Garmin vs. Dogtra

[Mills]

I hope to never have to use the shock function when hunting and would only do so if the dog got near a road or started chasing a wild hog. Actually, if it were not for those two concerns, I would only be interested in the GPS. The shock collar that died served its purpose in teaching the here command. I have had to use the vibrate a few times when he got distracted and excited by something and stopped listening to commands

[Wilmurt]

An ecollar is a great tool for collar conditioning a dog. Sounds like your dog is not quite there yet. To collar condition a dog I use a whistle, the command (here, quarter, whoa, etc.) and slight continuous stimulation.. After a few or more sessions the collar comes off and the dog responds to the command and/or whistle that is associated to what he's suppose to do regardless of the distraction (boar, deer, turkey, fast moving water or a road). I find this part of dog training fascinating as it makes the dog/handler bond stronger.

[C.O.B.]

It's rare for me to use the stimulus (shock) function but it does have it's purposes. Daisy got on a deer and a loud whoa didn't do anything but when I combined whoa and a zap that got her attention and she never chased another deer.

[mobirdhunter]

Originally Posted by Mills Morrison

I hope to never have to use the shock function when hunting and would only do so if the dog got near a road or started chasing a wild hog. Actually, if it were not for those two concerns, I would only be interested in the GPS. The shock collar that died served its purpose in teaching the here command. I have had to use the vibrate a few times when he got distracted and excited by something and stopped listening to commands

Mills,

I rarely use any stimulation, and only to help with situations like chasing deer, or if they are about to encounter a porcupine or skunk. Once they understand the commands, I associate them with both the collar tone function and the whistle. This way I can communicate with them via two means, and using the tone, there is no noise to spook game. I "beep" them, they look back or turn, and I can give them hand signals. It's great in the grouse woods, and when I run my dogs as a brace when quail hunting (using the tone, I can communicate with just one dog, whereas when I use the whistle, they both will respond).