Prong Collar
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Prong Collar
I wish prong collars were never invented but they exist. I've not put my two thru an obedience class (although I attended 2 classes without my Shiloh who was hiding under the deck) and know the instructor required a choke chain for the class and training...So I have since seen prong collars - the use of these is disturbing to me. I have seen many dogs with these collars - on trail hikes, in pet stores, just out and about...Most of the dogs appear don't appear to be a problem so I just don't understand why these dogs have prong collars on. Once we were on a trail and a lady owner jerked back on her dog (that had a prong collar on)so hard that he was gagging and coughing afterwards. The dog was no where near being a problem - just wanted to sniff us was we walked past them. I felt so bad for the dog.
Guess I'm semi-venting about these prong collars - but it seems more and more people are using them.
Guess I'm semi-venting about these prong collars - but it seems more and more people are using them.
Karen, Kohana, Takoda, and our Chow Angels Nahkohe and Shiloh
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WildThings
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I feel the same way about them...they look like some torture device. The makers, and promoters of prong collars claim they give a slight, corrective pinch, but yet these are often the same people that claim shock collars only give a small, corrective shock. To me, they are a lazy person's training tool...someone wanting quick results for very little time and energy.
Amanda
Sweetpea Designs
"Many people talk to animals...not many listen though. That's the problem" The Tao of Pooh
Sweetpea Designs"Many people talk to animals...not many listen though. That's the problem" The Tao of Pooh
There's only two reasons for a Choke collar, you have the people that are on a power trip, Master, leader then you have the People that don't know any better so go to trainers and read books that tell them all dogs are supposed to act the same so the only way to accomplish this is to use a Choke collar.
“...There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because conscience tells one that it is right.” MLK
My friends have one for their aussie shepard mix & I hate it. It's a mix of lazyness & what their puppy school teacher told them to use! Thankfully, they are finding it annoying as it continually moves around the dog's neck & want to try the GL easy walk harness like M&M have 
I hate them, it looks medieval on a pup IMO
I hate them, it looks medieval on a pup IMO
Thank you Elodie!
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IliamnasQuest
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Actually the prong collars have a very valid use, used correctly. They look much worse than they are.
The collar that I will never use for training again is a choke collar (chain or other). These produce more damage than a prong collar by far and are considered to be much more cruel than a prong/pinch. The choke collar can tighten up as far as a person's physical abilities will allow it to, creating brusing around the entire neck as well as the potential for trachea damage. While the collars don't look that bad, the force behind them is considerable.
The prong collar, on the other hand, is limited as to how tight it can get. The corrective feel of the collar is limited to the flat-ended prongs and the risk of trachea/neck damage is very low. You may hear a dog yelp on a prong collar when you wouldn't with a choke, because with a choke they can't BREATHE, let alone YELP.
Now, ideally a dog is trained without any sort of corrective collar. I rarely use anything but a flat or martingale collar (properly fitted so as not to tighten up too much). Much of my training is done off-leash and I use a lot of reinforcement. But I've used prong collars and I keep a couple around just in case. If I need to walk all the dogs at once, I might put a prong collar on the ones most likely to pull me because it means they'll walk nicely. It's rare that I do that but it's a tool I keep in my training bag.
Are prong collars mis-used by some? Of course they are. So are flat collars - a dog being yanked around by a flat collar can be injured too. The potential for mis-use is in the hands of the human regardless of what kind of collar/harness they may have on their dog.
I also have a shock collar that I have used on occasion, and it too has the potential for high mis-use. In my hands it's used at a very low level - not one that creates a yelp or any sign of avoidance in the dog - and used sparingly to back up a training situation that has already been well established using positive methods.
I don't recommend to anyone that they run out and buy shock collars or prong collars, but they do have their occasional uses on certain dogs. I won't EVER recommend to anyone that they use a choke collar, though. Those are the worst and I've seen firsthand some of the damage they do.
Melanie and the gang in Alaska
The collar that I will never use for training again is a choke collar (chain or other). These produce more damage than a prong collar by far and are considered to be much more cruel than a prong/pinch. The choke collar can tighten up as far as a person's physical abilities will allow it to, creating brusing around the entire neck as well as the potential for trachea damage. While the collars don't look that bad, the force behind them is considerable.
The prong collar, on the other hand, is limited as to how tight it can get. The corrective feel of the collar is limited to the flat-ended prongs and the risk of trachea/neck damage is very low. You may hear a dog yelp on a prong collar when you wouldn't with a choke, because with a choke they can't BREATHE, let alone YELP.
Now, ideally a dog is trained without any sort of corrective collar. I rarely use anything but a flat or martingale collar (properly fitted so as not to tighten up too much). Much of my training is done off-leash and I use a lot of reinforcement. But I've used prong collars and I keep a couple around just in case. If I need to walk all the dogs at once, I might put a prong collar on the ones most likely to pull me because it means they'll walk nicely. It's rare that I do that but it's a tool I keep in my training bag.
Are prong collars mis-used by some? Of course they are. So are flat collars - a dog being yanked around by a flat collar can be injured too. The potential for mis-use is in the hands of the human regardless of what kind of collar/harness they may have on their dog.
I also have a shock collar that I have used on occasion, and it too has the potential for high mis-use. In my hands it's used at a very low level - not one that creates a yelp or any sign of avoidance in the dog - and used sparingly to back up a training situation that has already been well established using positive methods.
I don't recommend to anyone that they run out and buy shock collars or prong collars, but they do have their occasional uses on certain dogs. I won't EVER recommend to anyone that they use a choke collar, though. Those are the worst and I've seen firsthand some of the damage they do.
Melanie and the gang in Alaska
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chowfrnd88
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I don't like them either. And you're right Karen it does seem like more people seem to be using them lately.
The idea behind them is that it's suppossed to simulate the mother picking up the pups by the scruff and disciplining them that way
, but research recently has shown that that behavior actually rarely occurs in wolves and dogs (I wish I bookmarked my behavior books when I read this stuff so I could site it ). So a lot of the reasoning behind it flawed. The good news is that they keep coming out with newer and newer information that will hopefully do away with this type of training. I never hesitate to tell people what I think of them at work.
The idea behind them is that it's suppossed to simulate the mother picking up the pups by the scruff and disciplining them that way
, but research recently has shown that that behavior actually rarely occurs in wolves and dogs (I wish I bookmarked my behavior books when I read this stuff so I could site it ). So a lot of the reasoning behind it flawed. The good news is that they keep coming out with newer and newer information that will hopefully do away with this type of training. I never hesitate to tell people what I think of them at work. 
This photo arrangement is the wonderful work of Sweetpea
When I put Butters in obied. they told me you have to use a prong collar. I of course thought it looked horrible but was trusting in the fact that these people knew what they were doing. So silly me I did it. I fit into that catergory in Jeff's list of didn't know better. Well I think with Butters is was a big mistake and made him more reactive. I mean you want to see pissed off, he sure was. They conceded that it was not the correct collar for Butters. We switched to his Harness and he was a completely different dog. Happy and proud (he struts in his harness)!!
SweetPea Rocks!!
Thats the trouble with a Chow, One mess up they don't forget and you pay for it forever, thats why a person can't do a, "We will try this and see if it works" with a Chow, if it dosn't work your in trouble.
“...There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because conscience tells one that it is right.” MLK
I believe this is the main point. Since choke chains have been around for years, it is likely there are more in use than should be. Everyone who uses one should go through obedience training to learn the right and wrong way of using them. If the dog is choking, it is not being used properly.IliamnasQuest wrote: The potential for mis-use is in the hands of the human regardless of what kind of collar/harness they may have on their dog.