Let me tell you how e-collar training saved my dogs’ lives and why it’s become such a game-changer in our adventures. First off, I’m a big fan of e-collars. At home, my dogs roam free, collar-less, but the moment we’re heading out—whether it’s hiking, biking, camping, or hitting the local farmers market—they’re geared up. They go everywhere with me, and that e-collar is a lifeline. Honestly, I rarely have to use it now. My dogs are so well-behaved, I barely need to press a button. But I believe in being prepared; I’d rather have it and not need it than find myself in a situation where I desperately need it and don’t have it. And let’s be real—I’ve never wished my dogs were less behaved in public! I don’t worry about what others think when they see the collars; all I ever hear are compliments about how polite and well-mannered they are.
Now, let me tell you a story about a Saturday trip to the farmers market that really drove home just how crucial that e-collar can be.
We were biking back from the market, my dogs trotting happily beside me, when I spotted a girl approaching with three reactive dogs. I moved us up onto some rocks, giving her space to pass. My dogs, trained and focused, completely ignored the other dogs. We crossed the street, thinking we were in the clear, and that’s when it happened: a flash of white fur came charging straight at us. One of the girl’s dogs had slipped loose and was making a beeline for one of my dogs.
In seconds, chaos erupted. My dog tried to avoid the dog, and darted under my bike, and my male dog instinctively moved around the bike to hold the attacker down. But then it got worse. The girl couldn’t grab her dog because her two others were lunging at us, and before I could even react, her second dog slipped its collar and charged. My other second female dog corrected it with a snap, and it backed off, but we were one slip away from an 6 dogs all-out brawl in the middle of a busy street.
With leashes tangled and me still clipped to the bike, I had no choice but to free my dogs. I quickly unclipped them to get untangled, and at that moment, the e-collar became our lifeline. I instructed my two female dogs to lay down beside the bike, and despite the chaos of lunging and barking from the other dogs, they stayed put, calm and steady. Meanwhile, I called my male dog back, and just like that, he released and returned to me—only for the loose dog to attack again. Now the scuffle had spilled into the second lane of a busy six-lane street, with cars whizzing by. I had to recall him again, hoping he’d come straight to me and avoid the oncoming traffic. Thankfully, he did, running back to me even with the other dog snapping at his heels. Finally, the girl managed to grab her dog before another round could break out. All my dogs remained in a calm, off-leash down, as if it were just another day.
Without that e-collar, I would’ve had no way to reach my dog in that mess. He was unleashed, collar ripped off, yet with a simple touch of a button, he listened and came back. The e-collar saved our lives that day—there’s no doubt about it. It gave me a way to call him back when he was at his most vulnerable, and that’s why I’ll never head out without it.
