E-collar education
Why we teach the owner the tools
Over a board and train program your dog learns that a slip lead, a training collar or a remote collar means something clear and fair. Then the program ends and the equipment comes home with a person who has never held it. That gap is where careful training can come undone, so every board and train ends with a handover lesson and free follow-up sessions.
Last reviewed October 4, 2026
Leash in your hand
A tool you cannot read is a liability, not a shortcut.
Every skill we teach starts with markers and rewards, so the dog understands the behaviour before any tool is layered on. That order matters for the owner too. If you only see the finished product, the tool can look like a volume knob. If you understand how it was introduced, you see it as a way of saying something the dog already knows, and you can use it with the same timing and fairness.
The handover lesson is where the equipment moves into your hands, with your dog in front of you and us coaching. You hear what your dog has been taught each tool means and how it was introduced. The free follow-up sessions are there for whatever slips once you are home alone with it. Functional Off-Leash lists owner education on using every tool properly as an inclusion for exactly this reason.
- Skills taught with markers first
- Tools introduced to the dog properly
- Handover lesson with you holding the leash
- Free follow-ups when something slips
Foundation program kit
The slip lead and training collar that come home with you.
Puppy Fundamentals and On-Leash Foundations both send a slip lead and a training collar home with the dog. Neither looks complicated, which is why people often assume they need no teaching. A slip lead held well gives the dog clear information; held carelessly, it can stay tight and tell the dog very little. The training collar is matched to your dog during the program, and the handover lesson is where you ask how it is meant to be used.
On-Leash Foundations adds lifetime phone and email support, so a question about the collar months later still has somewhere to go. Puppy Fundamentals includes a free follow-up session within 60 days, early enough to talk through a slip lead that keeps sliding or a puppy who has started to brace against it. The equipment is included in the price; the skill of using it is included in the program, and those are not the same thing.
Asked and answered
The questions people ask us.
Do you show me how to use the e-collar before my dog comes home?
Yes. The handover lesson puts the remote in your hand with your dog in front of you, and we coach your handling. The free follow-up sessions are there for the questions that come up once you have used it on your own.
What tools are included in the board and train price?
Puppy Fundamentals and On-Leash Foundations include a slip lead and training collar to take home. Functional Off-Leash includes an Educator remote collar, and Advanced Off-Leash includes a remote collar as well. Each one comes with owner teaching, not just a hand-off.
Why can't I just buy the same collar and figure it out myself?
You can buy one, but your dog learned what it means through a specific introduction, and a mismatch between how it was taught and how it is used can confuse the dog. Learning it alongside your dog at the handover keeps the message consistent.
What if I'm nervous about using a prong or e-collar on my own dog?
Say so at the consultation, because tools are matched to the individual dog and to the owner who will hold them. If a slip lead does the job for your dog, that is what we recommend.
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Learn the tools with us
Book a consultation and we will talk through which tools suit your dog and how you will learn them.
From real owners
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Real Northline dogs