounds, like the Mini Educator ME-300. The Educator PG-300, recommends dogs to weigh at least 3 pounds but does not have the stimulation option, only offers a vibration or “page” option. It is important to understand that models that accommodate for the lighter weight dogs are also made for “softer” tempered dogs. Soft-tempered dogs mean that they need gentle corrections and usually present with a shy personality. E-collars that are designed for smaller and/or softer dogs will not necessarily work on larger dogs or more stubborn dogs that may need a stronger correction. 

Before you buy an e-collar, do your research. When investing in an e-collar, you want to plan ahead. What is your end goal with the e-collar and about how big is your dog going to get, are two main questions you want to be able to answer. E-collars have different qualities when it comes to range, GPS capabilities, stimulus adjustments, water resistance, and the size of your dog. To prevent you from buying multiple collars for your puppy as it grows, you should pay attention to how large your dog is going to be and its personality to help you determine what brand or model to buy for them. 

After deciding which e-collar is best for your dog, you also need to consider how you intend to use the e-collar.  It is especially vital to understand the proper way to use the e-collar for many reasons. When introducing a training tool to a puppy it needs to be done in a consistent and positive manner to ensure that you are building your puppy’s confidence and understanding what your expectations are.Using the e-collar can promote self discovery and freedom but used improperly can cause fearfulness and helplessness. Being confident in how and when to use the e-collar will help with proper communication between the two of you and develop consistency in using the e-collar. Deciding on how you are using the e-collar is critical, positive punishment or negative reinforcement are the two most common methods used. Positive punishment is when the stimulus is added when your puppy does not do the command that is asked. Negative reinforcement is when the stimulus is taken away when your puppy does the command. Another method is to use the stimulus to help communicate with your puppy by pairing the stimulus and the command together. The theory behind this method is that the stimulus assists in getting your puppy’s attention so they know you are speaking to them. Again if it is your first time using an e-collar, speaking with a professional trainer or going to an introduction to e-collar course may benefit you and your puppy. Keep in mind you want this to be a positive experience for both you and your puppy. It is important to be patient and keep in mind that your puppy is learning.

Prior to putting the e-collar on, you want to consider your puppy’s level of obedience and attention span. Obedience needs to be your foundation prior to introducing and using any training tool. If your puppy does not have solid obedience you should focus on that first. If your puppy does not know the commands you are wanting it to do, you should not be adding any correction or training tool to the command. If you have put in the work and your puppy is doing well at the commands you have been training them, now might be the time for the e-collar. Your puppy should be able to do the command you ask for consistency the first time you ask with some distractions around them.

When contacting e-collar manufacturers, Dogtra and E-Collar Technologies, about why they recommend that the puppy be at least 6 months old before using the e-collar, they explained it was mostly because of the size of the dog. Specifically in the neck region where the e-collar is placed, the puppy's neck has to be large enough in circumference for the contact points on the receiver to be placed in the correct area and that the e-collar can be adjusted tight enough to maintain that connection. After speaking with trainers from Wyoming, North Carolina, Colorado and Florida. All of them had much of the same thoughts of the use of e-collars, when it comes to the age that puppies should be when starting the e-collar. No matter the age, although they do recommend not starting earlier than six months, the decision to start for them relies heavily on the level of obedience that the puppy knows and understands. A trainer at Off-Leash K9 Training in North Carolina commented that “in order to correct a dog on the e-collar they need to know the commands first otherwise the correction does not do anything.” A trainer for Good Dog LLC in Wyoming also explained that the attention span of the dog plays a large role in whether the e-collar is an effective tool. If the attention span of the puppy is too short the correction may not be correcting the behavior you are wanting. Mountain K9 in Colorado focuses on “building strong obedience prior to introducing the e-collar,” so they usually recommend and start their dogs on the e-collar when the puppy is closer to a year. All the trainers echoed that the e-collar needs to be used consistently both in when it is used and how it is used in order for any dog to fully understand the concept of the e-collar and what the owner wants from the dog.