We have a different make collar, but they probably all are similar. We've had very good results using the colllar with our dog, who I affectionately call Mr. Hyde. We almost never have to use shock on her because she knows what happens if she ignores vibrate ;-). So what you want to do if possible is to set up, or approach the bad behavior you want to stop, and have the remote ready to go. Right as your dog starts getting into it, first go with the verbal no, then quickly the vibrate, followed quickly by a nick. This all has to happen while the bad behavior is taking place - if you do it 3 seconds later, your dog will say "what the he||||| are you zapping me for". Getting everything done may be tough in some situations - you may need to start the process early, knowing what's about to take place. But after a couple times, your dog will learn that after vibrate comes shock, and they do remember that really well. I think these things are great - I let my dog wander, but she never gets far enough away because she knows she has to get back before the "third event" happens. She almost always comes back on the verbal, but if not, and I have to use vibrate, she comes FLYING over the hill. If you use it correctly from the start, you'll rarely ever need to use shock.