This is part four in our series on communication tools. Please see our previous posts for the full context to this conversation.
In our board and train programs, your dog will graduate from leash pressure to an E-collar. The introduction of the E-collar usually happens around the second week. A dog must have their baseline understanding of pressure acquired through leash pressure before they can move onto the E-collar. The only E-collar we use is from E-collar Technologies which uses TENS technology such as the stimulation you receive at the chiropractor’s or physical therapist’s office. This sends a tapping sensation to the dog through the contact points on the collar. Another reason we use the brand we do is because they have a range of 1-100, this means we are able to fine-tune a dog’s working level. Many electronic collars will only have levels up to 10 or 12, but if their 10 is as strong as our 100, then going up only one point on the other collar, is like going up 10 points on ours. We appreciate the ability to go up 1 or 2 points at a time to find the right level of stimulation for each dog to achieve their working level.
A working level on the E-collar is the minimum level that the dog feels. This allows us to establish a baseline for the dog in a controlled environment, what we may equate to using an “indoor voice” to speak to our dogs. Your dog’s working level will likely change depending on the environment. As humans in a crowded restaurant, sometimes we have to make our voice a little louder so the person across the table can hear us. When distractions are higher for dogs, we might have to “raise our voice” a few levels on the e-collar to get their attention. Depending on their response, we might be able to then go back down to their previous working-level because they are focused back on us, tuning out the noise. Or maybe we have a dog that needs us to keep our “voice” just a little louder in distracting environments to help them keep their attention on us, this would mean that their working level in that more distracting environment needs to be different than their working level in a controlled environment. Working levels are completely customized to your dog and their needs, and how those change depending on the environment. This is something that your trainer will establish for your dog, and train you on how to read your dog for what they need in those environments.
