E-Collar Training- Robin MacFarlane
Robin MacFarlane is an e-collar training expert and owner of That’s My Dog and The Truth About Shock Collars in Dubuque, Iowa. She’s been training with electric collars for years and a big part of her work has gone to helping thousands of dogs from around the globe all while debunking various myths and mis-informations about e-collar training.
Dog owners will send their dogs to her from around North America because of her unique systems for helping dogs learn to overcome various issues with this style of training.
E-Collar Training- Listen In
Click ‘Play’ below to listen to the full interview. It’s a quick half hour and will give you a ton of great information on e-collar training. Make sure to take notes.
E-Collar Training- What You’ll Learn
In this podcast you’re going to learn:
- Whether or not e-collar training is humane? You’ll find out the REAL philosophy and motivations behind e-collar training and how they are not what you’ve heard about from the internet, your vet, and your next-door-neighbor.
- Little known facts about WHY you just may want to be training with electric collars if your dog is nervous, anxious, shy or otherwise sensitive to outside distractions and stimuli.
- Whether or not you can use this tool to train aggressive dogs (hint: the answer is likely the OPPOSITE of what you’ve been reading online.)
- A simple and quick understanding of how the e-collar is used to train a dog to come when called.
- What tools you need to accompany your electric collar when you first start training (if you’re just starting with the e-collar by itself you are probably doing it wrong).
- A simple comparison to help dog owners understand how the e-collar actually feels. Robin has ALL of her clients feel the e-collar before using it with their dogs and you’d be surprised the reaction some of them have.
- How to figure out which is the right level to set the e-collar on for your training. This will be new information to many who’ve been hearing wrong information for some time.
- How far this method of training has come in the last 50 years and why your perception of e-collar training may be based on what USED TO happen decades ago.
- What ages of dog you can use this tool with.
Our goal at our company is to help as many dogs and as many owners as possible. We’re huge advocates of proper e-collar training because we know how humane and helpful it is for dogs and dog owners. We encourage you to get in touch with good trainers like Robin if you are looking for instruction on how to properly use these tools with your dog. Feel free to check out our e-collar training course as well.
15 Responses to “E-Collar Training- Interview With Robin MacFarlane”
Expert huh? X is an unknown quantity and a spurt is a drip under pressure.
Anything useful to add? Any debate on the subject? Or is it just pithy one-liners are the order of the day?
I never censor people in the comments section unless they get over the top with language or insults. Not censoring doesn’t mean I’m not going to call you out, though.
If the only thing you’ve got to add to an interview of a great career of a great trainer is inane immaturity then you’re on the wrong site. If you’ve got something to back up your opinion, though, bring it. This is the place to debate opposing view points. If you’re going to act like a child, though, best stick to other platforms for that.
Nice way of handling this Ty.
I absolutely agree with you Ty! I get irritated over the “know it all, one way only, I’m better than you” remarks-get real people! These people are trying to help dogs and owners, not hurt! Too many dogs in shelter and destroyed because of “fluffy” people who are scared to really work with their dogs. A “click and a treat” and an “atta’ boy” are not the only ways to train a dog!
Agreed. Every dog is different. What works for one dog and owner will not necessarily work for the next dog and owner. That doesn’t make it wrong or better. I have used just about every type of collar with my dog for different situations. The e-collar worked well for teaching him physical boundaries as a young dog.
There’s nothing wrong with this E-Collar if this really serves its purposes. I would like to point it out that gadgets are helpful if being use humanly. I have nothing against with this E-Collar as long as it will not compromise the happiness of my dog. The limit lies in the welfare and protection of my dog. If this helps me and my dog then I say a big YES. However, it this will cause danger then I better not opt to use it.
Good point. I always tell clients that with the same hammer someone can tear down a wall or build one up. The tool itself is neither good nor evil, it just is. Usage of the tool, however, carries implications of morals and ethics.
Proper usage of an e-collar allows for one of the lightest forms of correction that achieve some of the greatest results, ie. leverage. I always look for leverage in my training so I can get the most done causing the least amount of impact.
Thanks for your comment.
Excellent interview Ty and Robin. And, I like how you emphasized that it is a tactile cuing system as that is how we use it and how dogs respond to it in current day use of remote collars. Because of this, it’s clear and humane communication. Also loved the analogy of the fax and text messages similar to the remote collar being a faster and more efficient way to train pet dogs.
I find it hard to believe that electrocuting an animal is a good way to “train” it. A study was actually performed on lab rats, and it was discovered that the use of mild electric shocks (especially if they were given without warning) caused serious aggression and completely destroyed the animal’s sense of security. Eventually the rats would become aggressive with or without the electricity. A follow-up study was then done on domestic dogs, testing both the “e-collars” and the “invisible” electric fences. The results were very similar to what was found in the rat test.
And even if this abuse does “work” as a training method, it’s still VERY morally wonky to use it; especially when there are so many other options that work so much better (e.g. clicker training). I’ve seen viral videos where these collars were used on humans as a joke, and these people always comment on a burning sensation and a huge amount of pain (these things literally bring people to their knees at the higher settings). You should probably bear in mind that these were fully-grown adults that already knew what was coming and had a clear understanding of what was going on.
In some nordic countries these “tools” are actually illegal- you can get in trouble for simply being in possession of one. And they have some of the highest standards of living and the lowest number of reported dog bites.
As far as I can tell, humans are just lazy jerks who look for the easy way out rather than putting in the hard work necessary. Bloody typical.
And even if you come up with some ridiculous snappy comeback, I’d still think about your little torture devices this way. Pavlov is on your shoulder, and science remains accurate to this day.
Thank you for your input. I do like debate on these topics. Allow me to address your points:
- I also find it hard to believe that electrocuting a dog is a good way to train it. I would encourage you to learn more about the method as there is no electrocuting going on….at least in the way I think you are describing it.
- Your allusion to the rat study is a non-starter. No one is advocating correcting dogs without reason or notice. In fact, I can point you to numerous of my own case studies along with hundreds of other case studies from colleagues showing how we have alleviated/cured/solved aggression problems…not caused them.
- I contend that clicker and treat training does not work better. I’ve never seen it, at least. I have been asking and challenging clicker trainers for years to show me video of clicker training outperforming e-collar training. I’ve yet to see it. What I have seen, though, are dozens of e-collar trainers showing their results on YouTube and other websites of dogs achieving high levels of obedience and overcoming big behavior problems through e-collars. I welcome this part of the debate because I have spent years asking for such video and the closest anyone ever sent me was a video of a dog walking through a city and holding a down stay on a train. In other words, it was elemental compared to what other skilled trainers using the most advanced understanding of behavior with e-collars will accomplish.
- Nordic countries also tax their people at 70%. I find that morally wrong. In some countries you can be stoned for being homosexual, for stealing, committing adultery, etc. I find that morally wrong. What I’m getting at is that pointing out that other countries allow/ban collars is neither an endorsement nor a condemnation. Were that the case then you could say that by the mere fact that they AREN’T banned in the U.S. means that they are moral and ethical given that we are a large country that allows them. I’m not making that argument nor will I accept an argument that a nordic country banning an e-collar is a sign of morality or lack thereof.
- I challenge you to refute e-collar training with science. Pavlov’s work on conditioning only strengthens the argument for e-collar training.
I think we’ve been civil here. I welcome your retort. I do hope that you will provide me some video proof of clicker training being superior to e-collar training as I’ve been waiting years for that and always welcome new challenge.
I enjoyed listening to, and learning from, this interview of Robin MacFarlane. Thank you!
Thanks. She gave a ton of great info.
I have just ordered an e collar in the hope that I can stop my Multipoo pup of six months taking off when he sees a person, other dog a cat or a carrier bag! No amount of calling stops him running at full pelt, though after a time he will come back usually when he realises that I’m walking away. I can’t seem to find on line how to actually use this collar, at what point to push the button as such, I would appreciate some good advice.
Here is a bit of a shameless plug. I’ve got a dvd line that can help you learn how to use it-
https://www.dogbehavioronline.com/advanced-ecollar-obedience-p/
It’s important to remember that the e-collar is a teaching tool designed to communicate the concept. You’ll start off with lots of long line (20 foot or so) training to go along with your e-collar.
As above, just realised my e mail address was wrong