[spidey]

I'll also point out that there is NO SUCH THING as a 100% reliable recall, and you're much more likely to get close to 100% with positive reinforcement. Google "really reliable recall". I also don't see why you'd put an e-collar on a dog who can by no stretch of the imagination be considered trained, corrections are for AFTER the dog has been trained to perform a behaviour.

I'm also very skeptical of this trainer's pricing - you get what you pay for, and often with things like e-collars you get all kinds of things you didn't want. Used properly, by experienced people or under the guidance of an experienced trainer who understands the proper timing, they can be very useful, but I don't think your situation is the right one for this, and I don't think your expectations are reasonable. It sounds like you almost want to use this as a sort of electric fence, and electric fences don't work reliably either - every dog has something they'll brave the zap for. Putting your trust (and your dog's life) in an e-collar or electric fence is asking for trouble, the ONLY 100% guarantee that your don't won't run into the road/chase a kid/bite the mailman is a physical barrier: a fence, a wall, a strong line. Period.