How do I test my collar to verify it is working?
Close the strap so it is as though your dog is wearing it. Hold the back of the strap, with the receiver hanging at the bottom of the collar loop, at 6 o’clock, and the points pointing up to 12 o’clock. Now walk into the yard holding the collar in this position. Be sure you are stooping over so you are holding the collar at the same level above the ground as it is when your dog is walking in the yard. Please do NOT hold the collar up as high as your own ears and try to hear it beep. It will not work that high off the ground since the signal is not adjusted to activate the collar much above your dog’s neck level. As you approach the edge of the yard, you should hear the collar begin to “beep-beep-beep”. This result tells you:
1. The receiver is working.
2. The batteries are good.
3. The wall-mounted transmitter is working.
4. The dog should be getting shocked if it goes too far.
Note: If you do not hear the collar beeping, please consider testing it on your own fingers. Touch both points on the collar while it is ticking or beeping. If you do not feel a shock, then there may be a problem with the receiver collar. Make sure you touch both points on the receiver at the same time when you hear the collar beeping. It will tell you definitively that the fence is or is not working. It is a good thing if when you test your collar at the signal field and it makes continuous “Beep-Beep-Beep” sound. However, just because the collar makes noise, it does not mean that the shock is turned up high enough to get the attention of your dog. Therefore, you may need to change the shock level OR tighten the collar or shorten the neck hair, or adjust where the collar is worn to a higher and tighter position on the neck or ALL THE ABOVE.
Also, sometimes the beep too soft for you to hear. This does not indicate that your collar is not working, only that you do not hear it. Chances are, your dog hears it just fine.
We have gotten calls that the collar is not working because the dog is not crying or whimpering when he gets too near the fence. This is not a fool-proof evidence that the fence is not working. Test it yourself.