I like prong collars. Hate pinch collars. They are so difficult for me to use. And the dog ends up pulling anyway, and gasping for air. The prong stops pulling completely.
my guy was becoming an unbearable leash puller so I tried a choke collar and he would pull anyway. I would here him wheezing he would pull that hard. tried a prong collar and its been wonderful
I don't use it for unwanted behavior, but honestly have found that once the guy and I were able to actually walk like civilized beings and enjoy each other, other unwanted behaviors have dropped off and/or become easier to change. Herm sprenger is the collar I chose. I mentioned on another thread that I was debating it, but slipped it over my leg onto my thigh and cranked it hard, and it did not hurt. It has made a HUGE difference, not to say there isn't plenty of work yet!
So happy to see this thread tonight. Our trainer has just decided that we are going to use a prong on our now 6.5 month old 80 lb dog. He is very strong and although he is very easy to wallk on a leash most of the time, he can be reactive and has really just started to be a butt head at times.
I was initially very nervous, but the trainer took an hour today (without our dog) to talk to me about it, explain it, and make me feel much more comfortable. After reading threads on this forum, I am glad that our trainer is taking his time with introducing the prong to our dog, fitting it properly, and teaching me how to properly use it.
It made since what he said..our dog has learned to "resist" his flat collar meaning that he now knows how hard to pull backwards when he doesn't "feel like" coming or when he wants to get to something while on a walk. The prong is to be used as a gentle "get his attention" rather than a tug of war on the flat.
As others have said, please do yourself a favour and get a stainless Herm Sprenger collar if you want to use a prong. The difference in price is minimal compared to pet store prongs, and the quality is so much higher. It's worth the difference for the potential amount of usage it will get.
Also get a backup collar. Though rare they do come apart. Why risk it? Mine came apart a few times.
I always have a backup. I use leerburg's combo but you can use any collar as long as it's longer than the prong.
But it's easier to buy his combo and not think about choosing the collar. His combo leash has a clip for the backup and it's on a longer piece of leather so it's not active unless the prong comes off
Think of it as a training tool. Get good instruction on how to use it. And I absolutely agree on buying a quality Herm Sprenger. The chinese made cheap ones are hideous, sharper, potential for harm.
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