The future of training with the electric training collars will not be based on technologic improvements but on the knowledge of how to train with them. A brief history without regard to the manufacture of these products will show the evolution of the products and the need for a sound understanding of the behavior of animals to put the collar to its best use.

The first shock collars were able to deliver a powerful jolt less than a quarter mile to stop a dog's behavior through punishment. These collars were first used to stop dogs from pursuing off-game. Later the off-game became cars, people on bikes, etc. These collars were harsh but effective with limited applications. The next generation of training collars had variable intensities. This was a tremendous improvement that allowed the use of training collars in many new situations. We now gained the ability to train dogs that were sensitive or intolerant to the primitive collars. The behavioral concepts of avoidance and escape were applicable to training with variable intensities. The concepts of avoidance and escape were introduced when all collars were punishment based. Today the only electronic training collars that are reinforcement based are the Tri-tronic's Pro 100 or Pro 500.

First let's address the mechanics of punishment based collars versus that of reinforcement based collars. All collars that have multiple levels of stimulation actually have the ability to adjust the voltage. Punishment based collars operate at very high cycles or repetitions per second. The very high cycles per second actually create a stinging sensation at any level. This is why we tend to get quick reactions from an animal with punishment based collars.

Punishment based collars are offered with either momentary or continuous stimulation. Momentary stimulation was a tremendous improvement for punishment based collars because it delivered stimulation in fractions of a second that are always the same. This has made our 'nicks' and 'taps' very consistent and consistency usually translates into better dog training. Reinforcement collars are different. Remember the very high cycles per second of punishment based collars. Reinforcement collars delivery the voltage at low, medium, or high cycles per second. This creates different feeling sensations at low, medium, and high. The low feels as if it is a whisper. The medium feels like a vibration. The high is a sting that is not nearly as sharp as a punishment based unit. These different sensations allow us to communicate with dogs in a whole new context. Just as voice inflections allow us to influence behavior so do inflections of stimulation. Think of the children's game of 'hot and cold' to find a particular object. The reinforcement collar gives us the ability to play hot and cold with any behavior in a dog. Once the appropriate level of stimulation has been determined the collar goes on at low when the animal is cold and to medium if the animal gets colder. The collar goes off immediately when the dog starts in the right direction. This process is repeated many times until the dog realizes to move in a direction towards the object. He wins thru compliance but he has been shaped by a trainer with a goal.

Everyone is familiar with punishment based traditional training. The dog is corrected or punished after some infraction that does not suit the trainer. With enough repetitions the dog will learn what not to do but he may not ever learn what to do. Training thru attrition of bad behaviors will eventually give you a dog you can live with but he will not be well trained. The secret to training in the twenty-first century will be a good understanding of reinforcement training properly known as Operant Conditioning. Many trainers say that you can not teach anything with a training collar. They say you must teach the command by traditional methods then reinforce the command with the collar. They mean punish when they say reinforce the command with the collar. But they are wrong!! If you understand operant conditioning and all of the behavioral techniques that apply you can teach anything with the collar. Silent training, Silent commands system, clicker training, round pen training, and horse whispering are all examples of Operant Conditioning. For anyone who is going to follow this column Karen Pyror's book "Don't Shoot the Dog" will help move your understanding of training into the new century.

Please see Collar-Wise Part Two.