[debbiej]

thanks Marlene. I begin the ecollar training a year or so ago. we started out with him wearing the collar, but not using it for a week or two. often I heard the comment, "so he does not become collar wise". he wore it always unless crated for about 3 months, and during this time our lessons were weekly, and lots of short training sessions each day.

I used it to overcome his inattention to me in certain situations involving other dogs running around, or out of control, and my lack of control caused him to become over excited.

to this day I am sorry I didn't have better understanding or control of my dog. at training, I have watched a trainer have much better control of him. changing his focus with a perfectly timed collar correction, not e collar.

I guess because I know none of the collars I depend on are allowed in a trial, be it obedience, agility or schutzhund, I am trying to look ahead to how to take steps without them.

and the beginning of protection work, I am still clueless, but really trying to learn. the e collar isn't used then.