Prong For 7 1/2 Month Old?

[ireadbooks]

Little more info on prongs, please? We had our first "grown-up" obedience class last weekend at a regional training club. As expected, Kaiser pulled, whined, play-bowed, and barked wanting to say hello to the other dogs, but calmed down with redirection and time (about five-ten minutes). We started doing exercises. Hubby, who was there to watch, left the room and the puppy lost his mind, screaming and pulling and yelping, and almost successfully dragged me down. My hands had leash burn for two days.

We have NEVER seen this separation anxiety type behavior before or heard him make such pitiful sounds. He doesn't care if we leave him home alone; no fuss, just scarfs his peanut butter kong and doesn't give us a second glance. He's fine being left in the car alone while I pump gas or run into the gas station (the only times he's left in the car alone). He might do a couple low whines if all three of us are in the car, then one of us leaves, but he doesn't lose his mind.

The trainers asked if I would like to try him on a prong, as it would give me way better control over him. I'm not opposed to a prong, but declined, because I have no idea how to use one, I had no idea what the correct fit was supposed to look like, etc. I trust that the trainers know what they're doing, but also like to research for myself and know a little about things like this, before putting my dog in the hands of someone I've only met three times. The training club has all sorts of equipment available to try; harnesses, head collars, prongs, martingales, different leash lengths, a permanent agility course, etc. so I wouldn't be out any cash for giving it a try.

So, questions. Is a prong age-appropriate for a 7 1/2 month old? I checked out the Leerburg site, so I know what a correctly fitted prong is supposed to look like now. Of course Kaiser pulls occasionally, he's a puppy in training; would the Easy Walk harness work just as well for correcting everyday pulling? I know how to put a harness on him, and no clue about a prong. Hubby won't be coming back to class for a couple weeks due to work, so no fear of another freak-out/meltdown from puppy; could we fix this problem with gradual desensitization and no prong once my husband's back in the game? Do you actually have to do anything to deliver a correction on the prong, or does it do the work for you, when the dog pulls?

[wink-_-wink]

Ill bump this because Hero is 7 months Tomorrow and we have the easy walker but the trainer said she didn't want him on the harness in training. It was ok for walks and home but for training start with prong and then work our way to martingale.

[pancake]

Prongs are great BUT watch this video. Leerburg On Demand | My 8 Month Old Dog Challenges Me. What Should I Do?

Michael Ellis is 100% right. So in your case you need to figure out why the dog is acting that way when your husband leaves. And it may be fear induced. He's surrounded by a bunch of dogs and people in a new environment that is very strange and unfamiliar to him and he sees his pack leader departing, he's going to want to go. You can correct him and stay No and make him say, essentially telling him that he is to listen to you and that you are also his leader but depending on the level of fear or panic that's going on, a prong may or may not be the solution. If a dog goes into a panic state, pain is only going to make things worse. This is why I am not using a prong for the first lesson in my formal training. My puppy has an avoidance tendency with other dogs and tends to yelp and scream bloody murder and panics (tries to pull and run away) if a larger intimdating dog smells her. She's still not used to it. If I had her on a prong, the minute she would pull and run she would feel the pain from just trying to run away and that could be a recipe for disaster. It could result in her thinking that everytime a dog or person comes up, it's a bad experience.
If the dog however is fearful but CALM enough to be more "rational", as in still able to listen to your command and isn't in a full fledge "I need to get out of here now!" mode, then a prong will stop them from running or pulling. Question is, is the pain compliance from the prong enough of a deterrent and MORE influential than the panic state that the dog is in? If so, prong would be okay. If the dog's panic state is in a redzone or "locked on mode", pain or prongs are not the way to go.

same with aggressive dogs.. it's rarely useful to give a dog aggressive dog corrections with pain when they growl or lock onto another dog. It associates the dog or whatever they are looking at with pain and correction. That's why leerburg and cesar uses what leerburg branded "the dominant dog collar" which basically is a small string that cuts off airflow.