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Chris Yielding | https://backwatercypress.com/ | All Hunting Articles

Posted 08/24/2025

When you have trained multiple dogs, once you find what works for you, it is natural to stick with the same method for each dog you train. If the way you introduce them to gun fire works, why change? If your drills for steadiness are successful, keep it up. That was the way I always felt. But as it turns out, we can get into that mentality and it is extremely difficult to break out of it when the time comes that we need to.

That is the situation I found myself in with a beautiful golden retriever, Violet. She was a sweet, loving girl that was full of energy. Her owners warned me that she was “wild and would be a challenge to get under control”. Boy, were they right!

Same Drill with No Results

When I walked her at heel, using the slip lead that I have always used, she refused to stop pulling against it. This has always worked so I had the mindset that it would work with her, just maybe needed more time and reps with it. After a few weeks, she showed MINIMUM improvement. She seemed to know what I was wanting her to do; she just flat-out wouldn’t do it.

I made the mistake of trying her walking at heel with me not holding the rope and seeing how she would do with a little bit of freedom. I kicked myself for this attempt. It took about 10 minutes for me to catch her after she bolted away from me! It had been well over a month that I had fought this same battle with Violet in each session with practically no progress made.



Breaking Away from My System

But finally, one day I tried something new. I have trained a lot of dogs, and I have pretty much always used the same level on my e-collar. It goes up to seven, but I typically leave it at two. That works for almost all of my dogs. And the last 20 or so dogs I have trained have needed it at that exact level, helping to train me even more to stay at that level.

Now, I am not one for using the collar very much or at very strong nicks with my dogs. But I finally decided I had had enough, and I bumped it up to five. All of a sudden, she was a different dog! As soon as I used it at the higher level, she started obeying me and listening to my commands. She didn’t act like it hurt, just that she was going to listen to me now. I still didn’t use it too much, but just using it some let her know I was in charge.



She Knew What I Wanted All Along

She showed me that she knew the commands and what they meant. But up until now, she didn’t care one bit about following them. She was tough enough that the level two on the e-collar didn’t faze her. Most dogs would come to attention with the two, but she wasn’t most dogs. I had it ingrained so much in my head that level two was what was needed, what was ALWAYS needed, that I hadn’t even thought about changing my training up and that she might require a something different from most other dogs.

Always Learning as a Trainer

By using the higher charge level, I got Violet lined out and following commands with her obedience just like she was supposed to. But she taught me something important during all of this. She taught me to be aware that if things are not working like they should, don’t be afraid to change it up a bit. Start out with your normal, successful routine, but if things don’t shake out like they are supposed to, don’t be afraid to make bigger adjustments. That might just be the ticket to overcoming the challenge the dog is giving you.

I will still start my dogs out on level two, but I will have the possible modification in my back pocket, if needed. I would not have wasted a few weeks with Violet if I had not been so linear with my thinking on the e-collar and how to use it. Going forward, with all skills and drills, not just collar work, I will be ready to adjust the training if needed. Thank you, Violet.

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