calling back in.

[Smoke]

I recently purchased some hounds that are 18m months old. They learned by just running in the feilds. they are great rabbit hounds they will push a rabbit all day long if they can. well they don't know how to handle as in come to me when I call. so I got some e collars and got some treats and started working with them. well I would let them out to play and stuff and for the first couple of days I would just put the collar on with no punishment. and called them in to me with praise. then later I started to shock at low hit until they did. when they would start my way I wuld let off. it done good for a bit. but then they realized that I was safty and stay areound me or run back to the pen. After I noticed this I stopped and went back to the just praise. they are still no better.

Is there anything that I can do to make this better.

[cris axtell/coal hill ken]

use a long line with the e collar and treats.slowly real them in wile calling then give a treat.after a wile introduce the e collar.if they dont come shock them and real them in.then give a treat and praise.make sure they are hungry.

[Red Briar Kennels]

Smoke, I would have to agree with Ken. Using a long lead, or check cord as they are often referred to, can greatly improve or drive home the point of coming to you. We professionally train dogs here, and have found that alot of people simply use the shock collar too soon. It sounds to me that you did intoduce the collar without using it,...and that's good. When we intro a dog to the e-collar, we use a period of a week or two, it just depends on the dog's attitude and demeanor. The only thing I might bring up that we do in actually correcting the dog with current, is that we do not hold the button till they listen. We simply "nick" them. I have found that when administering a constant signal, it tends to scare the dog into just wanting to get away from whatever is causing the sensation. They run for the truck, kennel, the hills,....wherever. Anywhere is good as long as it goes away. A nick usually tends to get their attention, but does not scare them into running off. Notice I say usually. With a very skittish dog, you might have a little bit more trouble. Then, once you have their attention, hopefully you can fall back on the commands that you have been working on with the dog, and further coax him into submission with the check cord. As I'm sure you already know, they can very headstrong and bull-headed. This may take awhile. But with constant use, and faithfull training, and doing everything the same way every time out will greatly improve your success. I have broken many unrulely hounds in this fashion. The biggest thing that I can tell you that I've found is one, be patient and don't give up, and two, never let the dog get away with not listening or give him the choice of listening or not. It really is a test of wills at first. But once he knows that you are in command, things should run along a little smoother. Good luck, and hope this helps.