****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
Update August 2015We have now used this, almost every day, since December 2013 and it continues to be worth its weight in gold.Our German Shepherd is a working dog, and does good obedience and personal protection (he also does some agility), and lives indoors with our family.We learned the "low stim" training method of Lou Castle, and the recall, alone, is a life saver for dogs! Lou's simple, pain free method of instruction is amazing. The stimulation level for this 90b very strong Shepherd is a level 9. I cannot feel it on my fingers, but he senses it, and wherever he is, he comes to me.The obedience is so necessary, not only for liability of a dog who protects, but that we live on a main street with much traffic. He will recall, due to Lou Castle's method, from chasing a squirrel!The product, after heavy use in more than a year and a half, works like new.Having been out of dog training for many years, I am pleasantly surprised with the advances in training (so much is now 'marker' training with positive reinforcement!) and it is great to see that an American company has kept up with the changes!This is easy to use, and now the 'tingle' feeling is used at very low levels, some imperceptible to humans, to train the dog in positive steps. I love the "tapping" feature, which is nothing more than a vibration and buzz, similar to your cell phone, which can be used to painlessly disrupt the dog's errant behavior. We are currently using this vibration feature to stop unwanted teething on human hands and legs as well as food stealing. A verbal reprimand, with the quick vibration button, and the pup is learning quickly.When he is older, we will use the stimulation levels for the recall, which may save his life one day. Humane, this is an excellent tool for training and brining a dog under control. A dog under control is less likely to be hit by a car, or bite a neighbor's child. This company has designed the unit with the general public in mind, including waterproofing the remote and the collar itself, fitting it nicely to the human hand, and giving us the options of 100 levels, with easy changes. There are some excellent DVD trainings available at Amazon. The unit is not only well designed, but well made, and has quality feel to it. Customer Service has been excellent. This is a vastly improved tool from years ago.
