Getting to Know Your New E-Collar in 10 Easy Steps

We work with the brand E-Collar Technologies because we believe it to be a safe, effective, valuable tool to help you communicate with your dog. But just like with any tool, there is a learning curve. And that learning curve not only includes the basic mechanics of how and when to use it, but also understanding its basic functions.

In this article, you are going to receive a to break down of the top ten most frequently asked questions we receive about the E-Collar Technologies Mini Educator ET-300. There is a complete video tutorial available for you, or you can jump to the topic that you specifically need help with. Use the table of contents below to navigate through all of the tutorials to get the information that you need.

Table of Contents

Getting to Know Your E-Collar

There’s a lot to learn as you start working with an e-collar. And while there is lots of content out there showing you how to safely introduce your dog to an e-collar and use it in everyday life, this video is all about how to actually get your e-collar working and troubleshooting if something isn’t quite right.

You will learn everything from how to turn it on, what to do if your number gets “stuck,” and when to actually have your dog wear the e-collar. Take some time to really get comfortable with each of these features before you start working with your new tool. This will build up your confidence and make sure you feel comfortable handling it before you even get started with your training. Then bookmark it for later so that you can come back anytime you need a refresher when your remote or e-collar aren’t behaving quite like they should.

How Do I Turn on My E-Collar?

It seems like a simple question, but there is a bit of finesse in turning on your e-collar. Watch the video for a visual tutorial, or follow the break-down below:

Turning Your Remote On and Off

To turn on the remote, flip the remote over to the back. There is a large black button in the middle with an “L” on it, with the words “On/Off/Light” to the left.
Hold down that button for about three seconds.
The display screen on the front of the remote will flash “On” briefly, and then your display light will turn on.
Your remote is now ready for use!
To turn the remote off, hold the “On/Off/Light” button down for about three seconds.
The display screen will briefly flash “Of” for off, and your display will go blank. Your remote is now off.

Turning Your E-Collar On and Off

When you look at the side of your remote, there is a little red dot about two inches down from the antenna. You will find a matching red dot on the side of your collar next to the LED light.
Tap the red dot on your remote to the red dot on your collar briefly, for about one second.
A green light will begin flashing on your collar. You are now ready to start using it!
To turn the collar off, tap those two red dots together briefly again, for about one second.
The light on the e-collar will flash red, and then there will be no lights. Your collar is now off until the next time you’re ready to use it.

What Do the Flashing Lights Mean?

Have you ever wondered why your e-collar and remote keep flashing lights at you? Nothing is wrong (usually). It’s just the system’s way of letting you know that it’s working, communicating, or that you might need to charge it. Let’s break down the colors for you:

Flashing Green, Orange, and Red Lights

Green flashing light on remote or e-collar: your device has a full charge. The light on the remote will only flash while the display is on. This conserves battery power. The light on the collar will flash continuously while your system is on.
Orange flashing light on remote or e-collar: your device’s battery is running low, and you likely only have a few hours of life left in it. Best to charge it soon so that you don’t have a dead battery.
Red flashing light on remote or e-collar: your device’s battery is about to die (give it ten minutes tops).

Solid Red Lights

When you tap or hold a button on your remote, you’ll notice that the light on the remote and the light on the e-collar both turn red and stay red until you release the button. This simply lets you know that they are communicating with each other, and that the e-collar is receiving a message from the remote.

If you tap a button and the e-collar light does not turn red, they are not communicating properly. This could mean that your e-collar is off and simply needs to be turned on again, that your battery is dead, or that something has changed with your settings preventing clear communication. If you know that you have a full charge but they aren’t communicating, pull out your owner’s manual, or download one from E-Collar Technologies’ website here.

When Should I Charge My E-Collar?

Check out the section above titled “What Do the Flashing Lights Mean?” to see when it’s time to charge your e-collar and remote. The lights will let you know when your battery is running low.

We recommend charging your e-collar anytime the lights start flashing orange. To do this, you simply flip up the dust cover on the back of the remote, and the underside of the e-collar, and plug in the charger that was included in your box. You can expect it to take a couple hours for your system to go from completely dead to fully charged.

When on the charger, your system lights will be a solid red, letting you know that they are charging. They will turn green when they are fully charged and ready to be used again.

We also love reminding people that E-Collar Technologies has a car charger. You don’t want to get to your favorite hiking spot only to realize you have a dead collar -so charge your system on the road so you have it ready when you get there. You can snag yours here.

What Does the Display Mean for My E-Collar?

If you’re not familiar with your new e-collar, the display can look like a bunch of jibberish. But getting comfortable with the different symbols can really help build your confidence and understanding of the tool.

The number in the middle of the screen: This is the stimulus level that your dog will feel when you tap the stimulus button (the black S button on the side). This number can be adjusted by moving the dial up or down.
“1D” flashing on top of the screen: This means that you have one dog collar paired with your remote. You can set up your system to communicate with two dog collars, and then there would be a flashing “1D” on top of the screen (first dog) and a flashing “2D” on the bottom (second dog). The default and most common is for your remote to be paired to only one collar.
“C” on the right of the screen: If you receive your e-collar through us, we will program your settings so that your remote will be in “Continuous Mode”. This is what the “C” represents. Continuous mode allows you to tap a button, or to hold it continuously. While your finger is on the button, your dog will receive a continuous stimulus. Once you release the button, your dog will no longer feel the stimulus.

How Do I Turn on My Collar’s LED Light?

We love the LED light feature! Not only can you see your dog during late-night potty runs, but you can feel safer knowing that people and cars can see your dog on evening walks. So make sure you know how to use this incredibly useful safety feature.

To turn on your LED light, you need to flip your remote over to the back and locate the big black button in the middle with an “L” on it, labelled “On/Off/Light”. Tap this button very briefly. The light on your e-collar should now flash a bright white light every few seconds. If you prefer a solid light, simply tap that “On/Off/Light” button again, and the light will turn solid. Tap the button a third time and your light will turn off.

How Do I Switch Between Tone and Vibrate Modes?

Your e-collar system offers some variety in how you can use the “T” button on the side of the remote next to the antenna: tone or vibrate. So figure out which you prefer, or learn how to switch between settings quickly to use whichever feature you need in the moment!

The “T” button can either provide a tone (a high-pitched beep that comes from the collar), or it can make the collar vibrate. If you train with us, your system will be setup with the tone feature, because we use this for recall with your dog (when your dog hears the beep, she will learn to come find you). So tap that button, and your collar will beep. But let’s say you want to try the vibrate feature.

To change modes, you need to first turn your stimulus level all the way down to zero (0). Turn the knob until the number on the display says (0). Next, you will need to tap the “On/Off/Light” button on the back of the remote, followed immediately by pressing the “T” button on the side of the remote. Your remote will beep once and then quickly flash an “A” on the screen. Now if you tap the “T” button, your collar will vibrate.

To switch back to the tone feature, you follow the same process: turn the display to (0), tap the “On/Off/Light” button, and then the “T” button. The remote will beep twice, quickly flash a “T” on the screen, and you will now be able to use the tone feature again.

*Please note that the vibrate feature is actually very startling for many dogs, and we don’t recommend using this feature unless you properly teach your dog what the sensation means and how to respond to it.

Help! My E-Collar Level is Locked!

Have you ever tried to change the number on your remote’s screen, only to have absolutely nothing happen? You’re not alone, and people usually think their system is broken when this happens. But it’s actually a really nice safety feature (assuming you know what’s going on).

Locking the stimulus level on your dog’s system ensures that you don’t accidentally go too high unnecessarily. We especially like to use this feature when remotes are hidden in our pockets during cold winter walks -we don’t want to accidentally bump the dial and go too high or too low. So that’s when we use this feature!

To lock your remote’s level, simply press down on the dial for about one second. The number on your screen will flash briefly, and now your level is locked! No matter how much you turn your dial now, the number will not change.

To unlock your number, follow the same process: press down on the dial for about one second until the number on the screen flashes. You can now change the level as necessary.

What Do All of the Buttons Do?

This is probably the most important question you should be asking when you start working with your new e-collar system. You want to become a pro at using all of its features, and that means getting very comfortable with each of its buttons and knowing exactly how they work. So let’s review what each button does.

Black “S” Button

This will be your most commonly used button on your remote. This button provides a stimulus to the collar at the level in the middle of the remote’s screen. You can change the stimulus level by rotating the dial on top of the remote. So anytime you need to provide information to your dog using your e-collar system, this should be your go-to option.

Red “S” Button

The red S button provides a boost to the stimulus level present on the screen. Your system is setup by default to add 5 to the level on the screen. So if your level is currently set to 10, tapping the red button would increase the level to 15. This is useful when needing to give your dog a little more information, but a jump of 5 can be too high for some dogs, so you can change the stimulus level to be any range of numbers from +1 to +30.

Black “T” Button

The black T button can switch between providing a beeping tone or a vibrate to your dog’s collar. Please see the section above titled “How Do I Switch Between Tone and Vibrate Modes?” if you would prefer using one feature over the other.

“On/Off/Light” Button

This button is on the back of your remote and allows you to turn your system on and off by holding it down for about three seconds. If you tap the button briefly, it will turn on your e-collar’s LED light (which is really useful for seeing your dog at night).

“M/C” Button

This is the small black button on the back of your remote labelled “M/C”, and it allows you to adjust your programmable settings between momentary and continuous. Depending on which setting you prefer, the functions of your buttons will change slightly. For our training purposes, your system will be setup to Continuous Mode, and you will see a corresponding “C” on the right of your screen representing this.

Can My Dog Wear the E-Collar in the Water?

Short answer: yes! Both your remote and your e-collar are waterproof and can join you on your swimming adventures (or when you get stuck in the rain). The remote can also float, so there’s no worry about accidentally dropping it on your next kayaking adventure.

The important thing to note here is that you need to take the collar off your dog after swimming so that the fur and skin can fully dry underneath. Allowing anything to sit wet for too long is going to cause discomfort -just think about how quickly you want to get out of your wet swimsuit into some dry, comfy clothes. Leaving the collar on wet skin too long can cause skin irritation, so make sure your pup is comfortable and wait until her skin is fully dry before you put her collar on again.

How Long Should My Dog Wear the E-Collar?

This is a great question, but unfortunately the answer is: it depends on your dog.

When you and your dog are first learning about the e-collar (what it means, when to use it, how to respond to it), she should really only be wearing it when you’re actively working with her. You can have her wear it at other times to just get comfortable and familiar with it, but you won’t be using it very often at first.

Once your dog understands the e-collar and you’ve gone through extensive training in teaching her all about it, then you can, and should, have her wear it pretty much anytime she’s out of the crate.

Think of it like a dog leash. Your dog wears her leash every time you go for a walk together. It’s second nature at this point. But she’s (hopefully) not pulling on it the entire time; it’s just a safety measure to make sure that IF you need it, you have it available. But the goal isn’t to rely on your leash to keep your dog from running away.

The e-collar should become the same thing. Your dog will wear it all the time, but you shouldn’t be dependent on it. It should be a back-up for moments where she’s struggling to listen, is over-stimulated, or needs an extra reminder.

But here’s the catch: you never know when those moments are going to come. So you always want to be prepared, should the need arise. You don’t want to try putting a leash on your dog after she’s run away, and in the same way, you don’t want to try to put your collar on your dog after you need to communicate with her.

So keep that collar on. If you are still relying on it pretty heavily, that means you’re still in training mode, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. But as you and your dog become more proficient with the system, it will become a back-up tool for those moments when you do really need it.

Conclusion

And that’s it! That’s everything you could possibly want to know about how the e-collar works. Well, not entirely. But those are the most frequently asked questions that we wanted to cover for you. If you want to see someone actually working with an e-collar on a dog, we recommend checking out the following videos. These videos are meant to teach and demonstrate the safe use of this tool, and to demonstrate how incredibly useful it can be in everyday life:

As always, please reach out to a trainer if you’re interested in training your dog on an e-collar. While it is a fantastic training tool, it does take time, experience, and practice to get really comfortable at using it. So if you’re going to invest time and energy into your dog’s training, please make sure you have the help you need to be successful long-term.