Kori Bigge

Kodee is a housedog, and although we live on 15 acres just outside of town, our property is not fenced, and we live on a busy road. When I take Kodee outdoors, he is always on-leash, unless we are out back for exercise (farther from the road), and then he is on a long-line. This is how he gets his "running time" in. Frisbee, fetch, etc is on a long-line. However, I do not trust his recall 100%, so I am careful that he doesn't get too far from me, even on the long-line (it's a 30 foot line). Our neighbors have horses, and cattle. So far Kodee has never shown an interest in the livestock, but if he did, I am afraid he could get away from me, long line or not.

I would also like him to have more freedom to run around possibly at the park, the lake, etc. I just don't like that he isn't allowed to run very far, b/c of safety issues. I do feel like he gets enough exercise, but he could always get more. Would an e-collar be a good tool for me in this situation? If so, which one would be the best (I would rather pay the money for a good quality one - you get what you pay for, usually). Also, how long would it take to improve his recall on an e-collar? I'm assuming I could use it for corrections for anything, if he was off-lead, but I don't want to screw up and confuse him.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I would love to work w/Kodee off-lead, but I am terrified for his safety. He got hit by a car once several months ago, when I let him follow me from out back to go into our house. Normally what I do is take his long-line off, then take him into the house on a leash. About 3-4 times I skipped putting him on leash to go in, and just let him follow us off-lead. (It's not a very far distance to walk with us). About the 4th time I did this, he took off and ran across the road. When I followed to get him, he darted into the road and ran into the side of a passing car. Knocked him unconscious, but no other injuries. Needless to say, I don't want this to ever happen again).

I guess my main worry is whether an e-collar would be more reliable (if he was trained properly) than a long-line. If I decide to get an e-collar, I would probably order it from Leerburg, along w/this DVD:

http://leerburg.com/318.htm