What is Unboxing?: Unboxing originated with Unboxing.com, a site dedicated to helping people show off their new techie toys, favorite gadgets, consumer electronics, and more. As their tag line states "Vicarious thrills from opening new gear."
The
DT H20 1810 ecollar works as advertised and that is such a comforting thing. It did not over promise nor did it under deliver. You will recall we posted an
Unboxing story on the DT H20 1810 ecollar a while back. While using the collar--and yes to answer your question, I did try it on myself. I thought I had a duty to understand how the ecollar worked. A slight nick on the lowest setting had my complete attention. And I thought this might not be such a good idea, so while we experimented with the ecollar we also tried an alternative training method positive reinforcement. The ecollar was obviously negative reinforcement. I had many conversations with trainers who are devotes of the ecollar and think they are the best invention in the world--even better than ATM cards, sliced bread, and canned beer. On the other end of the spectrum are the trainers who believe in positive reinforcement, e.g. give the dog a treat if he performs as directed. The positive reinforcement trainers abhor the use of an ecollar and think it is cruel and inhumane. The negative trainers wonder what the dog will do if you run out of treats. Regardless which side of the fence you are on, I really wanted my money back on the DT H20 it worked so well in such a short time with Cooper when teaching him to "come" and to "leave it." I never turned the power intensity past 2. As Cooper has grown from a long legged pup to a muscular adolescent, he tests his boundaries and judicious and prudent use of the ecollar has produced excellent results. But back to the actual collar. The controller comes with a lanyard, which can be convenient especially if you have a check cord in one hand and a wand in the other to teach "whoa." The nick button does just that, a quick zap that's designed to get their attention. The continuous button provides stimulant for a longer period, no more than a few seconds and then turns off. Use this if your pup thinks the neighbor’s cat is lunch. We used the DT ecollar in the land trust where there are streams and beaver ponds, steep hills and deep gullies and never once did we loose a signal. We used the tester, which is included in the kit, just to be sure. The collar strap is actually the antenna and is stiff since wires are sandwiched inside the plastic covering. Waterproof and definitely shock proof--Cooper proof would be more correct. It holds a charge over days and weeks depending on use. To recharge, pull out the rubber stoppers and plug in the charger. Both collar and controller can be charged at the same time. The
DT ecollar definitely convinced me that gun dog training can be easy and safe. And yes, we still give positive reinforcement with treats as well.
No doubt our troops are the best equipped in the world. It takes more than just coming in with a low bid for Uncle Sam to pull out his check book. 
I thought it appropriate in this election year that we should discuss house breaking your gun dog. If your dog is part of your family and lives under your roof, house breaking is the first bit of training your gun pup needs. One dandy trick is to have the litter do their business on newspaper. This trains them from day one what newspapers are for. When we brought Cooper home I asked for a bit of soiled newspaper, which didn’t cost a cent extra. Back at home I placed the well-used newsprint outside where I wanted Cooper to go and he got the idea right off. The trick is too watch your pup closely so you can tell when he needs to relive himself, and then take him to the door and out to his newspaper. So you might ask what is the connection between house breaking dogs and election year politics? Well it all depends on what newspaper you want your gun pup to pee on. If you are liberal you might want your pointer weeing on the Wall Street Journal, maybe the Chicago Tribune or The Philadelphia Inquirer. If you have a conservative bent then the Boston Globe, Washington Post or New York Times should be your retriever’s newspaper of choice. Let us know what newspaper suits your dog's business.
Remember to take our hunter survey. I think 
If you think grouse have a problem with bobcats in NY (see 
