Prong Collars?

[Jodi and Stella]

I have been using a standard "choke chain" for leash training with Stella. It really has helped with teaching her to heel. The problem is, it is breaking her hair off all around her neck. I put it on the correct way so that it goes slack if no tension is on it and she only wears it for leash training. Has anyone had any experience with the prong collars? I wonder if that would help. She is 6 months old and 28 pounds, is she too young to use one?

[F, Calla & Luca]

Nope, my dogs too start dancing around when the leashes and prong collars to which they are attached come out. Not the least bit stressful or off putting. They cause my dogs no stress at all.

[Linda, Webber and Seda]

I use them on both of my dogs, particularly when they are tethered to one another so I can walk them with one leash.  They don't pull one another, and they don't gang up on me to pull my arm out of the socket.  Webber was trained with positive reward only up to and including TD certification.  He is not the least bit upset with this collar and gets very excited when I get it out.  They look formidable but are not painful.  In fact, it takes one correction and you don't have to do it again.  The only problem I have with them is the prongs get caught in the hair on his neck if I don't keep his neck trimmed.  Give it a try, I think you will prefer it to a choke chain.

[Adina P]

One thing to remember is that oollars can be used differently by different trainers using different methods. The way I train a prong would not work for certain aspects of training but be fine in other ways. If you just want to be able to give a quick pop of the leash type of correction on walks and that is all you will use the collar for then a prong is fine and probably better. Collars are not inherently cruel or inhumane ... Or even good or effective unless they are used in a way that makes them so.