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Hello I have a 4 month old male well not yet I pick him up this Saturday so is a prong collar best for leash training or is it good for all training along with a squeaky toy for attention
Prong collar?
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I’d never use a prong on a 4 month old for any reason. Training, walking, or otherwise. A 4 month old should do just fine with a flat collar and leash.
What makes you want to go straight to a prong?
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I typically don't use or recommend a prong or e-collar on dogs younger than 6-7 months. I like a harness and long line on puppies for most activities. I use a slip leash for some up close training stuff but most of my training before 6-7 months is just shaping/capturing behaviors through rewards and socialization to life with us.
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That's essentially what I did. I believe we started the prong at 6 months & started e-collar at close to a year
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Completely agree, just not for the age of the pup in question.
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I never said I was going to I was asking your opinions I have never used one but have read where a lot of people do use them what I did with my wolf hybrids which worked very well is very different from what I am finding in my studies on German Shepherd training. So my fist month is going to be bonding, sit, lay down, stay and leash walking and no prong collar is my thinking on track or is my thinking off
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He is 4 months has had socialization with small kids small dogs and his dog family now it's my turn so I think bonding is the most important place to start
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You just need to develop a solid training foundation first, before you use any tools like a prong or e-collar. Develop the base first.
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My dog started prong collar training at 4 months from a professional trainer. He is 5.5 months now and I get compliments on his behavior everywhere I go, from Market Basket and Home Depot to picking my daughter up from middle school. I take him everywhere with me. He is trained very well and listens with hardly little to no corrections at all. Everyone's view of training is different, I'm not a professional trainer, I take what they teach me and Koda and practice every day.
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If you want to get one and learn how to use it for if you need it, then have someone show you. Don’t use it unless you absolutely can’t control or train your dog any other way and not until the puppy is older. Once you start using a prong it’s very difficult to stop.
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Every dog is different. A professional trainer probably has infinitely more experience than the OP. Lots of reasons to wait a bit until the dog matures.
Can it be done? Certainly, but it can also go south. I just had a board and train that had a prong on from 4-7 months on walks with an inexperienced owner. I couldn't use a prong on the dog at all for leash pressure because it learned to ignore it until he wss overwhelmed. There was some problems with the dog not wanting to walk on a leash because of that.
Yes, this can happen with an adult too, but the chances of screwing up a puppy are greater.
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We semi screwed ourselves with Crios. We only used the prong for walks so we could actually walk him. Now we have to put the prong on for all walks. We don’t connect it to a leash, just his flat collar, but if we forgo the prong, pulls like crazy again. This was my mistake though, we trained him that the prong meant walk, no prong he is pulling something. A wagon, a backpack, the urban sled when my sons around. So we basically conditioned him that prong means easy walk, no prong equals work. Any tips on how to get the same results without the prong. It’s literally attached to nothing, we attached to the flat collar. He’s also the only dog I used a prong on. Darn husky’s and their drive to pull! Lol
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Use a harness for pulling.
Use a DD collar or slip leash for walks. Start in your house and work your way outside. Be sure you size it right so it sits up high on his neck. Reward like crazy when he's in position. I would use a clicker for this.
Graduate to a thin flat collar. Then a regular flat collar.
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That’s the problem, we tried every collar and harness on the market. The only one that worked was the prong. I have a hoard of all the harnesses, collars, and leashes (including slip lead and DD leashes). But I’m sure I can up his training, it never hurts!
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I use prong collars on my 30 pound hound dog and my 70 pound shepherd. I have used them, since my dogs were pretty young pups. If used correctly, they do not hurt the dog. My dogs self corrected. If they don't pull, it doesn't get tight, so they don't pull. I am old and have joint issues. I can't have them yanking on me. I can walk the hound using one finger to hold the leash. I don't, but I could.
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I'm personally not a fan of correction tools on puppies. For teaching a puppy loose leash walking I first teach them leash pressure. This will help later when I do go to training tools, because they then understand how to "control" the tool. So for teaching puppies loose leash walking, when they start to pull on the leash I simply stop and wait them out. Once THEY release the pressure, I mark it (clicker, say YES) and reward. Either a quick pet or a treat. I repeat this process over and over. Once they start to get that, I walk and change directions often. Getting them to pay attention to me. So if they are walking in a nice heel position, the second they start to go ahead, I change directions 90 degrees from the side the dog is on. Rinse and repeat. Usually takes me a handful of session to get a puppy to walk decently on a leash. As they grow up and get more independence I use training collars to enforce and proof what the dog already knows.
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I am not a fan of prong collars or e-collars. But if it is a question of fighting with the dog, use the correction tool, so that doesn't become necessary. Before putting a correction collar on a 4 month old puppy, you should know what his temperament is like.
As for a perfectly trained 5.5 month old puppy, well, I like to relax with my pups and enjoy the journey. We do not practice obedience daily, or even weekly. Not really. I mean, I tell them to go in, or to come when we are out together. But that is just communication. Which is exactly what training is. I am looking for an animal that I can totally predict and count on, without any collar on. Because my dogs do not wear collars or harnesses 98% of the time or better. Within my fencing or outside of my fencing I need for them to listen without collars. And they do. I let puppies be puppies and just build a relationship. It's kind of strange but when I finally put leash and collar on the pup to go to the vet, they do really well.
As for a perfectly trained 5.5 month old puppy, well, I like to relax with my pups and enjoy the journey. We do not practice obedience daily, or even weekly. Not really. I mean, I tell them to go in, or to come when we are out together. But that is just communication. Which is exactly what training is. I am looking for an animal that I can totally predict and count on, without any collar on. Because my dogs do not wear collars or harnesses 98% of the time or better. Within my fencing or outside of my fencing I need for them to listen without collars. And they do. I let puppies be puppies and just build a relationship. It's kind of strange but when I finally put leash and collar on the pup to go to the vet, they do really well.
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They are not cruel. They are a tool and have their place. No one method works on all dogs.
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