Training Collars – What Features Do You Need?
08 Nov 2010
When buying training collars for your dog, factors to consider include, but are not limited to, the number of dogs you have, the size, and perhaps the size of the are your dogs will be running around in. At least these are the starters – because if you’re new to this you need to start somewhere simple. As for the circumstances dog owners find themselves in, here are some samples. You could have a neighbor, Martha, who’s go four big dogs she loves to take walks with deep in the woods. A co-worker, Junner, has hunting dogs he adores. On Mark’s farm, his working dogs can be a handful to manage. So you see, different circumstances, different needs.
Still, online websites and shopping carts are teeming with choices, and that can overwhelm some shoppers. Because there are so many training collars available, the features can be confusing to discern – which do you really need? If you need a quick and easy-to-understand guide, this article is for you.
How far is far enough for your dogs to run off to? A good rule of thumb is to take a distance you assume your dog will be away from you and multiply that by two. The outcome figure is the approximate range you need your training collars and transmitter to effectively transmit and receive signals.
If it’s just around 500 meters, maybe less, you need short ranged collars.
Medium is from 500 to 1000 meters. Above 1000 and beyond it is long range. That should give you an idea of what range you need. Of course it pays to know about the park you’ll be taking your dogs to, the yard in your property, or the woods you’ll them hunting in.
But do keep in mind that this transmission range is only one factor, since there are others, as you’ll see below.
Ruggedness, and other features. If you have sheep or work dogs, you naturally want some toughness and durability with your dog collars and transmitter. It’s crucial for the transmitter to keep working despite getting dropped and soaked. The same all-terrain treatment should be normal for the collars – which should survive rowdy play and accidental splashes. Get one that’s all-weather, water-resistant, with a long battery life, and charges fast. Along with ruggedness is another features – indicators. Another good feature to look for are indicators in the transmitter – which would tell you how much power is left in both the transmitter and the collars. The better models also tell you how far the dogs are relative to your position (or more specifically the transmitter’s position). That way you can tell if they’re about to leave your transmission range.
