Thanks. I'll check it out.
Sportdog 400S e-collar
Good morning. I was wondering if I could get some of your help with an ecollar. I just bought the Sportdog 400S ecollar to work with my yellow lab. I bought it on Saturday, charged it for 24 hours as instructed, and used it for the first time on Sunday. The collar has 8 levels. He responds well to 1 or 2 depending on the situation. I've been working with him for about 30-45 minutes twice a day for Sun, Mon, and Tues. He's been very obedient and responsive, and has really seemed to enjoy it . . . no complications. We went out this morning and I could not get him to respond. It was if the collar wasn't working. I rechecked the fit, and just like the DVD said, it was tigh enough to stick one finger under ther collar. So, I went up to 3, and he still wasn't responding. I finished the walk and took him back inside. We were in the elevator, and I told him to sit. He didn't respond, I used the collar, now on 3, and he yelped.
The collar is supposed to be good for 20 hours, and the transmitter for 40, on a full charge. I haven't charged since Sunday, but like I said, I've only used it about 4.5 hours, and I turn it off after each use.
I'm wondering if this needs to be charged more frequently, or maybe this transmitter is weak (though I was only 25-30 feet away before the elevator). Has anyone used this collar? I'm wondering if its an inferior collar, and maybe I'd be better with Dogtra or something else. The people at customer service weren't very helpful.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Pete :help:
The collar is supposed to be good for 20 hours, and the transmitter for 40, on a full charge. I haven't charged since Sunday, but like I said, I've only used it about 4.5 hours, and I turn it off after each use.
I'm wondering if this needs to be charged more frequently, or maybe this transmitter is weak (though I was only 25-30 feet away before the elevator). Has anyone used this collar? I'm wondering if its an inferior collar, and maybe I'd be better with Dogtra or something else. The people at customer service weren't very helpful.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Pete :help:
1 - 6 of 11 Posts
I charged it yesterday for 12 hours (which is supposedly the full charge time). I checked it out on the light tester they supply, and the tester lit up. So I tried it again. I put on the collar, checked the fit, pulled the neck skin down to help the probes reach the skin, then had him run around a bit to make sure it was seated / fitted properly. All looked good. I put it on 1, and got no visible sign of stimulation. Then tried 2. Nothing. I wasn't going to 3 again.
I took him for a walk, and then tried working off lease again. The same thing happened. The 2 setting wasn't doing anything, then all of a sudden he yelped.
I learned from a guy on the hunting dog forum that had the same model that he had problems with surges, etc. I think this might be the problem.
I'll try checking about the fur getting in the way, but I'm not sure how to fix that. He's a lab, so it's not like he's a long haired dog. I had it fit pretty snug.
I've seen a lot of guys position the collar on the side of the neck, rather then underneath. Is this a better option?
I took him for a walk, and then tried working off lease again. The same thing happened. The 2 setting wasn't doing anything, then all of a sudden he yelped.
I learned from a guy on the hunting dog forum that had the same model that he had problems with surges, etc. I think this might be the problem.
I'll try checking about the fur getting in the way, but I'm not sure how to fix that. He's a lab, so it's not like he's a long haired dog. I had it fit pretty snug.
I've seen a lot of guys position the collar on the side of the neck, rather then underneath. Is this a better option?
I'm in Alexandria. That would be great. I'm going to give this collar one more shot this evening. If it is not working I'm going to switch collars. I think either this model, or this particular collar, may have some bugs. I know McKee has a big dog training area. Let me know whenever you want to go.
Great. Just let me know.
Pete
Pete
Just wanted to thank everyone for the advice. I returned the collar, and exchanged it for another, same model and brand. I wanted to see if it was a defective unit, or just the model/brand. Same issues. I upgraded to the Dogtra 3500 Super X. Wow, what a difference. Consistent corrections, no pain caused to my buddy, and no having to choke him to get the prongs to make contact. I'm hooked on Dogtra now.
I think one of the major issues is that the Dogtra collar has all metal prongs. The SD collar has plastic prongs with tiny metal tips. This makes getting a consistent stimulus very difficult.
I think one of the major issues is that the Dogtra collar has all metal prongs. The SD collar has plastic prongs with tiny metal tips. This makes getting a consistent stimulus very difficult.
1 - 6 of 11 Posts
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