Day One
Keeping your pet on a leash, walk him/her up to a few flags at random without wearing the receiver. Hold the receiver next to your pet’s ear so he/she can hear the audible warning; shake the flag and say “NO”. Immediately bring your pet back into the safe area and praise.
You may put the receiver on and walk your pet around the boundary. If he/she wants to go into the correction area, do not give resistance. As soon as your pet receives a correction, bring him/her back into the safe are and give a lot of praise. This lets your pet know that this is how you want him/her to respond – by coming back into the safe area instead of bolting through. This can be done over the entire boundary for about 10-15 minutes.
Day Two and Three
While on a leash, put the receiver on your pet’s neck and repeat step 2 of day one. Walking around the boundary with your pet you may say “watch out” if he/she is getting close to the correction area, but don’t hold him/her back. Your pet still needs to learn this on their own. Praise your pet if he/she stops at the audible tone or if you pull him/her back into the safe area after being corrected.
Day Four through Six
Your pet should still be on a leash. Repeat day two and three, but this time have someone that your pet is familiar with stand on the other side of the boundary. Do not call for your pet as it is still early in the training and he/she will likely try and come to you. Stopping and talking at random intervals in normal, causal tones should be sufficient. This is showing your pet that even though someone is on the other side, he/she cannot go to greet them.
Day Seven through Nine
You may put the receiver on your pet and let him/her out in the yard without a leash. Stay outside with your pet and keep an eye on him/her just like you would for a small child.
Day Ten through Thirteen
You should be able to let your pet out with limited supervision.
Day Fourteen
Congratulations! Your pet should be trained and you should be able to let him/her out with no supervision. If you have having problems at any stage of this training, please give us a call at 406-548-1599 or e-mail us at dogwatchofmontana@gmail.com.
Flags
By the end of the second week you can start taking the flags down every other flag at a time. Wait a couple of days and repeat. Keep doing this until there are no flags left. Within a week, all flags should be removed.
The reason for this process is so your pet does not become dependent on the flags. Your pet needs to learn that the audible warning is the indication of their boundary limit. In addition, by slowly taking down the flags, it lets your pet know that the flags are not what is keeping him/her in the yard, it is the sound and correction. If you take all the flags down at once, your pet may think that it is safe to cross over the fence.
Taking Your Dog for a Walk
When you take the dog off your property, remove the collar and attach the leash. Always leave the property from the same spot in the yard, such as the driveway or sidewalk. Suggest that you "go for a walk" to encourage the dog to follow you.
The dog may hesitate the first few times you leave the yard. Another option is to set a towel or cloth down between the flags. Ask your dog to sit. Place the towel on the ground then cross through the flags with the dog on the leash. Give him a command to cross such as "good cross". Go for a walk. When you return, repeat the process and when you get to the other side of the flags, ask your dog to sit and pick up the towel. When you bring him in the house, snap the DogWatch® receiver collar on your dog and bring him out to the flags to remind him of the boundary.
In addition we are always available to help you and your dog make the most of your DogWatch® system.
Tips For Your Dog
DO NOT leave the receiver on your pet’s neck for more than 12 hours at a time. Doing so will result in Necrosis. This is the breaking down of skin cells (like bed sores) and is caused by constant rubbing.
- If you do notice sores developing, put Neosporin on the affected area, clean the metal prongs with rubbing alcohol and place the receiver in a different position on your pet’s neck.
If you forget to put your pet’s receiver on before letting him/her outside, do not panic
- If your pet has been trained, it is going to take some time before he/she tries to cross the boundary. However, do not make a habit of leaving the collar off as your pet will eventually forget the training without the receiver on to reinforce it.
If your dog receives a shock, do not bring him/her in immediately following
- You don’t want to condition your dog to retreat into the house for safety. You want him/her to learn to leave the correction area and continue playing in the yard.
When bringing your dog inside, do not take the collar off immediately
- You don’t want the dog to associate the collar with the corrections. The collar should be part of their daily routine.
- Since the doors can still be opened throughout the day, it is safer to keep the collar on to prevent the dog slipping outside without it.
- Don’t put the collar on immediately before going outside as this conditions them to believe the collar is the issue, instead of learning the boundaries of the yard.
What to do if your pet is not receiving a shock
- Check is if the collar is tight enough. Make sure the collar is snug enough to keep the posts in good contact with your pet's skin. A loose collar means your pet is not able to receive a correction.
- Check to see if the correction level has been changed.
- Use the magnet on the end of your battery tester to adjust the level of correction on your pet’s receiver. One long beep means the correction has been turned off and your pet is going to receive an audible tone only.
- Check to see if you have electricity running through the outlet that your transmitter is plugged in to.
- Check to see when the last time you changed your battery. You could have a dead battery.
What to do if you are having work done in your yard
If you are going to have work done in your yard and do not know where your wire is buried give DogWatch of Montana a call and we can come out to mark your wire. This is much less expensive than having to repair and replace your broken wire.
- If you have a broken wire and do not know where it is please call and let us know immediately. DogWatch of Montana has equipment to locate and repair broken wire. The longer you go without repairing, the greater the odds are that your pet may run through his/her boundary.
- If you have a broken wire and know where it is, you may want to attempt to repair it yourself. If doing so, please keep in mind that in Montana, the ground expands and contracts during hot and cold weather and wet and dry weather. With this in mind make sure the wire is spliced properly and that no moisture can reach the exposed copper as this will result in corrosion and further complicate the situation.