Pronged Collars

A subscriber recently asked me what my opinion of pronged collars is, as his puppy class is encouraging them to assist with leash control.

In case you are unsure what a pronged collar is, it's like a 'choke chain' only each link contains a pair of metal prongs that point inwards. When the dog is wearing it as soon as any pressure is put on the leash the collar tightens and the prongs dig into the dogs neck, causing (I imagine) extreme discomfort.

The idea is that the dog quickly figures out that to avoid the pain associated with the collar all it has to do is walk quietly on the leash and all will be well.

Before I say anything else I must make it perfectly clear that I have never actually used a pronged collar myself, so what follows are my assumptions about them.

If I'm being perfectly honest I've never even _seen_ a pronged collar in the flesh. I've seen pictures of them and I know how they work. But if I wanted to buy one I don't know where to go for one. Probably I could buy one online, but I would be absolutely astonished if I could walk into a pet store here and pick one up.

For the benefit of any new readers, I live in the UK. As far as I am aware it is not possible to buy a pronged collar in this country. I have never seen one for sale in any store in this country, neither have I ever seen a dog in this country wearing one. And in the whole of my twenty years of training dogs in the UK I've never once even heard anybody mention a pronged collar. I suspect that most dog owners in this country would give you a blank look if you asked them what they knew about them.

The only reason I know what they are is because over the years I've read a lot about dogs and dog training methods, by authors from all around the world.

I know that pronged collars are common in the US. Maybe they are in other countries too - I'm not sure.

If it's virtually impossible to buy a pronged collar in the UK and nobody uses them here, what does that tell you about the dogs that live here?

Either that they must all be totally uncontrollable on the leash, or that British dog owners have found ways other than pronged collars to train their dogs.

And the answer is.......

.....there are other ways to control your dog. A whole host of ways in fact. And I go into them in great detail in my book, "Dog Training Blueprint To Success - How To Get Your Dog To Do Exactly What You Tell It The Very Second You Tell It, Even If It's Nowhere Near You When You Give The Command"

Maybe we're a bunch of softies in this country, but personally the idea of using a pronged collar on a puppy horrifies me. And my initial reaction is that any trainer who recommends all puppies to be walked on a pronged collar isn't very experienced. I might be doing that person a grave injustice, and the last thing I want to do is be unprofessional about somebody I've never met and whose techniques I haven't seen first hand for myself.

But I just can't understand why it should be necessary to recommend pronged collars when there are so many alternatives that work perfectly well, which don't run the risk of traumatising the puppy.

My fear is that heavy handed use of a pronged collar would just leave the puppy terrified of going on the leash. I've seen it happen with 'choke chains', and pronged collars dish out even harsher treatment.

I try to discourage people from using choke chains if at all possible. They _can_ be useful, but only for the really bold outgoing pups who aren't bothered by anything, and even on those they are only suitable if the pup insists on constantly racing ahead of you.

If the pup lags behind, or tends to zig zag about as you walk, a choke chain is not the answer.

There is a right way and a wrong way to put on a choke chain.

The end attached to the leash must go over the back of the dogs neck, round the far side of the neck and back towards you under the chin.

Which means you must always walk the dog on one side of you or the other.

If you put the chain on correctly and the dog then changes over onto your other side, the chain will now be upside down. In other words the end attached to the leash will go under the dogs chin, up around the far side of the neck and back towards you across the top of the dogs neck. If you're unsure of what I mean, try it on your leg, a fence post, table leg or somesuch - you'll soon see what I mean.

When a choke chain is put on correctly if you give a quick tug on the leash then immediately let the leash fall slack, the chain will tighten momentarily around the dogs neck but as soon as you let the leash go slack, so too will the chain. It will slide open, thereby completely eliminating any pressure around the dogs neck.

But if the chain is upside down and you try the same thing, although it will tighten just as quickly, when you let the leash go slack, the chain will stay tight, effectively strangling the dog.

That's why it's only effective for the dog that wants to surge ahead the whole time. Dog moves forward, you give a quick tug-and-release. By making sure you get your timing right you will quickly teach the dog that moving ahead of you causes a momentary tightening sensation around the neck, but that walking alongside you entails a completely slack collar and lead, with no pressure at all being felt.

But if you have a dog that lags behind you, it's impossible to make that same tug-and-release movement. Tugging at the leash simply tightens the noose around the dogs neck and because it's reluctant to walk alongside you you're never able to let the leash fall slack. You end up strangling the dog.

And the 'zig zagger' is not much better because the chain keeps alternating from the right way round to upside down, then back to the right way round again as the dog criss crosses back and forth in front of you.

I've seen sensitive puppies completely terrified of walking on the leash simply because they've been dragged around on a chain by some oaf who didn't know what he was doing.

My big fear with pronged collars is that because the treatment they dish out is even harsher than with choke chains, the risk of traumatising the pup is even greater.

The reason I try to discourage people from using choke chains is that you have to know exactly what you're doing with them -

• you must understand exactly how they work
• your timing has to be perfect
• you must be able to accurately assess your puppy's temperament to be certain it's an appropriate tool for that particular individual

And even if you're 100% certain on all 3 of those points, it's only appropriate to correct the dog that consistently surges forward. It's not a catch-all panacea for all problems encountered when teaching dogs to walk on the leash.

And I refuse to believe that a pronged collar is a catch-all panacea either. Like I said earlier, nobody in the UK uses them - they are unheard of here. There are plenty of alternative methods you can use.

If your trainer is insisting you need a pronged collar I'd give serious consideration to parting company. Do you really want to destroy the complete trust your puppy has in you? Because my view is that there is a real risk of you unwittingly doing just that unless you are 100% CERTAIN of how to use a pronged collar properly.

Remember also that these are my _assumptions_. I'm quite prepared to stand corrected if someone can demonstrate to me that I'm mistaken.

Have you any experience of pronged collars, either good or bad? If so, please do get in touch as I'm keen to hear your views.

Recommended reading "Dog Training Blueprint To Success".

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