Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have an 8 yr old dog that we adopted from the shelter. He always had a number of annoying issues that we could tolerate in the past. But after moving to new house these issues started to get much worse very fast for some reason. I spent a lot of time on YouTube learning how to train and fix these issues. Joined subscription based online dog training. After about 1-2 months, I did manage to fix most issues using positive only counter conditioning methods and some small changes in the way we managed him. I managed to fix most of the issues like barking at door bells, door knocks, garage door opening, jumping on visitors, barking on leaSh at people on walks, barking when family members talk a little loudly at each other in the house etc. However there were still two issues what I could not fix using positive only methods. These were : 1. fence fighting as we shared backyard fence with 4 other neighbors. 2. Barking & lunging on leash at other dogs on walks (although he was fine with humans now) I thought very hard about using an eCollar on my pet. It was either this, put up with my dogs bad behavior and risk neighbors complaining for his fence fighting or return him to the shelter to be someone else's problem. I decided to purchase this eCollar as a last try and I couldn't be happier with it. Fence fighting was fixed in a few days using only level 6 to 9 and some very good timing. Before the eCollar when he started going beserk, I had to go out to the backyard in the night with a leash, try to chase down my dog, put a leash or carry him indoors. Aggression at other dogs on outdoor walks is now reduced significantly but I have only had the collar for about 2-3 weeks. I am also using the eCollar for improving the heel and recall outdoors. Adding the eCollar for his heel only needs a working stim level 2 outdoors and I can get him to walk right by my knees with occasional ecollar pressure at level 2. As an indication, when I put the collar on my own body, I only barely start to feel the stim at a level 8. It is more of a feedback to my dog that he is going out of the heel zone and needs to come back in. Certainly not a punishment at all. For recall outdoors on a long leash I work mostly under level 10 to get his attention for him to come back when he is really distracted. It took me a long time to arrive at a decision to purchase the eCollar but I am now fully convinced I made the right choice. I took my time to learn how to use it properly first. After using it for about 2-3 weeks, I did not break the bond I have with my best friend, we are still good pals. In fact it think it made our bond stronger as he is a lot more in tune with me where he used to turn a deaf ear in the past. I find he is learning to leave the walks up to me and he just needs to follow that's all. I now think there is hope my dog can go off-leash maybe in a month or two. As soon as there is no aggression at other dogs, and his heel and recall is full proof with heavy distractions, I will take him off leash but with just the eCollar for safety. If you are like me, struggling with dog issues and are thinking of returning your dog to the shelter, DON'T. Give this a try. I strongly recommend you first take the time to learn how to use it responsibly on our best friends. There are a lot of good quality free videos available on YouTube. The 2 Youtube video series playlist that were most useful to me are : 1. How To: E-Collar Training! By Take the Lead K9 Training 2. Penny's Training Camp Journey By Liberty K9 Dog Training & Rehabilitation Or seek help from a professional balanced dog trainer. As for the product quality, while a bit pricey, I found to be very good quality. I did not have any battery issues as mentioned by others. Battery last about 2-3 days before I have to charge it. Also did not have any issues with inconsistent stimulation levels mentioned by others. But I do ensure I fit it snugly on my dog every time. As I said, take the time to learn how to use it properly to get the best use of it and to treat your dog humanely and respectfully.