Electronic Collar

The Yard and Park Trainer assists you in controlling your pet without a leash up to 400 yards. The unit can expand to 3 dogs with additional receiver purchases. The receiver is waterproof and adjustable to fit most dogs. The training manual shows hot to properly use the Yard and Part Trainer to make training fun. The Trainer can be used to deter unwanted behavior such as chewing on furniture, jumping on guests or digging. It can also we used for basic obedience training.

User Reviews about Petsafe PDT00-10603 Yard-and-Park Remote Trainer

We bought this training collar several months ago for a VERY smart young Lab who had figured out commands like "come" could sometimes be optional. With a large, unfenced property, he had begun wandering to and beyond the borders on his own accord and only obeying "come" when there wasn't some interesting distraction or when you demanded many, many times. There were some other behaviors that needed correction also like barking at/chasing around any cars that came up the driveway. It was at a point where outside time meant he needed to be tied to keep him under appropriate control.

Although we HATED the idea of a shock collar, it reached a point where we hated having to tie the dog down more and were willing to try about anything. He was simply going a little too "wild" when on his own outside, even when we were right there to give verbal commands.

It worked like a miracle right away. He quickly learned just how far he could wander, most other shows of aggression like barking/chasing any cars that drive up diminished, NO started to mean NO again rather than "maybe" and COME definitely means Come, even when he doesn't have the collar on (see below).

But..like other's have said, the link between the transmitter and collar sometimes drops. It will be working fine one minute, and not at all the next. An hour or two later, it will magically start working again. Resetting is hit and miss and frustrating because it's almost impossible to reset without taking the collar off. Murphy's law seems to kick in and it stops working right when you need it to most. Because of this part, I would have given the product only 3 stars (or fewer) but because of the amazing results, I upped it to 4.

But...smart dogs figure it out. There is a minor issue that the dog knows that the collar rules all, not our commands. Sometimes, he knows when the collar isn't on or isn't working and pushes his luck a little. We generally don't use the warning beep now because of this (use voice commands as the warning) but there can be a little "optional" in commands again. Nothing major but we've got to work out some training issues so that WE run the show rather than the collar.

I'd buy it again in a second. It made ALL the difference in the world for our dog. As much as I hate the idea of the shocks (tested on myself like others here did), the rare shocks are far less of a problem than having to tie the dog down for his protection. There are some major frustrations with the radio link, but the results are worth the frustrations. -- A miracle...and not

This is a long one, but for some of you, this may be one of the most important reviews of the lot, as I am a recent convert, but that admission involves a few conditions. I urge you to read the entire review, please.

You see, I am an obedience trainer myself and have been carrying around a chip on my shoulder, fully dismissing "shock collars" as inhumane and cruel ever since I began. I bought into all the books and other trainers who teach that they are evil and barbaric and antiquated. Every time it would come up in conversation I would hear Victoria Stilwell in my head, making a passionate, effective argument against them. I would routinely ask, "Do you shock your toddler when you are potty training him?" And, of course we don't, so it was clear that my question made me quite superior and always the winner of the argument.

I want to be completely clear before I relate my own experiences any further. There is nothing that substitutes for positive reinforcement and reward based training. It is nothing less than joyful to watch a dog respond to you cheerfully and with zeal because he knows that when he does as you ask he will be praised and treated. Successful training results in a dog that will do as you ask because he respects you, not because he fears you. For the benefit of your relationship and your position in it, your personal interaction with your dog should always be positive.

Having said that, my road to conversion begins with having rescued a five and a half month old female Border Collie / Terrier puppy, an angel which I named Willa. She proved to be a fantastic companion to my male Border / Shepherd mix, and a most affectionate and exceptionally obedient, sweet-natured little lady. My goodness, how we do love her! I went about all the reward based training I normally do and spent a good deal of time socializing and training her. No problems, really. She responded to all of it with heartfelt joy. Happiest dog I've ever seen. After six months, she was ninety-five percent perfect.

She is very much a people dog. And, therein, one problematic issue remained. When she saw people, even a block or two away, she would bolt off and run to them for a frantic, excited greeting. She would always come right back, but once she was off and running, there was no calling her back. Since she would not respond to "no" while in that escalated mindset, there seemed to be no sense in repeating it over and over ... and I never like to use a dog's name negatively ... for instance, shouting "Willa! NO!" So, I would have to just let the incident run its course and then treat her for coming back. (As soon as she would start back I would call "Willa! Come! Good Girl! Come!") Upon her return, it makes no sense to yell at her for bolting off ... that's just like punishing her for coming back, right? (More to come on associative learning.) Oh yes, and she is a smart girl ... she would never try it while on leash or long line, only when off leash. She knew perfectly well when she was tethered and when she wasn't.

There were incidents that made for epic family stories. Once before bed, I took her out for a last time, and off leash. The folks across the street were loading their minivan and talking and, of course, she saw them and bolted across the street to greet them happily. Before I knew it, a screen door came open she had gone in their house and when I got there she was inhaling the cat's food from a bowl on the kitchen floor. Embarrassing, just a little. I made my apologies. We learned to laugh that one off.

Then, one day while just outside of town, she caught a glimpse of some people at a nearby farm house and off she went, unable to be called back. When she bounded up the front steps to jump up on the lady of the house, she got kicked off the landing. Some of us don't stop to think that not all people like or welcome an approaching dog.

But, here's the clincher. When, for a third time, she ran across the street, running off to greet someone, and an approaching car hit the brakes in the nick of time, I realized that the five percent "not perfect" she was happened to be the percentage that could get her killed. I had tried all my beloved reward based and positive reinforcement methods to complete and utter failure. Worse, she had nearly been hit by a car more than once. That's when I started doing some sincere research on electronic collars. I could only think, "if it saves her life, wouldn't that be worth it?"

I read hundreds of customer reviews on Amazon, and I talked with a few "pro collar" trainers. I came to understand that the term "shock collar" was a little like "assault weapon" ... a term certainly used to vilify. Yes, you can use a gun for assault, but you can also use it for the greater good. Indeed, you can set the collar to deliver a painful shock, but then, you can use lower settings that deliver no pain whatsoever, just stimulation. (The humane objective is in finding the minimal amount of stimulation that gets your desired result.) As you know by now, I ordered the PetSafe PDT00. After all that prior brainwashing, it was hard to click "place order", but I did it because I wanted to save Willa's life.

Before ever using it, I first read the manual thoroughly. Then, I tried the collar on myself by holding it tightly in my left hand while I checked the various settings with the handset. Level 1 ... almost no stimulation at all. Level 2 ... creepy crawly ... not painful at all. Level 3 ... still not painful, but starting to get my attention. Level 4 ... Whoa! Unsettling. Now, I felt that! Level 5 ... that hurt, so it's far too much for my thirty pound Willa. I went no further, because in my opinion, anything level 5 and above would be too much and never appropriate. For me, the collar wasn't about delivering punishment, it was about creating redirection.

I noticed that a good many people who reviewed the collar said that after a very short time all they had to do was use the tone ... no more stimulation! But ... that means that forevermore you have to carry the handset and your dog needs the collar on when outside and off leash. Since my goal was to use the collar to rehab the behavior and then phase out the collar, I chose to reprogram it to simply deliver the stimulation with the lower button and no tones. I wanted Willa to react to a calm verbal command of "no no", not a "negative tone" which comes from the collar. (Please note that I did not say a verbal command of "NO! NO!" I do not want to escalate my own energy and demeanor. I want it to be calm and matter-of-fact ... not unlike a benign series of beeps, which is what the negative tone consists of.)

A few basic training points are in order. For associative learning to occur in dogs, a consequence (positive or negative) must occur within two seconds (some think one) of a behavior, or in this case, a command. (This is why it useless to punish your dog for having soiled in the house while you were gone. The only thing the dog learns from your punishing it is that when you come home and you start acting that way he knows he's going to get yelled at and smacked around. He has no way of connecting the poop to your angry body language and a physical correction.) At any rate, timing is absolutely critical in training, and the same is true when using this tool.

I didn't want the collar to be associated with anything negative, so I put it on Willa a half an hour before our normal morning outing and treated her while putting it on in stages, so she would begin to associate the ritual of putting it on with reward. Once we got out to the country, I waited patiently for her to approach something unacceptable. I had set the collar to level 2, knowing that the first level wouldn't be felt. Eventually, she came upon a nice pile of manure and lowered her nose to it. I calmly said "no no" and immediately touched the button for about one second. She jumped a few inches in the air, landed on all four feet with the most curious look on her face, as if to say, "what in the world?" At that point, I said "Willa, come, treat!" She came to me without hesitation and I treated her. "Good girl, come, good girl!" And so, this was my strategy. Anytime I applied a stimulation, it was always immediately after a calm "no no" and then followed directly by a recall ending in reward. Redirection.

To be fair, Willa's recall is and has always been excellent, the only exception being when she bolts off to greet someone, as mentioned above. She is nicely trained to come on command, sit, look up and focus on my face for further instruction or praise and a treat. I began her focus training the day she came home, and her recall training the next.

Of course, the time came when she started running off after people, and the first time, when she was on a dead run and level 2 didn't produce, I kicked it up to level 3 and said a little louder, "no no", and touched the button. She slid to an abrupt stop and turned around and I said excitedly, "Willa, come, treat! ... GOOD GIRL!" She came running up to me and sat with that gleeful glimmer in her eyes, and enjoyed a whole handful of treats. It was so clear, this was not hurting her; it was actually helping.

By the third day I was taking her everywhere I could think of where there would be people and dogs and kids and other tempting distractions. Whenever she would see someone and perk her ears, start wagging her tail and take a step toward them, I would say "no no" and she would hit the brakes, turn toward me and I would treat her and praise. No stimulation needed. Soon, we could walk right past people. Within a week, she was rock solid.

Looking back, the total number of times I applied a stimulation in training her was seven, maybe nine. Today, we (I and both the dogs) were in the local park two hours, people all over the place, and I didn't have to use the handset once. My calm "no no" and redirection to a reward was all I needed. I can easily see the graduation to no collar at all in the near future.

And so, I am a convert, but as I have said, there are some conditions in that statement.

First, it is quite clear that in the wrong hands, this tool could be terribly misused, whether intentional or not. It is not a toy and children should not be allowed to use it. Because timing is so critical to success and a certain amount a basic dog psychology should be understood, it is advised that you seek the advice and/or assistance of a qualified trainer, should you have any doubts that you can properly handle the situation. (If you meet with resistance due to "shock collar brainwashing", print and take this review with you. Ask them to read it and then see what your potential trainer says.)

Secondly, I do not believe this tool is a viable nor preferable alternative to positive reinforcement and reward based training. Please do not feel it should be used for every little training issue. It's not for potty training and similar issues. It's not for puppies. (Puppies need positive, positive, positive.) I'm on the fence as to whether this is an appropriate tool for the abatement of excessive barking.

Thirdly, one should never use this tool in frustration or anger. Your dog is highly keyed into your energies. He may learn to acquaint the stimulation to your weak, frustrated demeanor.

Fourthly, you should never, ever use this tool to attempt to rehabilitate aggression. It's one thing to use it to redirect a happy-go-lucky, relatively balanced dog. However, a dog in an aggressive state of mind may well be escalated into further imbalance and aggression, and learn to associate the stimulation with what's at the root of the aggression. Dogs in this state of mind often have a higher threshold to pain, which may lead to kicking up the stimulation to a painful shock and ... well, you get the idea. I would argue that that crosses over the line to inhumane.


Finally, I also feel this tool could be disastrous for fearful, insecure dogs, and for the same reason ... a dog that is scared and untrusting may very well develop further fears and insecurities ... an escalation of an unbalanced mindset.

In the end, I reiterate that using this tool was about training something that could save my dog's life. You must make certain important decisions for yourself, and decide whether your dog is appropriately balanced to handle such a training method, and whether you are personally qualified to handle such a responsibility. Using an E-collar is not about an easy way out. I would hope that you would consider it only as an option when other methods fail to produce results, and the safety of your dog is in jeopardy.

If you do decide to use it, the PetSmart PDT00 is worth every penny, and of a very high quality. It costs far less than hiring a trainer to do the work for you. But please, do your homework and do it right. Good luck, dog lovers.
-- A Convert ... With Conditions

Hi,

Well, it worked! I have a Tibetan Terrier, 98% trained, but like all TT's very curious, and always rushing away to meet other dogs, ignoring my calls. I felt it was just a matter of time, before a dog outside the park caught his attention, and a terrible accident would happen- and he is my baby, the thought of losing him, was enough to tell me I had to get an e-collar.

I used it the first time, and he hated it, and I wondered if I could use it again,(dog was fine, owner worried to death) however, after a strict talking to by a friend, pointing out a little zap from me, was better than maybe being killed by a car, I tried it again. Result? A dog that comes when called, ignores other dogs when I recall him, but still when told it is fine, runs and plays with all his other doggie friends. The terrible worry all the time, and the anxiously looking round to see if there were any dogs around, has gone, we walk, I call him to heel, he comes, I reward, he is happy, and I at last, can enjoy our walks. Wish I had done it before, two zaps was all it took!!! -- Pet safe collar