The American Beagler Forum

Can anyone tell me how to "tone train" a dog? I have the Sportdog system with this feature, but don't know how to use it. The owners manual doesn't address it, and I reached out to Sportdog, and they weren't helpful.

Thanks.

I trained mine by toning them before I shocked them for handling purposes. If the dog is smart it will learn what comes after the tone and start coming back when they hear the tone. It is rare now that I have to shock them to get them to handle for me. If they are running off game don't tone them. Just straight juice.

What was your process for tone training them? Was it tone, call them, then tone again? That is the process for when you use stimulation.

i usually call and tone at the same time . if they dont come then shock. then back off on the calling and tone. they usually get it pretty quick.


sam

Put them on a 20-25 foot lead or rope tied to the dogs collar. Call the dog by giving him the command ( Here) as your telling the dog here pull him in to you and when he gets to you give him a treat and a good boy. Repeat this over the course of a week or two. He has to be taught the command before you can correct him for not coming. Once he has started coming to you with very little help by pulling the lead then put the training collar on him. Go out put the long lead on him and give the command ( here) and tone him , if he does not come give him a low level correction and pull
Him towards you the minute he comes towards you let go of the button. Repeat , it takes a few times but you should tone first and the correct after. After a few time he'll start coming without pulling and eventually he will start coming just on the tone. You really can't tone train him unless you collar train him first with the correction. The dog has to understand that if they don't respond at tone that the shock correction comes next. Use low level correction. Experiment until the dog barely twitches an near at the correction. Then use that setting to train him. If he does not respond then move up one level . You definitely do not want the dog to yelp at the correction. That is too high...,,dh

Put them on a 20-25 foot lead or rope tied to the dogs collar. Call the dog by giving him the command ( Here) as your telling the dog here pull him in to you and when he gets to you give him a treat and a good boy. Repeat this over the course of a week or two. He has to be taught the command before you can correct him for not coming. Once he has started coming to you with very little help by pulling the lead then put the training collar on him. Go out put the long lead on him and give the command ( here) and tone him , if he does not come give him a low level correction and pull
Him towards you the minute he comes towards you let go of the button. Repeat , it takes a few times but you should tone first and the correct after. After a few time he'll start coming without pulling and eventually he will start coming just on the tone. You really can't tone train him unless you collar train him first with the correction. The dog has to understand that if they don't respond at tone that the shock correction comes next. Use low level correction. Experiment until the dog barely twitches an near at the correction. Then use that setting to train him. If he does not respond then move up one level . You definitely do not want the dog to yelp at the correction. That is too high...,,dh

Thanks Deerhost.

Before you tone or shock get your dog use to the collar first. Put it on leave it for couple hours. Take off for a couple hours and than put it back. Do this for a week so the dog doesn't know it's the collar shocking or toning. This way you won't have a collar wise dog.

I pretty much agree with deerhost EXCEPT for the treat. A pat on the side or a tussling of his ears is enough reward. Are you going to carry treats with you whenever you are running the dog? E-collars only reinforce what the dog already knows.

Larry

Come on Larry, the treat is just to start a teaching a pup or young dog to come. Only for a few sessions. Obviously once the pup starts coming then only a good boy and pat on the head. Then you move to the collar, tone and correction. Out in the woods, no treats and no excuses. When I say here I mean here and my dogs know it..... Dh

deerhost;

To each his own. Just never saw a need for "treats" to get a dog trained to come. I'm not afraid to ask someone to handle my dog at a trial.

Larry

I usually just put a collar on a young dog and my old dogs and take them to a park... When the older dogs come back to the tone the young one gets the hint pretty quick.

If they don't get the hint, then you bump em on 1. Works for me.

Thanks guys!

I train a ton of pups in a year. I do close to what dearhost does except I use verbal commands; once the pup knows he is supposed to come when called, and you call him and he goes the other way, I sternly give them a "bad dog! Bad dog!" Then tone him and if he does not come in, then start on low setting, gruffly saying "no!" Then pull them gently in, as the they comply, say "good boy, good boy". Remember you are the Alfa leader in your pups pack, that's all he knows, don't treat him like a person, treat him like a dog. He will learn to come to you in a couple of sessions if you reward him, I love them up for doing good, grumble at them for being bad, just like thier mother did. It works, you'll rarely have to shock your pup if properly done.
Thanks,
Bob

If you have the Sportdog Tek then there is also a vibration mode on the collar. It can be used to get their attention if they did not respond to the tone and before using the shock function.