Stop CHOKING your dog!

[RealPitBull]

www.apdt.co.uk/pdfs/Choke_Chain_leaflet.pdf

[windowdog]

I agree Mary, problem is chokers are cheap as dirt, never break, and prevent strong pulling in poorly trained dogs. I think that's why they remain popular. Heck even Best Friend gave me a choke chain collar when they dropped Devin off at my house for the first time.

I remember as far back as 1995 my Vet told me not to use a choker, though he recommended one of those inward spikey prong collar things. I've heard people swear the dogs don't mind them. But I just can't put something that looks like a torture device on my dog.

[valliesong]

I've never seen choke collars be particularly effective on most dogs. We used them at the shelters to walk dogs simply because they are basically one size fits all and dogs can't back out of them.

Even with the effects of adversives aside, getting the timing right is almost impossible, especially with a dog that pulls constantly. And without perfect timing, they are completely useless.

[RealPitBull]

It sickens me when I see chokes on dogs and the dogs are just pulling and hacking away. Shelters use them often; Liberty Humane has all their dogs in martingale collars now which is awesome - solves the slipping out problem.

[mageedog]

I agree that those collars are terrible. The pronged training collar is much more humane. And those chokers.....I HAVE SEEN dogs back and thrash out of them.

[valliesong]

My dog Aiden developed degenerative disc disease and I never even used a choker on him, only a martingale. The vet says it is primarily genetic, but never rule out the damage that collars can cause your dog's spine and trachea, especially if your dog is a heavy puller or bolts to the end of the leash.

[tank]

I have used the prong collars in the past and was fairly happy with it. I only used it sometimes where there would be excess craziness to keep my boston under control. I'm not sure if I would use it on Lucy, although sometimes I wish I had one. She is really good on a leash, but when we take her for a walk to the store there is so much trash and junk and food on the side of the road, she is pretty uncontrollable and eats everything in sight. I have even tried the prong collar on myself and given it a good yank and it didn't hurt one bit. I would never use a regular choke chain, they are horrible and can cause serious injury.

[RealPitBull]

Prongs do hurt/cause discomfort. By their very design they are meant to cause avoidance in your dog (i.e. they avoid getting hurt by avoiding a certain behavior); if they didn't hurt, they wouldn't work.

[tank]

Would you suggest head collars for high traffic areas? Right now I don't use anything but a regular collar and short leash and she walks very well 97% of the time.

[RealPitBull]

A 97% success rate is pretty great. But if you want more control, yes, I do recommend headcollars. There is a sticky thread on this board about how to use them properly.

[coolhandjean]

I tried one once. Obviously, had no clue how to use it, and never put it on the dog again.

[hammer4]

I read a study done re: injuries to pups using various collars, and by far the one that caused the most injuies was the choke, which I would Never use. The study also went on to say the the safest collar other than a standard band type collar was a good quality prong collar.

So, being that my pup at 71/2 mos. is in his I'm gonna be a brat stage, so I bought a Sprenger prong collar, I use it according to the experts, i.e. fit and placement. We went for a 2 mile walk tonight and Chance did Great!!! I had to do a couple of corrections, both of which were very slight, and he showed no sign of pain or discomfort.

Btw, we have been walking with a standard cloth collar from Foxy & Lola, I had some sucess using positive renforcment, but in the past couple of weeks, he's been a handful. He's also been on Temaril P for itching, so that may have something to do with his behavior.. ???

I don't have a link to the study, but a google search should bring it up.

[bamapitbullmom]

I'm sure you guys have heard of Don Sullivan, the self-proclaimed Dogfather who promotes his "command collar" a horrific type of prong collar: www.dogfather.tv/ The website doesn't show the spikes (or prongs) but you can see the same type of collar at the link below.

performancepethealth.com/zencart/ click on collars and you'll see the Starmark collar. There's also a link to the starmark site where they further describe the collar (and interestingly a clicker) and offer training demo videos and articles which are physical manipulation and correction based.

These collars when on the dog look less barbaric than prongs and hopefully will not gain popularity but I am ready for anything. The only positive I see is the potential for the links to pop open themselves and fall off the dog. Of course that wish may come true and result in a dog being hit by a car and I certainly don't wish that.

[RealPitBull]

OMG!!!!!!!!!! I had to stop looking at this dumb@ss's site after a few seconds. Sorry, this guy is just an utter HACK. It's one thing to differ in opinions on methods or tools, as long as you are still being scientific in your training, and understand learning theory. This guy doesn't know a dog from a tree stump.

Just ONE 'gem' from this site:

Myth: You can’t correct your dog after the fact; he won’t understand what you are correcting him for

His response…Dogs have an amazing memory! And they all have a great memory; they certainly remember when they have done something against the “rules,” even if you discover it days later!

[angels8]

newtrix.ca/docs/index.php

this place has the best head collar on the market- when I bought mine for Kaeda she took a medium so their chart is off a hair, but she has a narrow head. it attaches to a regular collar as a safety and the leash attaches to the back of the head. , they pull the mask gets snug and they stop. Best training head collar i have seen so far.

[loverocksalot]

I have had great success with the sensation chest harness. And the company is awesome will even adjust the sizing for after my dog chest had grown. I tried using the one made by gentle leader easy walk. But with the skinny bod and large chest none fit right. I call softtouch concepts and for small fee they are going to re size my harness for rocky.. They had me send photos so they can see how it is fitting him and they recommended it is time to make the chest part larger. I put it off cause I cant be with out it so think I may need to buy a 2nd one first. www.softouchconcepts.com/

[RealPitBull]

I LUUUUUUUUUUUUUV Sensation Harnesses, they are FAB!

[loverocksalot]

I think I going to order a second one today. Oh and one more thing they told me to add some mole skin for under his legs. Got it at CVS with the sticky on it. It has stayed on there months now and has been great. He has naked pink belly and easily can get sore. I lOVE IT TOO.

[loverocksalot]

Softouchconcepts friggen amazing I think I will do a separate thread on it. I just called and within a few moments I have ordered an altered harness that will be shipped on Monday. Then I can send back our trusty worn one for 5.00 they will alter it. They automatically asked me if I had some type of bull dog. Common measurements.

[myangel]

I've always harness trained all my dogs because I don't want pressure put on their throats!! but I have put choke chains on my dogs for the look but never the prong choke chains. I work at a privately owned pet and feed store and see all that is out there for dogs.