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.

[Moe]

I finally found a trainer that addressed jumping by doing something proactive rather than ignoring the behavior or just making a noise which didn't work. We worked on these exercises for weeks. Works for no jumping in the house or when you are out on walks.

There is no talking or commands with these exercises. They all teach the dog paws on the ground = good.

• Elevator game: hold a treat over your head and slowly lower it. If she jumps it goes back up. If she remains down she gets the treat. You have to go pretty fast in the beginning then as she gets better you go slower. Practice it in a down first, then sit, then standing.
• Keep away: Put the leash on the dog and just hold it still. Have someone walk up to the dog, if she does not jump they give the dog a treat. If the dog goes up on two legs they walk away. You have to make sure to hold the leash still, you don't want to pull the dog back. It almost works best if you tether the dog to something. Keep repeating until the dog does not jump. As she gets better you practice it in a sit and a down. (We do this at a baby gate that we have to keep her out of the living room - if the paws go on the gate we walk away.)
• Sit Stay Greet: This is definitely more advanced. We practice this when people come over. It helps to have a friend or neighbor that will help you practice. Your dog will have to know sit and stay. Put the dog in a sit / stay, have someone come in, if they remain seated the person can pet them. (you can click or treat for this also). If the dog jumps the person gets up and moves away, you'll have to have the dog leashed. I practice this when my boys have friends over. I give each one of them a treat and tell them to come into the house and pet the dog and give her a treat if she is sitting. If she jumps they walk on. Last week there were ten 13 year olds over so she got a ton of practice.
• Stranger greeting: when you are out on walks an people want to pet your dog say sure, but she is in training so would you be willing to help me. Most people are happy to help. I tell them I will put the dog in a sit and if she remains sitting they can pet the dog. If she tries to jump I'm going to keep walking. People usual get a kick out of helping with training.
  

It takes 10-15 minutes of practice 3x a day for a few weeks but if you work at it the dog should stop jumping. Good luck

[Jen and Annie]

I may try these for a week (daily, hourly - whatever it takes!) to see if there is even an inkling of progress.  Otherwise, I really need to do something because she literally could hurt someone..  She is also still a puppy, but I dont want to believe that she will grow out of this, or excuse the behavior because she is a puppy - I need to nip it in the bud before she really does some physical damage to someone.. 

[Moe]

I also did an AKC training class and they require a prong collar. My dog doesn't pull much but with that on she does not pull at all. It really worked miracles. I put it on my own arm and pulled, it doesn't really hurt, it is just uncomfortable. I usually walk my dog off leash but if I am going in a crowded place I use the prong collar. I don't see any problem with it. Don't let people make you feel bad.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I use a prong collar for my Springer Spaniel.  He is 9 now and just never stopped giving little jerks when we walk him. We have used a flat collar, a corrective collar ('choke' chain), a martingale, a gentle leader and finally last year we bought a prong collar.  It really makes a difference for us.  We have three dogs and now the person who has Gordie and a doodle can enjoy the walk. I wish I had changed him to a prong years and years ago.

[nate]

Have you considered an EasyWalker or other "martingale collar" type harness?

If they pull, it tightens up on their chest.  It can help discourage pulling quite a bit.  It was our last-shot to use for training before resorting to a prong collar - we were lucky and it worked. ( i couldn't bear to use a prong collar ).  We also have the gentle leader, but our guy hates it.  i was worried about the neck injury too, but very quickly he learned not to do that.  he was constantly scratching at it , and his face, so we moved to the easy-walk harness.

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

Nate, you said couldn't bear to use a prong collar, but didn't you post in another discussion today that you put your puppy in the bathroom and hit its butt with a rolled up newspaper when it was chewing inappropriate things? 

[Jen and Annie]

The harness she is in now is supposed to be a 'no pull' - and when she pulls, it does tighten around her chest, but it takes about 2 minutes before the tightness bothers her, and she gives in and sits her butt down.  I hold firm while she continues to pull and pull, especially when trying to greet someone...until she finally sits.  Then they approach closer, and we start our dance all over again.  

I am going to try one more thing this weekend, which is to WEAR HER BUTT OUT and then go see some people.  This is a test to see if she might not be getting enough exercise from me.  If she does better with her pulling/jumping up after being extremely tired, then I need to do what I can to get her more exercise in the future.  Maybe her daily walks are not enough to lower her energy levels.  I definitely don't want to do her a disservice by putting a prong collar on her, if her craziness is a result of not enough exercise.  From all I've read about the prong though, it really only looks bad.  And it's not something that is worn all the time, only when instructing and training.