My town allows for electronic collars to be used in the place of a leash on public property. While I am not advocating e-collars or letting a dog off leash in the town proper, there are many open field and wooded areas that are far from traffic or people.

Kaylee LOVES to run and chase a frisbee or ball in the open field behind our house. It is private property, but I worry about being fined or having her run off after a rabbit nonetheless. 

I was wondering if anyone here had used one for an e-collar with their corgi successfully or if the physiology of the breed makes that impossible. I would also be interested in what styles/brands you used and how long the training took. (FYI, we would enlist the help of a professional trainer.)

Thank you.

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I personally would never let my dog off leash unless they have a reliable recall. Franklin has a VERY reliable recall and so is allowed off leash all the time. If you have to have an e-collar it doesn't mean you have to use it. I would happily put an e-collar on Franklin with a remote with no battery. If the law states they have to have an e-collar or a leash, and your girl is good off leash just buy a cheapie e-collar off amazon. Who cares if it works or not, you won't actually have to use it. If you have to rely on an e-collar for your dog to behave off leash then it shouldn't be off leash to begin with.

Great answer Melissa,  I totally agree. 

I will add this to Melissa's answer: if your dog is not alarmed by the vibrate mode of the collar, you can train the vibrate as a back -up recall signal. Start it vibrating NOT on the dog at home and give lots of high-value treats while it vibrates. Then hold it near enough the dog that the dog can feel the vibration, but not be attached to it. Gradually work up to putting the collar on the dog.

I have heard of people using pagers to train deaf dogs to recall. You could do the same with an e-collar that has a vibration mode, or even a tone with no shock. Then you are in compliance with the law and have a really well-trained backup recall where you won't have to shout.

Beth, I like the idea of the vibrating mode for deaf dogs.  I will consider it for my 14 year old gal whose range of hearing my voice is getting less and less.  She is very obedient if she does hear me and will readily respond to a hand signal recall, if I can just get her attention.  Thanks :-)

There is, on second thought, another thing to consider.  The e-collar is probably intended by the municipality more for the protection of others than for the safety  of your own dog.  It is meant to give the owner of the off leash dog some form of control if the dog is, for instance, is going towards another animal, a child, the road, or potentially causing some problem that a leash would curtail.  When a dog is off leash, the owner remains 1oo% responsible (i.e. liable) for any damages caused by that dog, directly or indirectly.  By not having the batteries you would be circumventing the spirit of the law.

Thank you for all your responses. I will give it more thought. Kaylee's obedience trainer sometimes uses e-collars for tracking when her dogs are way beyond shouting range and that's what gave me the idea.

I'd be weary of using one without batteries, just incase there was an issue. I'm pretty sure that would be similar to letting go of the lease rather than taking it off. It doesn't really count even though they may be technically "on leash."

I think a vibration mode is an excellent idea. Especially when its windy or as she gets older and potentially loses her hearing. I will be on the lookout for a one. I'm sure I could train her to think of it as a non-verbal recall command.

I live in elderly disabled housing but it is on a rural setting. I would love to let my dog run off leash ahead of me for up to a mile on the dirt road that runs through the woods behind my house. One of my neighbors, a blind woman, lets her dog run of leash with an E-collar. I have never felt how it feels to receive the electronic prompt so I am leery since the leash sounds less aversive. I am sure Sully would return to me, but not sure is she would return immediately which can be dangerous. Are there any collars that are painless, such as the citronella ones, that are known to be effective?

In the dog trainer school I attended, we all had the chance to feel a shock collar.  It was on the lowest setting on our fingertips which is a very sensitive area.  It was not painful but it was uncomfortable.  Now imagine that on a dog's neck where there is thicker skin and fur.  They'll feel it but it will definitely be painless, on the lowest settings.  All the horror stories about e-collars usually entail people who don't follow directions.  They put a collar meant for large dogs on a small dog or they crank it up to the highest setting right off the bat which could be very painful depending on the dog and can burn a hole in their skin.  It's the misuse that makes these collars seem abusive but when used properly, can be very effective training tools.

My grandma got a citronella collar for her dog for barking, it didn't work on him but I have heard other cases where it did actually work.

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