Gia @ 12wks

[Cane31]

She is cute. But I have to agree with above. She is way too young for a prong. I appreciate that your trainer has lots of experience training K9's but has he ever worked with a Corso? I have MANY friends who train their CC to high levels of IPO/Ring sports and none would advocate using a prong on such a young pup. These as well are people who train for police departments and military. They do use prong collars but on older dogs for polish. I have nothing against using a prong correctly, on an age appropriate dog, they are a very good tool. I however have not needed for my dogs as this breed has such a huge desire to please compulsion techniques are not required. I can walk both dogs loose leash past any and all distractions on a flat collar and lead, as they WANT to please me, not that they will receive a correction if they don't. Training a Malinois or German Shepard Dog (typical breeds for police and military) are VERY different then a CC. Too much correction at a young age will NOT benefit you in the long run with this breed. The best method is positive reinforcement at this time, this breed is owner/handler sensitive, and responds very well to that. Sorry if this offends you, but any trainer who tells me to put a prong collar on my 12 week old puppy I would be running far and fast from.

i appreciate the advice Cody but she loves traing with the prong and we have had great results with it. Our trainer has worked with many CC and large dominant breed dogs so he really does know what he is doing. I know everyone has their own ways of training and opinions on issues and that is great but we will keep on using the prong because she is doing amazing with it. Thanks again for the advice and opinions!!

 

[Ak3179]

i appreciate the advice Cody but she loves traing with the prong and we have had great results with it. Our trainer has worked with many CC and large dominant breed dogs so he really does know what he is doing. I know everyone has their own ways of training and opinions on issues and that is great but we will keep on using the prong because she is doing amazing with it. Thanks again for the advice and opinions!!

i guess my husband wanted to give his two cents.lol

 

[Ak3179]

Wow!!! Maybe we should move this to the training thread

 

[mx5055]

Wow!!! Maybe we should move this to the training thread

I'm sorry; I know you were just originally posting pics of Gia, and probably not expecting this debate. One of the "faults" lol of a dog forum...we all freely offer our opinions (and I'm probably one of the worst). I said what I believe to be true; that being said, I am very happy for you that Gia is doing so well, and I certainly support your decisions to do what you think is best regarding Gia's training! And, like I said originally, Gia is quite lovely

 

[Ak3179]

I'm sorry; I know you were just originally posting pics of Gia, and probably not expecting this debate. One of the "faults" lol of a dog forum...we all freely offer our opinions (and I'm probably one of the worst). I said what I believe to be true; that being said, I am very happy for you that Gia is doing so well, and I certainly support your decisions to do what you think is best regarding Gia's training! And, like I said originally, Gia is quite lovely

thank you so much! I really do appreciate your opinion and really enjoying what everyone has to say no matter if it is not want I want to hear. A forum is supposed to be a place where people can voice their opinions and if no one did it would not be much of a forum.

 

[Alla Zilberg]

The puppy is absolutely beautiful! What kennel is it from?

But the prong collar on such a young pup??? Has your trainer TITLED any corsos? In what sports? If he is so good, he should have shown you how to properly fit the prong on a dog...I would look for another trainer before the puppy is ruined. strictly my opinion

 

[Ak3179]

The puppy is absolutely beautiful! What kennel is it from?

But the prong collar on such a young pup??? Has your trainer TITLED any corsos? In what sports? If he is so good, he should have shown you how to properly fit the prong on a dog...I would look for another trainer before the puppy is ruined. strictly my opinion

colar fits perfect and not worried at all my pup will be ruined. Thanks though!

 

[Alla Zilberg]

colar fits perfect and not worried at all my pup will be ruined. Thanks though!

No, the collar does not fit perfectly and the fact that you don't know this as your trainer has not explain you the basics speaks volumes about your trainer.

The collar should sit high on a dog's neck right behind the ears. Please see here:
Leerburg Dog Training | How to Fit a Prong Collar

Too bad you are not worried the pup might be ruined, as its a nice looking puppy!

 

[Ak3179]

No, the collar does not fit perfectly and the fact that you don't know this as your trainer has not explain you the basics speaks volumes about your trainer.

The collar should sit high on a dog's neck right behind the ears. Please see here:
Leerburg Dog Training | How to Fit a Prong Collar

Too bad you are not worried the pup might be ruined, as its a nice looking puppy!

he will be fine, thanks!!

 

[Amanda F.]

What a precious face! She is a cutie for sure I am also an advocate for the prong collar. I used to think it was some sort of midevil torture collar lol but now I know otherwise. We started using it on Parker when he was about 1 1/2 years old. He had developed an uncontrollable urge to attack any and every dog that he could see or hear. He was well socialized but once he hit his teen years he decided that he no longer wanted to be social. If fitted properly and used correctly it can be a great tool. I haven't used on one a pup so young though. I think I started Jax on it at about 6 months. They both run to me if I get the collars out. I agree with Ruby though, its probably just because they know they are getting some one on one time with me. But my boys do associate the prong collar with positive experiences.

 

[Amanda F.]

Not sure where I got "Ruby", meant to say I agree with "Cindy".

 

[Iymala]

Your pup is beautiful and I am very happy you have found a trainer that you have confidence in. I have experience using Prong Collars and E-Collars (shock collars for the sensationalists) with experienced trainers that have titled dogs. One thing I have learned is that not every training method works for every dog be it pure treat based training, positive reinforcement only training, prong, clicker, e-collar, etc. There are as many different training methods as there are trainers, and when used correctly with the proper tempered dogs can have great results.

You have obviously associated the prong with a positive and your puppy is not fearful of it but looks forward to training. This is fantastic and I fear people who only associate the prong with a method of pain are mislead. I have seen many trainers use it as a quick method of communication or shape behaviors much like a collar pop. I dont think many can really convince themselves that a flat collar pop is "painful" but it is an attention getter. I am assuming( which I could be wrong) that your trainer starts the collar early to get the dog used to training on it while doing basic obedience commands. This follows through later as the dog does more advanced commands that require shaping. At that point the dog would already understand the communication that is being delivered with the prong collar to help better shape behaviors.

I think too many people just associate the prong with owners who are struggling with walking a dog. That the only way to use a prong is to deliver pain. This is not the case and just like any trianing tool can be misunderstood and misused. You are not going to "ruin" your dog if you are using a training method properly and your dog is responding well to that method. She is not fearful, cowed, stressed, etc. She performs commands eagerly once she understands what is being asked of her and the training tool is used to shape behaviors not punish.

 

[Francesco]

She is very beautiful and sweet

 

[Ak3179]

Your pup is beautiful and I am very happy you have found a trainer that you have confidence in. I have experience using Prong Collars and E-Collars (shock collars for the sensationalists) with experienced trainers that have titled dogs. One thing I have learned is that not every training method works for every dog be it pure treat based training, positive reinforcement only training, prong, clicker, e-collar, etc. There are as many different training methods as there are trainers, and when used correctly with the proper tempered dogs can have great results.
You hit everything spot on!!! Our trainer did start out using it early for the basic Obedience training that we are working on right now. She is doing great and we couldn't be any happier with her. Thanks so much for the info and the very nice comment!!
You have obviously associated the prong with a positive and your puppy is not fearful of it but looks forward to training. This is fantastic and I fear people who only associate the prong with a method of pain are mislead. I have seen many trainers use it as a quick method of communication or shape behaviors much like a collar pop. I dont think many can really convince themselves that a flat collar pop is "painful" but it is an attention getter. I am assuming( which I could be wrong) that your trainer starts the collar early to get the dog used to training on it while doing basic obedience commands. This follows through later as the dog does more advanced commands that require shaping. At that point the dog would already understand the communication that is being delivered with the prong collar to help better shape behaviors.

I think too many people just associate the prong with owners who are struggling with walking a dog. That the only way to use a prong is to deliver pain. This is not the case and just like any trianing tool can be misunderstood and misused. You are not going to "ruin" your dog if you are using a training method properly and your dog is responding well to that method. She is not fearful, cowed, stressed, etc. She performs commands eagerly once she understands what is being asked of her and the training tool is used to shape behaviors not punish.

You hit everything spot on!!! Our trainer did start out using it early for the basic Obedience training that we are working on right now. She is doing great and we couldn't be any happier with her. Thanks so much for the info and the very nice comment!!

 

[Luckshire]

I WAS skeptical of the prong collar until I tried it on myself first. Didn't hurt. I have seen too many dogs taking damage from traditional choke collars (which are allowed at AKC shows). And... you need a 'special' collar for training so the dog knows when they are going to work vs play.

 

[Cody]

Oh I have nothing against prong collars, they are a very useful training tool when used correctly.

 

[Ben Curtis]

She is amazing.

Food for thought:
I try to train my pup only with my words and hand signals. I try to train him with no leash or restraint of any kind. This is obviously not possible everywhere. My point is that I think less is more. Tomorrow I may need to move up to a leash more, and then maybe someday a collar like what you have, but I have those options to move up.
My trainer has a beginning class, and then if you pass that level, the advanced class is completely off leash. That is something I strive to get to. In our beginners the leashes are only to stop issues between dogs, but are not used in training at all. We use our hand signals and voices, and I can not imagine what good such an aggressive collar would be. Can you enlighten me? Just wondering.