What's your thoughts on using a prong collar?????

[OdinBB]

Well I think it's time to move onto a different collar, one that Odin will respond to. Now we are using a gentle leader and up until recently it worked really well for us. Now he is not responding well to it and I feel like I am jerking his head too much and I do not want to hurt him. I have been reading up on the prong collar and what I've read is that it is completely safe as long as you use it properly. I have not taken him on a walk for almost two weeks now because he is not responding to the correction especially when small dogs are around. We have a fairly large yard so he gets daily exercise, just not his walks. Please share your thoughts on prong collars and if there is something else out there that may work better let me know, I am open to suggestions.

 

[fila4me]

Forever Prong collar user,lover,advocate with my Filas.
My dogs hardly ever get corrected and the come running if I even go near where they are kept.

 

[OdinBB]

That is good to know, Odin HATES the gentle leader when I get it out he runs away....... Thank you fila4me!!

 

[Al and Julie]

Forever Prong collar user,lover,advocate with my Filas.
My dogs hardly ever get corrected and the come running if I even go near where they are kept.

same here

Sent from my U8666-51 using Tapatalk 2

 

[karennj]

I personally prefer a head halter but agree a lot of dogs hate them. What exactly is the issue your having with small dogs? Have you worked with a trainer at all on behavior modification? If your going to go the prong route please get a good one as the cheap ones can do damage. Also, you need to have someone show you how to properly fit and use it. You still need to do training. You can't just throw on a prong and start correcting.

 

[cinnamon roll]

I am now a FIRM believer in Prong collars thanks to this forum!!!!!

My girl was a nightmare to walk until I got a prong collar. (I am 85 lbs and she is 160) I NEVER even had to correct her once I put it on. She would pull and that was all she needed. It is not cruel at all. Again thanks to our wonderful forum for opening my eyes!!!!

 

[Smokeycat]

The prong collar worked wonders with Kryten. There were several months after his surgery (elbow dysplasia) that he was on restricted activity and walks were a complete no go. As such much of the training on leash manners was forgotten, it's like any skill if you don't use it you can lose it, and he had been allowed to wonder the yard being held by a leash for several months. I had used a head halter to train him the first time but his head had gotten to big for the largest size I could find and he was pulling through a martingale collar. After a broken leash and then a broken collar because he wanted to go see the other dog or play with the cat running away I decided that I needed to try the prong collar. What a difference! It still took training to correct the behavior but at least I could now get his attention and he wasn't risking his recovery anymore. Another thing was he hated the head halter and would try to slip it off but while he ignores the prong completely once it is on.

 

[Th0r]

They work, but my guy will break it if and when he wants to I'm sure of it. He tried one and I can't remember why but I had to bear hug him to stop before he snapped it or hurt himself!
Not a mark on him and he didn't seem to feel anything.
I think at some point they just react to the sound it makes when you yank it slightly rather than the sensation of the pinch!

 

[Boxergirl]

I'd rather use a different tool myself, but the biggest problem I have with a prong is that I seldom see people transition away from it. I feel that a prong collar is a training tool that helps you achieve a certain training goal. Most people I know that use them stop actively training their dogs and rely on the prong to do the training for them. Of course it doesn't work like that and once the collar comes off, the dog is right back to pulling them down the street. Like Karennj said, please take time to make sure that you know how to properly fit and use one and get a Herm Sprenger. Also consider using a carabiner to attach the prong to your dog's regular collar. They do sometimes open and if it's not attached to the other collar you have a loose dog, usually just when you need control the most.

 

[OdinBB]

I personally prefer a head halter but agree a lot of dogs hate them. What exactly is the issue your having with small dogs? Have you worked with a trainer at all on behavior modification? If your going to go the prong route please get a good one as the cheap ones can do damage. Also, you need to have someone show you how to properly fit and use it. You still need to do training. You can't just throw on a prong and start correcting.

I preferred the head halter too but now he is not responding as well and I would feel horrible if he sustained a neck or spinal injury because of it. When we first got Odin we had a bichon frise, they got along really well and literally one day they would just get into it. I finally made the decision to re-home my bichon, I didn't want Odin to kill him and I thought my bichon would be placed easier and I was right, I found him a wonderful home right a way. Now Odin is ok with small dogs but when they get yippy or barking at him he wants to get them. He was doing really good for a while, we could walk by a house with a dog barking and I could redirect him easy. He was doing good until one day we were walking and came up to this fence and out of no where this little french bulldog came out barking all crazy. Odin was fine and he cut behind me and put his nose up to the fence. When he did that that little dog bit him and oh my goodness I thought he was going to bust through that fence and kill that dog. I had a really hard time holding him back and from then on when any dog barks he goes kinda nuts with wanting to get after them especially little ones.

I was working with a trainer this past fall but had to stop when it got cold, it is warming up so I need to get him back into training. I do plan on asking his trainer to show me how to use one, she is the one that suggested the prong collar a while back. I couldn't just throw it on him, I am way to nervous, I def do not want to hurt him.

 

[OdinBB]

I am now a FIRM believer in Prong collars thanks to this forum!!!!!

My girl was a nightmare to walk until I got a prong collar. (I am 85 lbs and she is 160) I NEVER even had to correct her once I put it on. She would pull and that was all she needed. It is not cruel at all. Again thanks to our wonderful forum for opening my eyes!!!!

Oh goodness I hope Odin takes to the prong collar as well as your girl did!!!

 

[OdinBB]

I'd rather use a different tool myself, but the biggest problem I have with a prong is that I seldom see people transition away from it. I feel that a prong collar is a training tool that helps you achieve a certain training goal. Most people I know that use them stop actively training their dogs and rely on the prong to do the training for them. Of course it doesn't work like that and once the collar comes off, the dog is right back to pulling them down the street. Like Karennj said, please take time to make sure that you know how to properly fit and use one and get a Herm Sprenger. Also consider using a carabiner to attach the prong to your dog's regular collar. They do sometimes open and if it's not attached to the other collar you have a loose dog, usually just when you need control the most.

I will def look into a herm sprenger, thank you for your suggestion.

 

[Hector]

When you get a prong, do leash pressure exercises. Look it up on youtube: leash pressure exercises, collar pressure exercises.

 

[fila4me]

Also remember training is a life long every day occurrence. sorry I didon't say herm springer, I have had them so long I forget there are other brands. Luckily my breeder was also a trainer and firm believer in them. Good luck

 

[Caztratt]

I have never seen or heard of a prong collar so I googled it -
Well it looks like the most painful contraption I have ever seen!! I couldn't imagine putting something so horrid around my dogs neck. I know you all won't agree but there must be a better way round it


Carol

 

[Th0r]

I have never seen or heard of a prong collar so I googled it -
Well it looks like the most painful contraption I have ever seen!! I couldn't imagine putting something so horrid around my dogs neck. I know you all won't agree but there must be a better way round it


Carol

It may look like a mideaval torture instrument but it isn't. You can try it on yourself and you'll see that it doesn't hurt compared to a choke chain!

 

[Caztratt]

I've been reading about them. They are trying to ban them over here in the UK.
I've seen some awful pics of dogs that have had them on.
I'm not saying you guys shudnt use them. You are all professional in what you do.
I personally think they look awful. I wouldn't use a choke chain either. If the dog pulls too hard it could cause damage


Carol

 

[BlackShadowCaneCorso]

Any training tool can cause damage, even a flat used in the wrong way. Banning things in the UK doesn't make it right. They have bans on certain breeds over there as well but we all know that BSL doesn't work to correct a problem. Each dog is different and what one chooses to use will have to go by personal comfort as well as what the dog responds to. Like everything else there are different tools and different methods of training, some will agree with one and not another. I don't force people to do it my way but I know my animals and I know what they need or what works with them to get the desired results and will use what is required.

 

[Caztratt]

Blackshadow - That's what I meant about you being professional!! You know what your doing and what is right for you. Everyone is different. As for the UK. They ban way too much and no it doesn't make it right. Because of bad press and stupid owners we over here can't have some of the most wonderful breeds that we would like


Carol

 

[BlackShadowCaneCorso]

I am not a professional in the strict sense of the word, I have my dogs but do not train for a living and while I have a few dogs and years under my belt I am in no way an expert. I have made more than my share of mistakes and still do learn something new with each dog I have .