09/10/2026
đ¨ ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. THE E-COLLAR TRAINING INDUSTRY NEEDS TO WAKE UP. đ¨
I am getting absolutely sick and tired of having the same conversations, week after week, with desperate dog owners who have spent hundreds, sometimes thousands, of pounds on so-called professional e-collar training.
Boot camps. Online courses. Residential training. Trainers with enormous social media followings, slick videos and all the right marketing.
And what have some of these owners actually paid for?
A dog that still doesnât understand what is expected of it.
An owner who doesnât understand how to use the equipment.
No understanding of stimulation levels, how adrenaline and arousal can influence a dogâs response, or why a dog might respond to one level in one environment and appear completely oblivious to it in another.
No understanding of timing, conditioning, communication or how to recognise when a dog is confused, overwhelmed or simply hasnât been taught properly.
And yet these people have supposedly completed an e-collar training programme!
Iâm sorry, but WHAT EXACTLY HAVE THEY PAID FOR?
Letâs get something straight.
JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE USES AN E-COLLAR DOES NOT MEAN THEY UNDERSTAND E-COLLAR TRAINING.
And just because someone has 100,000 followers, an impressive website or a collection of beautifully edited videos does not make them competent.
There is a MASSIVE difference between using an e-collar for recall, using one in reactivity training, using one for protection or bite work, and addressing predatory behaviour around wildlife or livestock.
THEY ARE NOT THE SAME THING.
Different behaviours. Different motivations. Different genetics. Different emotional states. Different training objectives.
And therefore, potentially VERY different approaches.
A trainer who spends their days working with protection dogs or IGP dogs does not automatically understand how to train a high-prey-drive HPR to disengage from a deer in full flight.
Equally, someone who understands how to teach basic obedience with an e-collar does not automatically understand the complexities of predation, adrenaline, arousal and instinctive hunting behaviour.
EXPERIENCE IN ONE DISCIPLINE DOES NOT MAKE YOU AN EXPERT IN ANOTHER.
Personally, I believe the most valuable applications of an e-collar are reliable recall and addressing dangerous predatory behaviour, particularly where livestock or wildlife are involved.
Yes, e-collars are also used for reactivity, but that requires a completely different understanding of the dogâs emotional state and behaviour. Used incorrectly, they can make an already difficult situation considerably worse.
And that brings me to my biggest frustration.
OWNERS ARE PAYING FOR TRAINING THEY DONâT ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND.
If you have paid a trainer to teach you how to use an e-collar, you should leave understanding WHY you are doing something, WHEN you should do it, HOW your dog is learning and WHAT to do when things donât go to plan.
You should understand your equipment.
You should understand your dogâs responses.
You should understand that the number displayed on a remote means very little without considering the dog, the environment, the equipment and the circumstances.
And above all, your DOG should understand what is being asked of it.
HANDING SOMEONE A REMOTE CONTROL IS NOT EDUCATION.
Sending a dog home after a boot camp with a collar around its neck and an owner who has no idea how to use it is not a successful training programme.
And selling an online course does not magically give someone the practical experience needed to deal with complex, high-drive behaviours in the real world.
I am not suggesting that every e-collar trainer is incompetent. Far from it. There are knowledgeable, experienced trainers doing excellent work.
But there are also people charging substantial amounts of money for training that, judging by the cases I am regularly being asked to help with, is leaving both dogs and owners confused.
AND IT HAS TO STOP.
If youâre considering e-collar training, PLEASE do your homework.
Donât be blinded by follower counts, marketing or impressive videos.
Ask what breeds that trainer regularly works with. Ask whether they have genuine experience with the exact behaviour you need help with. Ask where the training takes place. Ask how much hands-on education YOU will receive.
And most importantly, ask to see the results in the environments where you actually need them.
A DOG PERFORMING BEAUTIFULLY IN A CONTROLLED TRAINING FIELD IS NOT THE SAME AS A DOG MAKING THE RIGHT DECISION WHEN A DEER EXPLODES OUT OF THE UNDERGROWTH.
At ENRICH K9, we specialise in recall and prey drive. Thatâs our field. Thatâs what we do, day in, day out, with dogs whose natural instincts can make reliable recall incredibly challenging.
We donât claim to be experts in every discipline of dog training.
AND NEITHER SHOULD ANYONE ELSE.
Iâm tired of seeing owners lose money, confidence and trust because someone has sold them expertise they havenât actually demonstrated.
Iâm even more tired of seeing dogs left confused by training that should have given them clarity.
THE NUMBER OF FOLLOWERS YOU HAVE DOES NOT DETERMINE YOUR LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE.
THE RESULTS YOU PRODUCE, THE DOGS YOU UNDERSTAND AND THE OWNERS YOU EDUCATE DO.
Itâs about time people started recognising the difference.
ENRICH K9 | Recall & Prey Drive Specialists
Reliable Recall. Safe Freedom.
