​Collar wise

Is your dog a different animal when the e-collar is on verses when it’s not on ?
When you got to a competition does your dog act different ? When you air your dog with e-collar on does he air out properly ? If your dog is barking and you put a e-collar on him does he quit barking ? Is your dog super watery in trading then at a trial is very cheaty ? Is your dog super steady on training but wild at a competition ? If your dog fits in one or more of these categories he is most likely COLLAR WISE.
How does a dog become collar wise? Short answer is the trainer is over reliant on the e-collar. Let me also say that after 2-3 competitions all dogs are “collar wise”. We as a society are becoming extremely lazy. How often have u been calling your dog and he is ignoring you, then you get mad and finally catch him and slap the e-collar on him and start correcting him ? This is the absolutely worst thing you could do. Another scenario is in the airing yard or around the kennel your dog is not very obedient and you don’t try to enforce it much but when young o train you are super strict on obedience. Well obedience is obedience, no matter in the airing yard or the field. Another sure sign of a dog being collar wise is when you’re at a ft or ht and you have to pick him up for whatever reason and you yell “no here”does the dog either ignore you “collar wise”, “ come running back to you like nothing is wrong “collar wise”, or act like it’s in trouble ? The third option is the best response. Now, this dog is still collar wise, but it also respects the handler as the main form of discipline not some object hanging from his neck.
My dogs know from 8 wks on that I’m the one doing the correcting and I’m also the one paying them. I want my dogs to perform every single task with all their heart and soul. I want them to run blinds as fast as they run for a flyer. I can assure you that doesn’t come from the dog fearing the correction. That comes from the dog wanting to perform the task with his whole heart and soul. I think one of the biggest overlooked aspects in retriever training is a relationship with your dog. Pros are the worst at that because of the numbers we deal with.
I train a lot with no collar on. I also train a lot with collar on and no remote. Sometimes I have to walk all the way out into the field. I’m not saying I like it, but it’s very important for the dog to realize that I absolutely can still come correct you. Now obviously you must be smart about when you run with no collar. There are multiple forms of correction: e-collar, stick, prong, my hands, and also I use a ton of self discovery. Hope this helps some of you.