SportDOG SD-105 YardTrainer 105 Dog Trainer

Review by A. Schoenhofer for SportDOG SD-105 YardTrainer 105 Dog Trainer
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We recently purchased the Sport Dog shock collar. Me being the reluctant female(thinking…”ohhhh…how cruel”, and my husband being ever so reassuring that it really would be beneficial, AND he would test it on himself(be he ever so manly…I had to see that one!)… We bought it for the sole intent of gaining immediate and definitive control of our then 7 month old/70lb doberman pup, since we have two children roughly the same size as the dog with the dog soon to surpass them in size. Setting 1 did absolutely nothing, setting 2…well, dog ran around confused after the correction. Setting 3 definitely got his full attention. I was a believer after using this the first couple of times that it is VERY VERY effective in a good way. The best part is the warning tone… you give the corrective command, and when dog does not respond, you beep then immediately give the corrective shock(what really amounts to a strong static shock from walking across the carpet and touching another human…even tried it on myself…and I’m a GIRL!)… The positive thing about the warning tone is that after just a couple of shocks after the tone…ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS beep…dog magically responds, and does as he should. Great for a bark collar as well. When my overzealous barker goes nutzo in the backyard just because he wants to hear himself bark…I give the tone from in the house…he STOPS barking, and will quietly go about his routine outside time only to bark at the really emminent threats(well…that he perceives when the cat walks on the fence!). Batteries last okay… we really just got lazy about turning the unit off EVERY time, so they did run down within a couple of weeks of use, but not that expensive to buy a couple more at the local market. The ONLY CON is that when the collar is not on the dog, he KNOWS it, and pushes his luck a bit more. I have heard tale of other collars having a dummy collar for just such cases, so I am considering making up a dummy for him to maybe trick him into thinking it’s always on until he is a grown up doggie, and will be all knowing in the ways of human expectation of less barking, no jumping on the glass door, no sniffing the no-no area on guest or pack members, and come to my side when I say… On that last note: that was the BEST part when my lunatic came immediately to my side after saying “Come”, tone, zap! Pretty soon, “Come”, tone”…. now just “Come”, and voila’, he’s there! LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT.

Review by W. Wu for SportDOG SD-105 YardTrainer 105 Dog Trainer
Rating:
I was hesitant to use an E-collar but my 7 month old GSD puppy was just getting a bit out of hand with the chewing and jumping and barking and everything else. She is a good puppy most of the time but when she wants something, she’ll pretty much knock down the glass door and she won’t stop no matter what we do. Knowing that giving in would just empower her and reinforce the behavior, I got this collar after researching all the alternatives.

I tested it on myself and determined that level 2 gives a slight numbing pulse while 4 gives a little snap like a higher powered static charge when you get out of your car and touch the car door on a cold day. I read the manual which is pretty good and straight forward and started working with the dog. The dog is already pretty good with “sit” and “down” and sometimes “come” but not “heel”. I also couldn’t take the dog out without a leash and it was always a battle with the tugging and pulling. One time it broke off a smaller collar and I had to buy a big thick double heavy duty nylon collar to hold her.

The behavior changed within 1 day of using this collar. The dog comes immediately when I call and I just have to beep and she’ll run over and sit next to me. I don’t need to shock her anymore after just 1 day as long as she sees me. I still have to shock her though if she doesn’t see me and she will still jump all over the wife and kid so I have to monitor her.

First time walking her without a leash, she ran off to the neighbor’s house as she always does, I beeped, she didn’t respond, I turned on the shock, she ran back so fast at a full gallop that when she couldn’t stop in time next to me, she hit my legs and almost knocked me over. The second time, she ventured out a few feet but didn’t dare go past me. We took a walk around the neighborhood without a leash and she was always by my side. Truly amazing.

Like the heading says, it’s only been 3 weeks and I have to constantly monitor her with the collar and once in a while I have to beep it to remind her to behave but I don’t have to use the shock unless she is getting very unruly with the wife, then I have to use the shock to remind her to behave. Batteries are still good, but I always turn it off when not in use.

Even though this is a great tool, it is no substitute for taking the time to work with the dog. This will speed things up and supplement a good training regimen, but it is not a substitute.