I hate that I'm even asking this...

[Jen and Annie]

I never thought in a million years that I would consider using a prong collar, but Annie is so incredibly strong. I have tried 'stop-and-go' on our walks for her on-leash pulling, and it seems to be slowly working. If she pulls, we stop walking. She is pulling much less often, but it still happens, and we still stop when she does it. I have tried positive reinforcement when she is walking by my side. I feel like I have tried everything, and I need to get her leash walking and jumping greetings under control. I have always thought I would never use an aversive method with her, but I think I am at a loss, especially with her human greetings.
Over the past few weeks I have been researching prong collars, and I have always been against them - but mostly because they look so barbaric. From what I've read, the dog is actually the one in control of the correction for the most part, and that it is more of a 'slight pinch' than it is a stabbing into their neck. I am writing to poll the DK members on your experiences with prong collars.
I am fully committed to the time it takes for training, but no matter how much I run Annie, or try to drain her energy - she is always able to muster up enough energy to exhuberantly jump on people. She is very very stong by now, at over 70 lbs. She almost knocked over a small child at the dog park a few weeks ago, which is what prompted my research on new methods. It's like she sees the person who is LEAST capable of defending themselves against her jumping, and jumps on them. :-{
She just LOVES people. I can prevent her from jumping, just by keeping her on a short leash, but she flails and freaks out trying to get to the person to say hi, in her Annie way. She basically goes deaf and can't hear any of the "SIT! No, ANNIE! LEAVE IT!" when she wants to see someone. Once I'm able to calm her down (usually takes 2-3 minutes, and I have to physically hold my hand on her back to prevent her from continuing to flail around) she will sit and whimper for the person she wants to jump on, and I can hold her back to keep her from jumping on them, but sometimes will just give a HUGE tug and rip my arm almost out of socket to try and greet the person.
I have read that the prong collars really can be a useful tool, but I just feel so bad to put one on her...please tell me of your experiences or suggestions on the pulling on leash and jumping up on people. I know she is such a sweet girl, and I worry that using a prong collar will change her personality. She really is a doll, she just has a hard time hiding her excitement for people. Will a prong collar work to help me correct the pulling/jumping up, without changing her sweet personality ?

I really want what's best for her, but would also like to 'save' the poor people that she meets.

[Lonnie & Libby Lu]

I have never used a prong collar, but as for the walking and pulling we had the same problem with Libby. At first she walked really nice and then as she got older she started pulling and pulling and it got to the point I could not walk her and I was afraid I was going to hurt her throat with all the pulling back I did on her.  I hated walking with her and someone suggested the Gentle Leader and believe me we put it on her one time and we had a completely different dog.  I thought maybe she just wasn't feeling good that first day because she was so calm, but not one day since has she pulled.  We still continue all our training and I know the Gentle Leader is not for everyone, but for Libby it is how we walk her.  

[Jen and Annie]

Does she still walk with the gentle leader? Is there any point that you would be able to walk her on a 'regular' collar or leash, or may she need the gentle leader for good? Does the gentle leader help with jumping on people too? Thank you for the reply.

[Lonnie & Libby Lu]

Yes, she still uses the Gentle Leader when we take her on our long walks.  She never jumps on any one or any animal when we see them while walking nor does she pull to get to them.  When we are at home and go out into the front yard she has a regular collar on with a leash and she is fine to sit out on the grass, which she dearly loves to do.  She thinks she is the official greeter in our neighborhood.  It truly was a lifesaver for us!

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

are you talking about the gentle leader that goes on the head?  I used that on Ollie originally until the training of our CGC class said that it was bad for their necks if they jerk around.  I don't know if that is true or not, but I decided not to risk it and made the switch.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Why hate to ask? I think prong collars are a very humane collar. MANY of us do.  My only thoughts are that you seek out a trainer to learn how to use one properly!   The proper use is very important.  When used gently a great training tool.

A prong collar was devised to simulate the mother's mouth around the pups neck.   It's a natural language with a dog.  They may look ugly, but dogs really respond to them well.

I will say, my dog has no problem running to the prong collar, but hates the Easy Walk Harness (?) and I have no clue why.   I use all types of collars.  No big deal.  But my dog prefers the prong  :)

[Jen and Annie]

I know, I have watched video after video on how to use them and read countless articles.  I'm about ready to buy, but you know - I just had to consult Doodlekisses first... The videos I've seen show amazing response within just about 5 minutes, and it wasn't the trainer jerking back a correction.  It was the dog understanding that when they pulled, they got a bit of pressure.  And the dogs stopped pulling, and began paying attention to the handler. 

They just look so bad - but after seeing so many videos and articles about them..  I think they might just look a lot worse than they actually are.

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

a good thing about doodles is that they are hairy so most people can't even tell that you are using a prong collar.  :)

[Jen and Annie]

haha good point.  It will just get lost in her hair.  How funny is it that I was thinking of getting a cute bandana to put over top of it? 

I feel like I would need to hide it, becuase for some reason - every dog that I've seen wearing a prong collar - for some reason I feared the dog, like it was going to bite me or be a vicious dog.  I guess it's just that they look really bad, so I presumed that a collar like that meant that it was an unfriendly dog.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I have used a bandana on top of the collar.  I hate getting the look.

Yep, use a bandana if it makes you feel better.  We all know, you want what is best for the dog.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I used to have the same reaction when I saw a dog wearing a prong collar.  

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Me too  :)

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

I don't think that there is anything wrong with a prong collar as long as you use it the right way and issue quick corrections and don't constantly yack on it.  Using a prong collar on a puller can be safer than a regular buckle collar because it don't put pressure on the dogs throat. 

When I adopted Ollie he was almost 2 and had never really been taught to walk on a leash and was a TERRIBLE puller.  I did the turn the other way thing every time he pulled and it was ok, but that it really hard to do when you are trying to walk 2 dogs at the same time.  He has gotten better with the buckle collar but I still use the prong collar when we go for walks because the corrections are so much easier and effective.  I feel like he realizes that I mean business when I put that collar on him because he doesn't even pull as much and verbal corrections work most of the time.  When we walk with the buckle collar he tries to walk further ahead and tends to ignore verbal corrections.  There are certain situations where you can't use a prong collar (dog parks, therapy dog work, CGC class) but I would recommend that prong collar for the situations that you mentioned.