E-Collar Technologies Pro Educator Owner's Manual - page 14
CHANGING THE INTENSITY LEVEL OF STIMULATION
Rotating counter-clockwise increases the stimulation level and conversely,
rotating clockwise lowers the stimulation level.
It is highly recommended that the user practices changing levels and modes
before putting the collar receiver on the dog.
Setting the correct stimulation level for your dog is very important. To set your
“conditioning” stimulation level, put the collar receiver (see page 25 for proper
collar fitting technique) on your dog. Let him/her get used to the collar receiver
for a couple of hours before applying any stimulation.
While watching your dog, turn the level to “1” and press the continuous
stimulation button for 2 seconds, watch for the dog to make any indication of
noticing the stimulation, this could be an eye twitch or scratching the collar
receiver. Increase the level by one and repeat until you get a response, most
dogs conditioning stimulation is between 5 and 20. You may need to increase
the “conditioning level” a few levels to get your dog to respond, some dogs are
more stubborn and need more stimulation. The “corrective” level is typically 5 to
30 levels higher than the “conditioning” level.
To condition the dog to the stimulation it is recommended you combine the
conditioning stimulation with light leash pressure by practicing come and heel
commands with a short leash of long line. By combining the 2 sensations it will
help the dog better understand the stimulation and prevent fearfulness should
you need to turn the stimulation up at a later time. Timing and consistency is
very important to successful e-collar training. When practicing the come and heel
commands release the stimulation at the moment the dog turns toward you and
is beginning to comply with the command. Once the dog is conditioned to the
low level stimulation it is acceptable to begin using higher levels to work through
any unwanted behaviors like jumping on visitors, counter surfing, trash
investigation, not coming when called in high distractions. Using positive
reinforcement for good behavior can speed the training process and provide a
more pleasurable experience for you and your dog. It is your preference whether
you use food or a verbal good dog as the positive reinforcement. Setting the
“Corrective Stimulation” level is a little more difficult due to the wide differences
in temperaments and stimulation tolerance among the many breeds of dogs. On
average, it is normally 10 to 40 levels higher than the “Conditioning” level.
This e-collar is outfitted with the “I Mode” which is great for situations where an
increasing type sensation is desired. For example, boundary training with the “I
Mode” is accomplished by slowly increasing the stimulation as the dog exits the
safe area, once he stops the stimulation remains on until he/she begins to retreat
back to the safe area, slowly decrease the stimulation so it reaches zero at the
precise instant the last paw is in the safe area, it is not important to rush this
training as the dog will catch on soon enough, leaving the safe causes the
sensation to increase while returning causes it to decrease. Once the dog gets it
you can introduce distractions to proof the boundary training with higher dial
speeds and higher levels of stimulation.