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A prong collar is very effective for some dogs, who do stop pulling after feeling the pinch. Others slog along pulling despite the prongs and it's definitely not recommended for them. I did try one on my dog and the discomfort stressed her out to the point she actually walked worse. That was a brief experiment for us!
A prong collar is very effective for some dogs, who do stop pulling after feeling the pinch. Others slog along pulling despite the prongs and it's definitely not recommended for them. I did try one on my dog and the discomfort stressed her out to the point she actually walked worse. That was a brief experiment for us!
It's funny how what works for one dog doesn't for another. The prong collar immediately stopped the pulling in my Shepherd. The gentle leader was a complete failure. And the harness was a joke. He acted like a sled dog in the harness. I think he actually enjoyed pulling! In both the harness and the gentle leader, he figured out really quickly how to pull against them. And I was really concerned when I heard that dogs could break their necks or do serious damage to their muscles and nerves in the gentle leader.
I wonder if the prong collars are simply better for larger, stronger dogs?
I think it's important to find a trainer that you trust. Ours works with police dogs, therapy animals, and of course, dogs that compete in Schutzhund. He's been breeding and training German Shepherds for more than 30 years. He is amazing!
I volunteer at a shelter where we sometimes use prong collars. There's no predicting who it works for. You're right about different things working for different dogs. That goes for equipment, training methods, etc. That's what makes forums like this so great. You can get so many suggestions and you might need a lot of them to find the one that works.
Did you use the Premier harness and have the leverage effect, or a regular harness? Because it's pretty much impossible for a dog to do the sled dog pull in a harness that fastens the way this particular one does. Any pulling spins them around. Traditional harnesses absolutely can increase pulling, by giving the dog more load-bearing strength. But the Easy Walk one isn't constructed in a way that allows for that.
We HAVE to use a harness for our dog, given his pulling and the fact that he spends the entire time choking when the lead's attached to a traditional collar. I have done the "stop walking, and wait until he stops pulling and then continue the walk with a leash and traditional collar" approach and the result has been basically up to a solid hour of my standing stock still on the sidewalk while he strains and chokes at the other end, a complete exercise in futility. He will heel VERY short-term if you have a high-stakes treat in your hand, but quickly loses interest once a. he gets the treat, or b. he catches a scent. The ONLY thing that has had any effect is a device that, when he pulls, turns him around backward and disallows the pulling.
It's really a huge trial and error thing, and it took us nearly a year to find something that worked. The bummer of that is the annoying outlay of money trying stuff that was worthless for us, but which doubtless worked well for others. Sometimes, we have some luck trading/selling stuff that didn't work with other dog owners we know (scored a sweet varikennel for free that way), but not always.
i will say NEVER use a prong or a choke chain (or even a limited choke) unless under the guidance of an EXPERIENCED trainer, you need to be shown how to use them correctly or they all can be dangerous...
and they will NOT work for all dogs...
i had a deaf dane who had been put on a choke at around 8 weeks (i got him at 5 months for foster) and he was TERRIFIED of the prong, he was simply too sensitive and his precious people also practiced the leash pop method...
flat collar did no good and an easy walker didnt work but he was a different dog on the halti head collar!
ive had other dogs that need a flat collar for best results, and yet others who do best on limited slip collars (not as dangerous as choke chains)
for the majority of our personal dogs its ALL harnesses, because they are small breeds, because of the delicate trechea its best for dogs under 12lbs to be walked via harness...
its all about
1: finding the right method
2: finding the right tool
3: using that tool properly
I think I have used the Easy Walk. A trainer gave it to me and worked with me for a while. That's the one he managed to break. I think I have actually tried everything with this dog. I did start working with him when he was a puppy but even the trainers seemed to be frustrated with him. I practiced everything and used every device suggested. I've honestly thought of trying to contact Cesar Milan. But I've seen episodes of his show where his best remedy was a pair of rollerblades. My greatest fear is that whatever he's hooked up to is going to break because the harness (I think it was an easy walk) did break. Now, if I do take him out, I put 2 leashes on.
My dog is strong as an ox , so I was concerned about the easy walk breaking at first. My trainer hooked the leash through the front circle of the easy walk and the leash hook of her collar at the same time. I think chances of the harness breaking then would be slim and none. Later I found it wasn't necessary for her, but it may be for you.
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