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Keeper Hidden Prong Collar vs. Working Dog Dry Goods Tactical Hidden Prong Collar
I have tried numerous "hidden" prong collars, looking for reliability, ease to put on and remove and at least some of the correction of a Martingale. I have the classic Herm Sprenger prong collar, which is the gold standard for training, but despite having a periodically reactive GSD, I don't need such sharp corrections for everyday use. A regular Martingale collar sometimes is not enough. The difficulty in unhooking and hooking the prongs and the inevitable prong failure make the HS less than ideal for daily use.
Up until recently, I found the Keeper Collar was the best choice. It was seemingly sturdy, had the HS 3.2 prongs permanently sewn in and was easy to put on and remove with a heavy duty plastic side release buckle. The problem is the Martingale "pop" correction is poor, rendering it slightly better than a prong flat collar. Unfortunately, I recently experienced a catastrophic failure of the buckle, resulting in a dog fight. In retrospect, the failure of Keeper Collar to advertise the rating of their buckle and 1 inch webbing should have been a red flag.
A gracious forum poster recommended the Working Dog Dry Goods Tactical Hidden Prong Collar. I was reassured when I discovered the online description included ratings for the 1.5 inch webbing and Cobra Polymer buckle. The Cobra buckle is rated at 500 lbs and the webbing at 5500 lbs. The hardware is welded, black powder covered. Upon receiving the WDDG collar I was immediately struck by the high quality , oversize hardware. The D ring for the leash and rectangle ring for the Martingale action are significant improvements over the Keeper Collar's generic chrome hardware. The increased size of the WDDG D ring makes attaching the leash on a squirming dog much easier. The oversize square ring greatly improves the correction quality of the Martingale action. I ordered one recently and have used it for about a week. I have found the correction to be a significant improvement over the Keeper. The WDDG Cobra buckle is easy to use. The only area where the Keeper may have an edge is the HS 3.2 prongs are sewn in, while the WDDG HS prongs are retained by elastic band tension. Whether that translates into a degradation of durability leaves to be seen.
My final conclusion is the WDDG is a superior product over the Keeper Collar. I'm curious about forum members experiences with either collar.
I have tried numerous "hidden" prong collars, looking for reliability, ease to put on and remove and at least some of the correction of a Martingale. I have the classic Herm Sprenger prong collar, which is the gold standard for training, but despite having a periodically reactive GSD, I don't need such sharp corrections for everyday use. A regular Martingale collar sometimes is not enough. The difficulty in unhooking and hooking the prongs and the inevitable prong failure make the HS less than ideal for daily use.
Up until recently, I found the Keeper Collar was the best choice. It was seemingly sturdy, had the HS 3.2 prongs permanently sewn in and was easy to put on and remove with a heavy duty plastic side release buckle. The problem is the Martingale "pop" correction is poor, rendering it slightly better than a prong flat collar. Unfortunately, I recently experienced a catastrophic failure of the buckle, resulting in a dog fight. In retrospect, the failure of Keeper Collar to advertise the rating of their buckle and 1 inch webbing should have been a red flag.
A gracious forum poster recommended the Working Dog Dry Goods Tactical Hidden Prong Collar. I was reassured when I discovered the online description included ratings for the 1.5 inch webbing and Cobra Polymer buckle. The Cobra buckle is rated at 500 lbs and the webbing at 5500 lbs. The hardware is welded, black powder covered. Upon receiving the WDDG collar I was immediately struck by the high quality , oversize hardware. The D ring for the leash and rectangle ring for the Martingale action are significant improvements over the Keeper Collar's generic chrome hardware. The increased size of the WDDG D ring makes attaching the leash on a squirming dog much easier. The oversize square ring greatly improves the correction quality of the Martingale action. I ordered one recently and have used it for about a week. I have found the correction to be a significant improvement over the Keeper. The WDDG Cobra buckle is easy to use. The only area where the Keeper may have an edge is the HS 3.2 prongs are sewn in, while the WDDG HS prongs are retained by elastic band tension. Whether that translates into a degradation of durability leaves to be seen.
My final conclusion is the WDDG is a superior product over the Keeper Collar. I'm curious about forum members experiences with either collar.
