When my German Shepherd was very young she had a lot of behavior issues and I was worried she would grow up to become an aggressive dog. And she did it using a prong collar. Ive seen collar covers that disguise the prong. This isn't the case in England, where they're legally allowed to be used without restriction. My boy is a saint bernard mix too. Please see ourfull disclosurefor further information. As in all different sorts of dog-human interactions, what's good for the human must be good for the dog. I whole heartedly believe the prong collar can change peoples and dogs lives. And remove links for smaller necks. It depends on the severity of his fearfulness. Also, we wear a 2 wide flat collar on our Dobe with the prong so that the prong stays high on his neck where it belongs. Dr. Jennifer Cattet notes, "A study of 424 dogs seen by chiropractors revealed that 91% of them who had neck injuries were pullers or had experienced jerking on the leash by the guardian (Hallgren, 1991).". Though they are legal in the U.S. "As long as we are looking for shortcuts to proper training, both the dog and the guardian will likely suffer long term consequences from a poor choice of training tools, a poor use of these tools and the negative side effects from their aversive properties." She lived to be 17 yrs and 4 months, still hiked up until the last 4 months of her life. Thank you for sharing this information!!! I cannot just take the opinions of others because the day WILL COME that I will be challenged by someone out there who tries to bust people for passing their dogs off as service dogs, when indeed, they are not. hi,,, we got a herm sprenger collar yesterday, it was recommended by the owner of the daycare center. The collar is not designed to hurt the dog, but get the dogs attention. With the use of a prong collar, you immediately become your dogs source of punishment. If I did not get his behavior under control I would have to re-home my dog, if I could not walk him that would be cruel and if he hurt me or someone by lunging that would be even worse. My trainer switched her to a prong collar with flat round ends. Plain martingale collars dont provide the same type of pressure to catch a dogs attention. All seemed to be going well with the prong except his reactivity to other dogs while on leash seemed to get worse. I am trying to gain more knowledge and be a responsible dog owner (esp. We have dogs in training classes with prong collars, slip collars, harnesses everything. He started really being obedient when the trainer put a prong collar on him and she showed him whos boss with a firm tug or two. Why? Its cruel not to be able to walk your dog. We are taking things really slow, but Im concerned if we take them too slow, we will actually be reinforcing behaviors learned from the abuse, i.e. We could tell it was simply because their want to chase after whatever they saw was stronger than their want for treats. Thousands of trainers and Id wager millions of owners train their dogseasy dogs and challenging dogsand manage their behavior without any of this stuff. Sam has a lovely temperament and not an aggressive bone in his body, hes just over friendly and too big to be jumping up at people because of the risk of injury. I had an English Bulldog and, true to their bullheadedness, when a puppy on our first walks would pull out of his collar and leash and take off. Is It Time to Ban Shock Collars for Dogs In All Situations? I work with high drive, hard working dogs. Patty, its worth a try. He was on the road to becoming an uncontrollable pet who would be doomed to being kept outside when the grandkids come to visit, or visitors come into the home. Your email address will not be published. I have found your article online about using prong collars.. well, i am at my wits end with my darling Border Collie. You could have taught a loose leash without a prong. I should say that my dog is quite highly trained and in a training environment excels at quite advanced exercises. I have a strong, 1.5 year old, hard headed, 60 pound English Springer Spaniel and he is all over the place on walks. He will be an 80 pound dog. Ill bet you prong collars and strategic sharp jerks will have your dachshunds (or your wolfhounds) respectfully leaving their leashes slack within the week. If your dog pulls you when trying to walk him or is leash reactive, I strongly suggest you consider using a prong collar. You dont need a prong collar. Meaning, they are walking well with no correction needed. Hes my first dog and unfortunately socialization was very difficult and so he was highly reactive to dogs. I used to be someone who thought the prong collar was evil and harmful.. until I met a former LEO K-9 trainer who taught ME how to use one, properly, on a GSD. It also helps me correct her and keep her focused. Sarah, I totally understand your hesitation. I think hes smart enough to realize that hes in control, if he doesnt pull, his collar is comfortable for him. For this very reason, many countries with a progressive approach to pet safety and health, such as Austria and Switzerland, have already banned prong collars. I just found this page after admitting to a dog-focused friendly advice group on facebook that I REALLY struggle with walking my dog. Rainalo Thank you for saving a dogs life! My dog trainer helped us find the most comfortable prong collar and fit it properly behind Blu's ears. We adopted our 5-yr-old 18-lb floof in March, and at first she was coughing and choking all the time. I somewhat reluctantly use the prong collar because I know I have control regardless of situation & can keep him safe. Lately, I am getting hounded on social media about responding to a post saying it was a great tool for training. Prong Collars Are NOT Illegal In The U.S. Prong collars are not illegal in most nations, even the US. I had an amazingly trained companion who was really an off the leash dog (always carried a leash), used mostly hand signal commands. From tracking to bite work (agitation work), and even an every day harness! Diana, I love your story, thank you so much for sharing! Adding in a prong collar and correcting their fear (aka. Eye contact, "follower" state was much fasterI was connecting with him like his real mother would. Thank you for this article. I have won over a few of my clients here in Monaco & France re. Front clip harnesses that simply manipulates the dog into not pulling and does NOT FIX the pulling. And be consistent. She was still her happy-go-lucky self playing. Now that I understand what I was doing wrong, I have all the confidence in the world that Ill be able to correct the problem with my mini Aussie and cant wait to give it a try this afternoon. But I now see how wonderful they are in training my dog. I want my dog to be off leash if we move there. Good luck! New Zealand, Austria, Australia, Switzerland, the Canadian Province of Quebec, and many others have made prong collars (and in many cases choke and shock collars) illegal. This is supported by Herm Sprenger, the top manufacturer of prong collars in the world., Anything pain based is not suitable for a reactive dog.. A Twitch star was temporarily banned from the live-streaming platform after zapping herself with a shock collar as part of a bizarre stunt. There is certainly a lot of misconception around the prong collar, and I feel the only way that will change is when people have a dog like yours and experience how it can be such an invaluable training tool. Taking in and training foster dogs takes a very special person! Its structured like a martingale collar, where the bulk of the collar is tightened by a cinching chain which attaches to your leash. Three jurisdictions in Australia have now banned the use of these collars: Victoria, Tasmania, and Queensland, under their Animal Care and Protection Act 2001. Mary saw her guardian, who looked upset, pick her up and take her to the car after a solid ten minutes of yelling, "Down!" Oftentimes Prong collars are brandished around as the holy grail of owning a dog. And Tom asked, "Why do so-called 'balanced trainers' get so cavalier about causing dogs harm? I still am learning, but it was a good long walk today, which is the whole reason I got a rescue dog.a walk partner, not a 'pull into the road' or 'drag into the ditch & through the woods' partner. I have a smart medium drive 5 1/2 month old GSD male pup. Nothing worked until I found this site and started using a prong collar. Keep up to date with the Rebarkable Newsletter! Yes, the prong collar can cause damage, but so can a flat collar or harness. I signed up for obedience classes at a well known and reputable training center in our area and they recommended and explained prong collars to us. Is it worth it to subdue and suppress behavior, to use the threat of pain to train a dog? We have been working at it for 5 months now and occasionally I will just use his regular collar.he pulls every time! She is definitely non reactive to squirrels and birds ( her triggers) now. She said doing this just makes the training go faster, which is helpful since she only has the dogs for a limited amount of time. Not that it wont work, but because he is still young enough to teach him not to pull without it. Very pleased with the purchase and have recommended it to other dog owners. Small prong collars are for dogs with necks up to 12 inches, and medium prong collars are for dogs with necks 12-16 inches. Thank you for this article! This leash training is extremely important for puppies, but even adult dogs who havent been properly schooled in polite leash walking can learn to accommodate their human. A prong collar worked wonders on my hooligan, made her walk like a lady. But with training he will learn. I dont have to pull on her constantly to keep her in heel. So far, only a handful of countries have moved to ban shock collars. Lauren, thank you so much for sharing your story. Good luck! Awe Rachel, this is great news! Inevitably inaccuracies get thrown around and overall? We took our oldest daughters Welsh Pembroke Corgi to a trainer. Are just such huge 2000 2022 Rebarkable LLC. Yes that is the entire purpose of the prong, to use it as a training tool. I have a reactive dog when out, other dogs, cars and people but an absolute gent when in the home. This post does contains affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will receive a small commission, but it wont cost you a penny more). Dogs become reactive (largely) through fear or excitement. The prong collar helps keep his focus on me and makes it a positive experience for both of us. Thank you Patty for sharing your story! Debi, this is a wonderful article, thank you. I admit I have not tried them all. Mary writes, "I've seen situations like this more times than I can count at local dog parks and trails. He was really a wonderful dog that I wouldnt have enjoyed with out that collar. Consider the woman about whom Mary wrote who chose to leave her choke collar at the veterinary clinic after her dog suffered from a prolapsed eye. But are prong collars cruel? Now, at age 6 it doesnt seem to be as effective. 3. After 3 weeks of work with our 11 month old, highly excitable rescue dog we saw his behavior getting worse and no amount of treats of any kind could get his attention any more. That it appears on google when people search Prong collar for my dog and they have the opportunity to learn. Not ideal for small breeds. Initially I was not crazy about this, especially since our previous trainer was purely positive and I thought thatd be best, but her reasoning made sense to me since it was clear our dogs did not care about the treats in our hands when they saw something they wanted more. Actually he has never gagged, choked or shown any discomfort to prong where Ive had dogs gag if they pulled hard with flat collar. Many civilized countries have outlawed prong collars, recognizing the harm they can do! We rescued a 14 month old, 80 pound, muscular, untrained male doberman and walks with him were impossible. New Zealand, Austria, Australia, Switzerland, the Canadian Province of Quebec, and many others have made prong collars (and in many cases choke and shock collars) illegal. Its a tool that I believe, like headcollars, people use as a shortcut in their training. I noticed early on that other dog owners or even people who have seen a dog somewhere in their lifetime, have become experts on how to care for MY dog, irrespective of how theyre known me!
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