How to Use an Electronic Remote Collar
An
electronic remote training collar is an amazingly simple device that gives dog owners a safe and reliable way to control their dogs off leash. Dogs are intelligent animals with a natural tendency to please their masters. They are also easily distracted by things around them. It can be next to impossible to get their attention if they are distracted by children playing, another dog or animal running through the yard, or a car going by. They also quickly learn that if they are out of immediate reach, they don't have to respond as well as when you are close. This is why the remote training collar is such an effective training device.
Reinforcing commands your dog already knows:
Electronic remote collars are an excellent tool for reinforcing many verbal commands like "Come," "Down," or "Stay." Make sure your dog understands the command before you use the collar.
Here's how it works:
Place the collar on your dog - you can choose a collar with different stimulation levels or a vibration collar - and make sure you know how the transmitter works.
Call out the command and if your dog does not respond, correct him by pressing the transmitter button. Make sure you use the lowest level - your goal is to get the animal's attention but never hurt the dog. Your dog should associate the stimulation with your voice - he naturally wishes to please you, so should respond 
quickly. When he performs the correct behavior, reward him. Your praise can be a simple pat on the shoulder or chest, verbal praise, or a treat. This will further reinforce the correct behavior.
Controlling aggressive or nuisance behavior:
In this case you do not want your dog to associate the unpleasant stimulation with you or your voice - you want him to believe that his own actions are causing the uncomfortable sensations. You may want to wait in the house and observe the animal through a window, since it is best if your dog does not know you are present.
Here's how it works:
When your dog is really absorbed in the unwanted behavior (chasing cars, digging, eating stools, barking) that's when you press the transmitter button. Again, use the lowest effective stimulation level. Since your dog probably is self-perpetuating this activity, the level of stimulation may need to be higher than when using the collar to reinforce commands.
While a single correction may not cure the problem, the dog soon learns that his behavior can cause an unpleasant stimulation and that correction will occur when you are not even around. That is exactly what you want. Remote training collars can be the quickest and easiest method to permanently eliminate unwanted and potentially harmful behavior.
