I have a one year old chocolate lab, and my Son has a one year old boxer/bulldog mix. I just received the collars, and immediately charged them up. I take the dogs walking out on the lake while I snowshoe. Sometimes they get way ahead of me and all I needed to do is vibrate the dogs, and they immediately came back. I like the vibrate feature it isn't real short like many other collars. It vibrates for a few seconds , so the dog really understands I mean business. The feature I really love is the fact that it has such a long distance many collars don't have that option. I also like having one remote and 2 collars, it is great even if I only use it on one dog, you always have a receiver charged up. I would highly recommend this shock collar to eveyone.
My brave son held one of the units to try out the shocking features of one of the units. He's a Marine and said it didn't hurt much at all. I then tried it on the low setting and was surprised that, although it doesn't actually hurt like our electric fences in the field for the goats do, it does cause you to be startled a little. Usually the buzz is all we need or the low shock if the dog is extra stubborn. We haven't had to really use the high shock yet since the low one works fine. There is also a button that you can buzz both collars at the same time if two dogs need warning together, like when they are harassing the UPS man when he is delivering something special.
I would definitely recommend this product for anyone who doesn't want to pay over twice as much for something that works the same but with only one collar. The collars need recharging with the included recharger about every two days in our house. But we keep testing them out so discharge them more often than most people would.It works, when you figure it out. The instructions, such as they are, are on a one-sided sheet of xeroxed letter sized paper. The only illustration was a photo of a part of the remote control. Many other items were in the package and I would have appreciated a sheet of paper labeling each one and certainly better instructions. Okay, all that leaves something to be desired, but the thing does work. I had a hard time making the collars small enough to work on my two 12 pound dogs. And, although I have used them for only a week, one of the screws on one of the receivers managed to unscrew itself and fall off. I cannot figure out how that could have happened! And, sometimes one of the buttons (they recede below the surface when depressed) gets stuck! The first time it happened I didn't even notice for a bit--my poor dog. Luckily, that time I was only using the vibration function. Vibration is enough for my dogs. It doesn't hurt them at all, but startles them just enough to be effective when they start barking like little nutty doggies when other dogs are being walked past the house. I have tested the first shock on myself and have only used it a couple times with the dogs. I don't think it would hurt them, but I also think for my little ones I don't need to go that far. I am glad I bought this, especially because I control when it is used instead of it automatically going off when they bark, and because it controls two dogs rather than one. However, if I don't find the missing screw and its rubber cover, I may only be able to use it on one dog at a time.I looked at a lot of different products and read a lot of reviews before deciding to purchase the "New Generation" training collars from Groovypets. I received the order well ahead of schedule and it works great! It was exactly what I was looking for. I have two dogs that I truly needed help in correcting... a dachshund mix (large dog at 40 lbs.) and a blue heeler puppy (currently 35 lbs. and growing) Both of these dogs are extremely energetic and free-spirited. I've only needed to use the vibration feature to-date... the three quick vibratory pulses in combination with my verbal command cause both dogs to stop in their tracks and both usually return to me and sit at my feet. That's exactly what I needed. I've had no problems with range or interference. I've not used the shock feature on the dogs, but I have used it on my arm (I wouldn't submit the dogs to anything that I haven't experienced myself.) The low-level shock provides quite a jolt... I can't imagine using this unless one of the animals is at risk and I have no other choice. I know that it would definitely get their attention! Since I've started using the collars they've become much more attentive and responsive to verbal commands. In fact, when either dog gets out of line I usually just show them the collar (if they're not wearing it) and they calm down immediately.
Setting up the collars took only minutes... I did have to charge both collars before I used them, but charging is quick and easy using the wall charger. The LED indicator on the collar tells you when it's charging and when the charging process is complete, so it's easy enough to swap and charge both collars using one charger. Having a second charger would make the process even easier, however. I've used other anti-bark collars that use expensive, short-lived batteries and the rechargeable feature of these units was a great selling point. I've had the dogs wear the collars for two days without charging and I've not run them down yet.
One of the reviews I read before purchasing voiced concern about the construction of the older version of this product... I found the design of this one to be quite satisfactory for my purposes. The collars are woven nylon (one red, one black) and the receivers are lightweight and fairly small. The LED lights on the collars are plainly visable when they're on the dogs and they make it easy to assure that they are functional at a glance. The snaps on the collars are plastic, but my dogs haven't managed to disengage or damage them so I'd say that they are well suited for their purpose. The handheld remote is the right size to make it easy to find yet small enough to shove in a pocket. There are two columns of buttons with different colored LEDs at the top that coordinate with the color of the collars and the buttons are spaced well enough so that you won't give the wrong level of shock or activate the wrong collar by mistake, making it very easy to manage two collars at the same time. The ability to activate the vibration feature on both collars at once is also a plus. I've had the collars for a few weeks now and I've not changed the 9-volt battery in the remote.
I look at the training process to be a phase, not a life-long process. I'm a pet owner, not a breeder/trainer who would use this product on an ongoing basis. My decision to purchase a product was based on my expectation that I would use it for up to six months at most. Spending several hundred dollars for a system seemed outrageous for my purposes. The price-point for this unit makes it a bargain and I have no doubt that it will last as long as I need it. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a training tool... it works for me!I bought this collar after reading most of the reviews based on the previous 2-dog model. Some of those reviews critiqued the lack of individual vibrate capability so when I saw this model, I thought it brilliant; and it is. I have two newly adopted dogs, added to a family already consisting of a rather large (80 pounder) Australian Shepherd and three house cats (Yes, we are insane for having three cats and three dogs). We got the newbies from the Humane Society and had the opportunity to cat test them in their cat adoption section. Both tested well and we could not decide between them so we brought them both home the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
Breezy (trust me, her name suits her) is about 6-8 months old and still very much a puppy although she is pretty much full grown at 42 pounds. She is mostly Border Collie, so very smart and energetic. Breezy noticed the cats on introduction, but did not really think much of them. Good. Olive, on the other hand, went for our 20 pound cat and wanted to eat him straight away! Bad! Olive is an adult, probably 3-4 years old and mostly Heeler, again pretty smart and energetic (and a bit anxious I might add).
I have to admit that we panicked and wondered had we made a huge mistake but after some soul searching, we figured that every problem had a solution so it was our responsibility to find it. After all, what is the point of rescuing to save a life if only to "return" said life because things are less than perfect?
I found a local "Dog Whisperer" who was available Saturday afternoon. Appointment made, fee not important as this was an emergency in our eyes. This guy was great and we learned a lot within the very intense and exhausting three hour, in-home session. Plastic bite collars were purchased and a lot of "pop, pop, pop" took place; usually with success. Breezy was very responsive to correction and Olive certainly did not care for the tugs, but she eventually caught on and would even sit without a verbal command.
This system went on for a couple of weeks with relative success, the only problem being that human could be no further than leash length away from dog in order to execute the "pop, pop, pop" so catching the offensive behavior and correcting it in a timely manner became a challenge. Especially as the newbies were earning more freedom about the house. I must also admit that feeling tethered to the dogs was exhausting as well and I needed more freedom too.
The trainer had deemed Olive "unsocialized" and suggested a shock collar if she became non-responsive. I dismissed his advice thinking that a shock collar was cruel and inhumane, some sort of torture device. After a couple of weeks, I reconsidered and began to read reviews on all sorts of makes and models. I liked the idea of vibration and really liked the idea of being able to monitor both dogs remotely at the same time. This model seemed like the best solution for us so I ordered it from Amazon and received it a couple of days later.
The packaging was small and efficient with both units already charged and ready to go. The battery on the remote needed to be removed and reinserted so as to conserve its power prior to use I suppose. There are instructions as to how to charge the units, but absolutely no instructions as to how to effectively use the device. I began correction basically on the advice as offered in product reviews so more information from the manufacturer would have been appreciated. In hindsight though, opinions from those that have actually used the device proved to be most helpful. Of course I tested the shocks first and found that level 1 was adequate and level 2 probably more than I would ever administer. I'm not sure that I would recommend this collar for a small dog even though it purports to be for all three sizes. I certainly would not recommend it for a mini.
Olive disliked the vibration mode right away and quickly put two and two together: cat aggression=buzz, cat attention=buzz, cat following and fixating=buzz. She does NOT like the buzz at all and that usually is enough to distract her unto something else more worthy of her attention. She has had a level 1 zap a time or two and admittedly, the first time caused her to heighten her negative behavior so the zaps are reserved for the most egregious offenses and only when I am there to physically correct her by touch and redirection. Olive is more free to walk about the house now without us hovering over her just waiting for something bad to happen. She responds to verbal commands most of the time and when she is defiant, a little vibration gets her back on track quickly and the situation de-escalates.
Breezy, on the other hand, is not so bothered by the vibration unless I buzz both of them at the same time. I don't know if that means the her unit is weaker than Olive's or if the sound of double vibration just irks her more. Breezy's major offenses are digging, chewing on the fence, trees and rugs, and scratching at the back door. She is a puppy after all so some of that is to be expected and it is very difficult to catch her in the act. On the couple of occasions that she has been level 1 zapped, she corrected immediately and found something else to occupy her attention.
All in all, I will say that I am glad that I bought this unit and compared to the one the trainer suggested, it is much more economical with more options to correct two dogs (he had suggested two, $139 collars with independent controls). My critiques, again, are the lack of instruction and the use on small dogs. I do not find this product to be cruel or inhumane. Although I am a believer of corporal punishment and pain compliance, this is a much preferred option to yelling and nose thumping.
My husband wishes for me to add that HIS Australian Shepherd, Jack, is still perfect ;-)
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