Question: I have purchased an electronic collar to train my German Short-haired Pointer with. He is fourteen months old and getting harder and harder to control in the field. Some days he will not come to me or let me catch him. Last week, my wife let him out and he ran away for four hours. Can you give me any advice to stop this? My vet says to neuter him.

Tracy D., Saginaw.

Answer: Take the money you were going to spend on neutering and buy an invisible fence system. This is a buried cable that, in conjunction with an electronic collar, will give the dog a warning buzzer when he reaches your property boundaries. If he does not heed the warning, he will be given a pre-determined electronic stimulus to make him avoid the boundaries and stay in your yard. This will allow you and your family to let the dog out without the fear of him running away, and might very well save his life. Then, you need to buy a separate electronic collar that will administer similar stimulus when you press a button, to enforce the ‘come back' in the field. Don't fret, this is very common in dogs his age. I would also recommend using a collar that has a remote beeper feature. This way, when you are in the field with him, you can press the remote beeper button to get an audible tone and determine where he is. These two systems will be useful throughout the dog's life. I recommend you set up an appointment with me for instruction on how to properly use the collar in the field. 

Charlie Linblade

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