Some believe that an electronic collar is not safe for their dogs and in fact, believe they are inhumane. Before you make that decision you should do your homework and you’ll quickly discover that they are not only effective, but they are safe and a perfectly humane tool for training your dog. One of the most important considerations is choosing the electronic collar that works best for you and for your dog. We are putting together some brief reviews that we hope will help you make a decision on which of these popular models is the best choice for you and for your dog.

Containment Systems (“Invisible Fence”)
There are two types of these perimeter-sensing collars for teaching your dog the boundaries of your yard: electric and wireless. Electric systems work with a buried line that you install to establish the perimeter of your yard. PetSafe is a good model for this application with an easy-to-use setup for both the fence and the collar receiver. PetSafe comes just about right to fit any standard-sized yard. To fit a larger area than PetSafe can handle, we recommend Innotek’s containment system.

Innotek offers the ability to expand the area that your dog can be free in up to twenty five acres and also has the ability to utilize multiple receiver collars – if you have more than one dog then this might be the system that is most effective for you. PetSafe and Innotek are both good systems if you’ve decided a hidden wire system is the route you wish to pursue.

PetSafe also makes a wireless fence that works almost like the wired system, but without the wire, and is much more advanced. It works along with a transmitter around the middle of the area you want to confine. Signals are sent to the transmitter within a radius that you can set. It’s easy to set up and is extremely versatile and portable.

BARK COLLARS
These collars are popular for dog owners who have pets that like to make a lot of noise. The most popular and widely-respected brand is the Innotek collar. It’s reasonably priced and very advanced, having sophisticated sensors to tell if it’s your dog barking or another dog. In addition, the collar can intelligently increase the intensity of the static charge to curtail continual barking. When the dog stops barking, the collar stops correcting the behavior and resets to its original setting. These collars are totally waterproof and very lightweight, suitable for any dog and almost any climate.

BEEPER COLLARS
This high tech safety device offered by Dogtra can be set to notify you if your dog goes out of your yard. This collar emits a beep that allows you to quickly and easily find your dog. The design offers a variety of settings that are geared to work up to one mile away and includes features that are even helpful to hunting dog users.

DOG TRAINING COLLARS
These are popular field training devices, whether you’re fielding, hunting, or just out in the big open spaces. The collars from TriTronics are the best, offering many system options for optimum training of your dog outdoors. They boast up to a mile range for many models and stimulation levels with twenty settings. They are waterproof and lightweight with long-life batteries for maximum use per charge and longevity. There are a lot of useful accessories as well, including holsters for the transmitter, field chargers for collar and battery packs, and even dummy collars so your dog won’t learn to only respond when the collar is in use. A comparable, less expensive, and shorter-options version of this training collar is available from SportDog as well, boasting very long ranges.

Discuss your electronic training needs with your veterinarian and your trainer and make sure that you ask for their advice. A good electronic training collar is one that is suitable for your dogs individual needs.