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Do your dogs stop obeying you when they’re off-leash outdoors? Want to take them hiking or exploring a remote wilderness but frightened they’ll run too far astray?
Avid hikers, explorers, and hunters alike swear by remote dog training collars. These wireless collars allow you to train your dog to obey you when they’re off-leash; giving your pup room to roam — and you peace of mind that your dogs are safely exploring their world.
How do remote collars work? And what are some of the best collar choices for your active family’s canine companion?
Article Overview
- How Do Remote Dog Training Collars Work?
- Top 3 Dog Training Collars
- Other Reviews By Category
- Are Shock Collars Harmful To Your Dog?
- How To Transition From A Leash (Video)
- Are Remote Training Collars Effective?
How Do Remote Dog Training Collars Work?
All remote dog training collars, sometimes referred to as remote shock collars or simply remote collars, include the same components: a handheld transmitter, a collar receiver, and collar probes.
You set your transmitter to the type (tone, vibration or static shock) and intensity of stimuli, and the transmitter then sends a radio signal to your dog’s receiver.
The receiver delivers the stimuli you’ve chosen via a set of two stainless steel collar probes that rest on your dog’s neck. The probes must fit against your dog’s skin rather than her fur, so a snug-fitting collar receiver is of utmost importance.
Best Dog Training Collars
Below are our picks for the best dog training collars. We’re sure you’ll find one that’s perfect for you and your pup.
PetSafe Yard & Park Rechargeable Dog Training Collar Review
The PetSafe Yard & Park Dog Training Collar wins our top spot as the best remote dog training collar for its affordability, signal range, dog size accommodation and many other features. PetSafe comes with a rechargeable remote and collar that has a variety of static stimulation or tone settings.
The stimulation output is small to medium, meaning that PetSafe’s dog shock collar with remote is a more humane version than most budget brands. It’s also waterproof, so if you’re out hiking around streams or rivers or have a lake on your property, you don’t have to worry about ruining your remote training collar.
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SportDOG FieldTrainer SD-425 Review
The SportDOG FieldTrainer SD-425 comes in second place for our best remote dog trainer, missing the top spot by a very narrow margin. Our major deciding factor? PetSafe accommodates much larger dogs, while SportDOG’s collar size is a bit smaller. With that said, SportDOG’s SD-425 model is another excellent choice if you don’t have a huge dog.
This collar shares many of the same features with PetSafe (waterproof, rechargeable batteries, etc.) with a few exceptions. The SportDOG collar has a slightly wider signal range than PetSafe’s collar, and SportDOG also has a vibration setting in addition to multiple stimulation and tone settings.
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Dogtra IQ-Plus Remote Trainer Review
Dogtra IQ-Plus Remote Trainer rounds out our top three picks for best dog training collars. Dogtra’s collar is plastic and easily adjustable to fit many sized dogs, although the neck size won’t accommodate huge dogs.
Like our top two picks, Dogtra’s collar has a good signal range and adjustable levels of low-to-medium stimulation output. The good? Dogtra gives you 2-hour rapid charge rechargeable batteries, and the collar is waterproof. The downsides? Dogtra’s collar remote only accommodates two dogs.
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Other Best Dog Training Collars By Category
Although the following training collars for dogs didn’t make our top three list, each stands out for certain needs you may have.
Best For Longer Range: Educator E-Collar | Best On A Budget: Petrainer 330 | Best Waterproof On A Budget: Dog Care
Best For Longer Range: Educator E-Collar Dog Trainer Review
The Educator E-Collar Dog Trainer is an excellent alternative to our top three picks if you need a longer range than 1/2 mile. The Educator ET-800 has reliable signal strength up to one mile, making it a solid choice if you are shock collar training a hunting dog or live on a large farm.
The receiver delivers a tapping sensation (similar to vibration, but more intense), in addition to static stimulation. The Educator comes loaded with many of the fantastic features you’ll find in our top three collar winners. You can even activate a tracking light on your dog’s collar receiver for locating your dog after dark.
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Best On A Budget: Petrainer 330 Dog Training Collar
Dog training on a tight budget? There are dozens of budget-friendly dog training collars on the market for under $100. You’re not going to get the best dog shock collar at this price range, but many are still effective for basic training purposes. The Petrainer PET998DRB model is one of our favorite budget dog training collars for its affordability and features.
Your range is limited compared to our other dog training collar reviews, but you have tone, vibration, and static stimulation modes with plenty of adjustable levels. While the Petrainer is “water-resistant,” it’s not waterproof, so training your dog in water isn’t possible with this collar. Still, Petrainer 330 is a best seller on Amazon, with plenty of satisfied customers.
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Best Waterproof On A Budget: Dog Care Training Collar
Although not as affordable as our best budget pick, the Dog Care training collar is still a fantastic value for the features you get — especially if you need a budget-friendly waterproof collar.
Its most noteworthy features include three training modes, 0-99 shock level adjustments and the ability to add up to nine dogs with one transmitter. This collar is also a bestseller on Amazon, with tons of rave reviews.
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Are Shock Collars Harmful To Your Dog?
The idea of shock collar training turns many owners away, but today’s shock collars are designed to deliver low to medium intensity — and you get to choose the level of intensity.
The shock is unpleasant (similar to the shock you feel with static in your bed sheets, for example), but the shock itself isn’t harmful to your pup. The Humane Society, however, says that shock collars have the potential to irritate or inflame your dog’s neck. Read our pros and cons discussion to better understand both sides of the argument.
We suggest NOT using these collars until your dog understands basic commands like sit and stay. That way you know that they are able to understand what you are asking them to do and are able to associate the shock with the negative behavior.
Tips To Avoid Potential Shock Collar Irritation
The Humane Society suggests the following tips to avoid these problems:
- Don’t leave the electronic collar on for an extended length of time
- Clean the contact points that touch your dog’s neck regularly.
How Do You Transition From Leash Training To An E-Collar?
Check out the video below by SportDOG for an overview of remote collar training vs leash training.
Are Remote Dog Training Collars Effective?
As we mentioned earlier, people who work with hunting dogs rely on remote dog training collars to train their dogs to respond in long-range situations (often a mile or more). Family dogs don’t need that level of training, but the concept is the same.
Remote training collars are effective in teaching your dog to obey you when she’s off-leash, even within longer distances. We hope we’ve given you some good recommendations with our dog shock collar reviews to help you train your pup off-leash. Visit our dog training collar article to see other options and read the 8 things you need to know before buying a shock collar.
What are your thoughts about using a shock collar on dogs?
Neither of this is happening with ECollar Tech, Dogtra or Garmin. My personal choice is the ET300 small powerful and easy to use it has 1/2 coverage which is far enough for a dog to be away from the owner unless your hunting, if so, there are other options available much better than SportDog