ADMIN – Hi Linda,

The probes can touch the dog anywhere, such as the side of the neck or the back of the neck. But, you want to be sure that the probes are contacting the skin and are held firmly in place.

Admin- Hi Sue,

I would start the correction level out on the low setting. See how your new puppy reacts to the corrections, then you can adjust the level up based on the dogs needs going forward with training.

ADMIN – Hi Mark,

As you say, where the boundary line is set along an existing physical boundary, the dog will often not naturally go right up to the physical boundary. You do however want them to hear the beep at least a dozen times and to get the correction at least a two or three times so that they know that they are supposed to “turn and retreat”.

You want to set the fence up so the correction starts at least a couple of feet away from the base of the fence to help with the training for this reason. You can reduce the boundary width later, but for the initial training you need at least 2-3 feet of boundary zone to work with.

You can also use some sort of bait to encourage them to get closer to the fence. Food, or laying down a scent near the fence works. Also having a neighbor walking their dog along the fence is another good form of bait.

PS – I would always be careful never to lead the dog into the boundary (you don’t ever want to lose his respect and trust as leader).

ADMIN – Hi Mark,

We do the training a little differently to most of the manufacturers. In my experience doing the awareness training (what we call Step One), where the dog hears the beep but does not get the correction, for a week (instead of 1-3 days as per the manufacturers), makes for a lot easier training. It means that by the time you get to the correction part of the training, the dog knows exactly what to do to stop the correction. When you go into correction too soon, the dog has no idea what they are supposed to do and is not in a good state of mind to learn. Both methods work, I think the manufacturers method is a little faster, and our method is a little easier on the dogs and owners. Either way, stick with the training and in two weeks you should be done.

Where the flags are hard to stand up (e.g. driveways), I will usually just lay them on the ground. The dogs are smart enough to figure it out even without flags – but anything you can do to differentiate the area is helpful. If you are unusually diligent you can either get the better metal masted flags at a hardware store, or stick the flags in an old plastic flowerpot. You can also use some other visual marker like spraypainted dots, a scent trail also works well.

The lowest level on the PetSafe Stubborn is fine for a lab. If you are really concerned you can try it on yourself – it definately stings but is not a big deal. It is not half as bad as a cattle or horse fence. If you are still concerned, you can further reduce the correction level using a resistor across the prongs. (We are happy to send them out to our customers at no extra charge, just give us a call or shoot us an email). I would not reduce the correction level any further, if you spend a little longer on step one (the awareness training) the dog should only get a handful of correction and it is a little rattling.

As to the training, when the dog gets corrected, you want to pull the lead and yank them back into the save zone. That will teach them the way to escape the correction is to “turn and retreat.” A little yelping is normal, and being timid toward the boundary is normal (and desirable). Most dogs will over-react and not go within 10 yard of the boundary, but this timidness will diminish over time and with more experience with the system. It is really important that you project confidence in the safe zone, and don’t console the dog when they get corrected – it just communicates to the dog that there is reason to be fearful.

ADMIN – Hi Debra,

One little tip, when the dog is scared you need to be super confident. When you act scared it tends to amplify the dog’s feat. Your body language should announce to the dog that they will be safe if they do what you say and retreat away from the flags. When you are fearful it announces to the dog that there is a reason to be scared.

So our problem with the second phase of training is that we can not get him near the fence to experience the shock correction ( I now have the collar on setting 3) Today we skipped a little into the third phase by bringing over a friend with a puppy to offer an enthusiastic distraction, even throwing sticks over the fence thinking the competition would get to him. No he is stoic at a safe distance. Our dog is a hound so I suspect that he can smell the plastic of the flags and perhaps even the wire – if this is possible. Because he is a hound his scent tracking instinct and thrill of the chase is what we are trying to interrupt and I understand why he needs to feel the correction and train his response so he does not run through the fence.

How will we get him to feel the correction?

ADMIN – Hi Diana,

That is a good problem to have! It is not uncommon that after week one, the dog gets the message and does not want to cross the fence despite never having got the correction. It is most common in dogs that have had another type of correction collar. I do like the dog to get the correction at least once in a controlled setting to make sure that have that right instinct of turning and retreating when they get the correction.

You have the right idea in using various temptations to get them to consider crossing, and of course you want them to cross of their own will (and not lead them across). Usually what works best is to get the dogs super excited so they are no longer paying attention. For some dogs this is a game with a ball, or playing with a neighbor’s dog. For scent motivated dogs, I may lay down a scent trail leading to some smelly raw chicken (i.e. well thawed out and not frozen) or if there is a dead animal carcass, that works great.

Very worst case, and after a week of trying I can’t get them into the correction field. Then I will get someone else to lead the dog into the correction field (not the dog’s owners). If the dog strongly resists even that, I will let it go … even if they have not got a correction if they still will not go through even when led through that tells me they are rock solid trained.