Educator Pro 1/2 Mile Dog Training Collar with Ergonomic Remote, Safe Humane Vibration Stimulation, Pavlovian Tone, Waterproof, Odorproof Biothane Collar, Night Light, Rechargeable, 1 Dog, Black

This unit combines the best of the Educator mini and the Dogtra models I've previously owned. I rate it more highly than either of those or the high-end Sportdog 1825 I also own.Size and Range - The receiver is the same size as the Educator Mini I have. It is the smallest I've seen, and that's a good thing. I tested my Mini and found it to be very reliable at up to half a mile even when the transmitter was on the ground and with obstacles blocking line of sight. I have not had a problem with range at all.Transmitter and functions - I prefer the candybar transmitter to the Mini's round thing. I EDC my transmitter, and the candybar and its clip are very compatible for this purpose. I think I might prefer a longer and narrower clip. I may install a Nite Ize clip on it. Compared to the Mini, this Pro system offers Tone, Ramp, Ramp+, iMode, multiple dogs, and programmable buttons. All this is useless to me. It may work just fine for someone else's program, but I don't use it. I thought I'd like Ramp, but I don't. I use Vibrate the most, and I use stimulate rarely. I set it to Continuous, but use it for positive punishment (+P) so it is typically delivered as Momentary. I just like having the ability to stim longer if needed, but I do not use it for negative reinforcement (-R) at all. I can see how the tone could be useful, but I prefer a whistle (I EDC that too).Light and Continous Vibrate - The light is difficult to use on this model. It's only accessible through menus, compared to the simple button on the Mini. However, I never really used the light anyway. The "patented" iMode seems like it is also difficult to use. A Dogtra is probably easier if you use a collar this way. I don't. I lock my levels in and use V, C and C+ and that's it. I was glad to get continuous Vibrate with this. I don't think much of the Tapping thing which just turns vibrate on and off. I could do that with my finger if I thought it worked better.Battery and Charger - the battery life seems excellent on the transmitter, and fair on the receiver. I believe the receiver battery is the same as the Mini. It needs to be charged every day to be dependable. I really like the micro USB charging connector on the transmitter. Like most people, I have plenty of those around the house and in the vehicles. Unfortunately, the collar receiver doesn't use it. Although it uses the same 5V source, it has a coaxial type connector. This seems more durable than the twin prong connector of the Mini, but it adds yet another type of charge connector I need to have. Blah.Collar - I throw it away and use a piece of 3/4" elastic sewn in a continuous loop with nylon thread. I cut and sew it to the length to achieve just the right amount of very light tension. This tension keeps the contacts on the skin while allowing the collar to stretch. It is more comfortable than a tight, inflexible collar, and more effective than a loose collar. This is why the bungee collars were devised. However, I found there is no need for the buckles. My elastic collars slip over the head. My only wish is that the receiver disassemble in a way that a continuous loop could be fitted through it. Then I could use a silicone band provided I had one of the right diameter (for my dog, I do).My wish list would be:micro USB charge connector on receiversmaller transmittercollar retainer loops that open with screwslonger and narrower clip on the transmitter more similar to those on good tactical folding knives.

Excellent collar, wish the actual collar was nicer, so I recommend purchasing the upgraded version separately with the elastic bit and the quick release. Programming is about as simple as you get get, and works also on a MacBook, thumbs up there. This has some very nice options, like following the warning beep with a mild shock, etc. I will say, I am shy of using this much, as I think anyone who’s inexperienced SHOULD be. Why? Because I think this is a terribly powerful training aid, but NOT something you use as a punishment for bad behavior. It’s not magic... I watched some videos on YouTube that were very helpful to demystify the best way to use these... it’s a simple way to “undistract” your pup, and then is used to reinforce with positive rewards... I dunno, like I say, I’m taking it very slow, and hope others do, too. As an example, if you use this to suppress barking, and you use a higher stimulation setting, you can really harm your dog mentally... dogs bark, it’s natural, it’s in their dna. So, you should use caution and make sure you’re not doing more harm than good. These, used incorrectly, can lead to serious issues downstream, generating fear and aggression behaviors... hope this makes sense... also, I had an issue pairing the collar and called the company directly - the support I received was fantastic... so, great tool, good company, just sharing my personal warning, too.

This product was recommended by our trainer. We use it typically during training sessions, when he is out and when we have company. When applied properly it is very effective and has helped with training him immensely.

Worked perfectly for the first year and now in ourbsecond year of ownership, the collars have started to malfunction. The battery will lose charge very quickly and some of the functions have stopped working (vibrate). I'm annoyed because of how much I've spent on this two dog unit when I was perfectly happy with the Petrainer units I had been using for over 5 years without any issues and at a small fraction of the cost. I'll be reaching out to Educator to get this fixed since we are within their 2 year warranty and will update this review accordingly.

I hardly ever write reviews, but this product deserves it.Living in Brazil, I first tried a local product (import is too expensive here), to get to know such a device and see if it would help us with our (enthusiastic) labrador. Loved the use, not the quality of that one, we had to charge it every night and the shock level was never the same (one time you would press 5 and get no reaction, the other time on 5 the dog would yelp, not a good thing). After searching for reviews on good e-collars made in Europe or the USA, I ended up with buying the e-collar through amazon during my vacation in New York.I absolutely love it! My trainer here in Rio now calls it "santa maquininha" which translates loosely into the little devine machine. It is durable, sturdy, have not yet had to recharge after already two weeks of use (only outside, four walks a day) and most importantly: reliable. I checked the shock level on my own hands and it is always consistent. Great that we could also reprogram the buttons, since we mostly use the vibrate setting and the red button is vibrate now.The only negative: I wish the producer could overhaul their information system, right now it's messy, too much information on too many different spots, videos are very short and vague. It would be handy to give a short and friendly video tutorial for beginners. For me, I could now write my own one-pager for my wife to use it as well, I would say that the good people at e-collar should be able to do this as well. Short: just advise a first time user that not all needs to be understood, set the four buttons on a safe and user friendly setting and tell them not to be too overwhelmed by all the settings and lights and information shown on the display.