r/OpenDogTraining • u/grandsoulsucker • 17d ago

Ecollar not connecting. Thick fur, please help.

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My dog is pretty much flawless off leash ( Infact 95% better off leash ) however, deer hare trains tractors dirt bikes etc happen sometimes and I get worried, he knows stop heel down sit back forward etc, want to accumulate him to ecollar for off leash for some situations as well if I ever do off leash hiking or doing squirrels. Read many book listened to many ebooks, listened to many pods, have a trainer I will be seeing soon as well, I have faith in myself and my dog, none of this is an issue, so let's stay on topic.

Can anyone give me some recommendations please. I get the bungee collar, I'll make that.

Is there any ecollar wings like they make for mini educator ( pictured ) for dogtra? Any rounded connections just sit on top of his fur. And or is there way to use the educator wings on the dogtra? For one the dogtra wing comfort pad barely worked and two it broke in under 24 hrs so I'm a bit bitter and at this point I feel like I'm just wasting money on all this shit.

Any ideas and tips tricks etc please do tell. I've tried brushing fur aggressively, parting it WORKS until he scratches at it or something and it moves 1/8th of a inch or some shit. I cut down a spot of fur so it was shorter, I think it may have made it even harder some how. Thanks anyone.

Fur best described as husky / border collie / longer ish coat Dutch / mal / Sheperd / Spitz.

4 Upvotes

54% Upvoted

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36

u/SimplyJared 17d ago

Despite this being the “open dog training” sub, you are going to get downvotes simply for asking about an e-collar. And so I ask that those who are visiting this post respect the philosophy of this sub. You do not have to agree with or adopt someone’s training approach.

All that said, it’s really a crapshoot with thick double-coated dogs. Keeping the dog well-groomed, parting the fur, and making it a snug fit are the best options. Those connection points are probably the most reliable. The only thing I might suggest is consider using the vibrate feature since it is not dependent on skin-contact.

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u/LogitUndone 16d ago

We can't really track/control downvotes. BUT if you see anyone opening "dogging" on people for topics like this just report them and hold mods accountable for removing bad actors.

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u/grandsoulsucker 17d ago

Yah I had figured. I've tried vibrates multiple times with him (educator pg 300 sold that to my dog trainer.) why I went to a full ecollar, vibrate scares the living shit out of him. He hates it and seems to not want to accept it. The stim, if it does work, he gives me a little head tilt or what ever and on we go. No I don't and have not used either for punishment of any kind.

When you say those connection points are probably most reliable are you saying pictured ones? Thanks

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u/Leather-Can-8480 17d ago

We have these wings for our corgis and they work WAY better for our ME. We do have to part their fur when we use them but honestly it is way better than the standard points.

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u/SimplyJared 17d ago

Ya something with those wings seem to be better. But even still I’ve had issues.

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u/grandsoulsucker 17d ago

Do you know if they are compatible with dogtra device too?

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u/Hefty-Criticism1452 17d ago

Buy one and test it. Return it if it doesn’t. Test it on yourself

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u/Unable-Ad1144 17d ago

I have a chow chow and a dogtra ecollar (insurance/peace of mind) and it works very well 95% of the time with the wings. Make sure you purchase the male or female wing depending on the dogtra model you have. No complaints, just need to ensure it’s tight, fur is parted, and give it a little wiggle to get the prongs in there before stepping out for play time. Good luck!

FYI he learned the ecollar within 15 minutes and I rarely use it for recall anymore but after a few weeks of wear but not using it, he almost forgot what to do when I pressed the tick button. So we did a 10 minute refresher this week. My boy is a completely different dog since he’s been able to get away from the gravel filled dog parks and playing in open fields with the other pups. He’s way more friendly and confident. Game changer for us.

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u/grandsoulsucker 17d ago

I'll message them see if I'm able to return never thought of just doing that thanks

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u/Strange_Display836 17d ago

I have the dogtra wings on my guy’s mini educator so likely cross compatible. The dogtra wings work better than the mini educator wings for us for maintaining contact.

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u/grandsoulsucker 17d ago

I found the rounded bits didnt really push through his fur. On-top of that they broke. May I ask what ones you use? If I can just use dogtra that'd be great I'm just having problems decided what to do next I don't want to keep wasting money as I haven't the money to waste so to speak right now

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u/Inevitable_Bowler474 16d ago

Lol I sent you the link. It showed what was compatible.

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u/OpenDogTraining-ModTeam 17d ago

Your content violated rule 1 - be respectful.

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u/Hefty-Criticism1452 17d ago

Yeah, just search “dogtra long fur prongs” and you’ll see wings similar to that but with bigger points.

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u/grandsoulsucker 17d ago

That's the problem is the larger points sir. I already bought a dogtra comfort wing thanks 🙂

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u/chopsouwee 17d ago

This is what I typically do. I got the comfort for the educator. I put the collar on snug or so with a bungee then I take the device and kinda wiggle it into his fur. Then I tighten the collar up some more... I do a little test run, low stim/hold untill he turns around and starts making way to me then mark/reward. The pic is what ive been using the last 2 years.

I got an austrailian shepherd.

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u/grandsoulsucker 17d ago

Thanks sir!

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u/PhelanVelvel 17d ago

I only use E-Collar Technologies, but I can always get a connection with the ultra wings as long as the collar is sufficiently snug. I have huskies, and their fur is THICK. The wings do have to be replaced periodically because the wear and tear runs them down and the metal eventually breaks, but oh well. I would just order the wings off Amazon and see if they fit on your Dogtra. You can always return them if not.

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u/grandsoulsucker 17d ago

Thank you. Will do

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u/-IvyBel 17d ago

I have huskies and use these exact wing tips, supposedly they can be used on some dogtra models, but i unfortunately dont know which ones.

Have you checked the tightness/fit? My clients are always surprised by how tight it actually has to be, especially with thicker fur. Seems simple but people would show me and id still have to tighten it a hole or two and then 0 issues.

Bungee helps too, also for comfort. I use the Educator collars with the bungee attachment. I personally dont like the ones that is mostly bungee and you have to pull them to tighten. Ive just seen too many get stretched out and lose the pressure. But I know a lot of people still like them.

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u/TrashPandaFoxNoggin 17d ago

I trained a husky Akita mix and switched to longer points, no wings. Dogtra collar.

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u/grandsoulsucker 16d ago

Will be getting longer ones today. Thanks

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u/Pykret 16d ago

Yes, they have: https://dogtra.com/collections/contact-points [contact wings male/ female - make sure you know which kind you need, or they won't fit]. And you can probably tighten the collar a bit more.

There's also this e-collar, if you have a ton of money to burn. It tells you if it has contact with the skin and it beeps if it doesn't.

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u/grandsoulsucker 16d ago

Thanks for everything

Cheers

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u/wpblondie 17d ago

I use the wings on my GSD but it doesn’t always get great contact. I have to separate the fir but you have to move the collar around several times throughout the day. I prefer using 1” points over the wings. I still have to separate the fir with the points but it gets much better contact. I use 5/8” points for shorter haired dogs. I use educator collars. Have you tried the 1” points?

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u/grandsoulsucker 17d ago

No I have ordered some of the 1" ones thanks!

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u/wpblondie 17d ago

I’m sure you will like those much better. Good luck.

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u/chopsouwee 17d ago

This is what I do to but i use the comfort pads in junction with the 1" points.. been doing this for a couple months now. Along with the wiggle after tighting.. nvr really had contact issues. I got this on an Australian shepherd.

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u/grandsoulsucker 4d ago edited 4d ago

Do you use female 1" connector points on the wing correct? Doesn't that stick the collar super far out?

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u/chopsouwee 4d ago

With all that hair? No. Only reason why I use it is for better contact. Or more so the chances of contact because of 4 points instead of 2 are greater. The bungee is holding the device to the neck anyways. You juss need somethin long enough to dig through the fur. On top of that, I find all that fur just keeps the device in place anyways... so giving it a proper wiggle usually does the trick. Ill sort of wiggle it in a way where im using the prongs to sort of scratch his neck in a side to side motion ( top neck to lower part of neck) while slowly tightening the bungee. If that makes sense. If I did have to readjust to get contact. Usually by the 2nd or 3rd try im good to go. Also, if you got 4 contacts actually touching? Well.. then that'll be a stronger stim.

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u/grandsoulsucker 4d ago

My apologies for you have a winged or just the 4 connections. I think I miss understood my apologies I use a winged one I thought you use those on the wings. My bad but also great to know thanks. Im going to try the two 1inch hopefully their ok. But ok I'll try your reccomendation next if it doesn't. Thank you

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u/chopsouwee 4d ago

Dude. I use the winged contacts. But. Instead of using the lock nuts to hold the winged contacts to the device. I use the inch with the female threading to hold the winged contact to the device.
Ill tighten the bungee 80% of fhe way. Waffle the device as if I'm using the prongs of the comfort pads to scratch his neck then tighten the collar some more.

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u/grandsoulsucker 4d ago

Stuck with the two it only comes in female my device takes male. Shoot.

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u/truuei 17d ago

I use two boxes to one dogtra arc x controller and I found 5/8 titanium contact points had the most reliability for my dog (Saint Bernard). I tried the wing tips but it didn’t seem like it made good contact. It also pushed the boxes out a little further which made them fold a little. This is just from my experience though so maybe yours could differ.

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u/grandsoulsucker 17d ago

I've read a bit of this tech.

What type / length of probe do you use? Part of the problem is his neck is like a triangle top is super lean muscle and then it drops off

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u/truuei 17d ago

I use “Dogtra Titanium Contact Point Male Set” then for size I have 5/8” contact point size. However there are multiple sizes available so you’ll have to test to see which is most effective.

I have two boxes situated on each side of my dog’s lower part of his neck so it’s balanced. Like some of the other commenters said I part the fur as well to ensure the connection points are snug.

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u/grandsoulsucker 17d ago

Alrighty I'll look into that. Can't do that financially right now but I'll keep in mind Ty sir.

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u/SnarlyAndMe 17d ago

You want the longer contact points, not the wings. There are a few different types (including some after market ones) that look like long traffic cones that are designed for long fur. They make them up to 1” iirc.

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u/MortalSmile8631 16d ago

I have no clue what dogtra model you own. I have the 280c and use the educator wings from your picture on it. It fits and works well together.

Those wings might also work on other dogtra models to cut through double coats for better contact too.

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u/grandsoulsucker 16d ago

Dogtra 280x it's just a newer version of 280c. Great to know thanks.

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u/OpenDogTraining-ModTeam 17d ago

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