SavingGrace
Well-Known Member
Forgive my stupidity, but if the prong collar hurts him, won't he become afraid of me, or dislike going for his walks?
I'm not being difficult, I've just never used one before.
Believe me, if the prong collar hurt dogs, neither of mine would come running towards me, anxiously sitting and wagging their tails waiting for me to put them on, before we go for our walk. The prong was designed to mimic a momma dogs correction to her pups. Its an odd sensation for them, but it does not choke them like a choke collar (hate those), yet it provides a slight pinch around the skin. Also similar to you grabbing your dogs neck skin with your fingers and giving a little pinch, but it does it all the way around the neck.
It's an attention getter - and unlike a choke collar, the dog will actually back off when the collar corrects them instead of continuing to pull choking themselves. Regular collars, when large dogs pull on them can also be harmful to the dog, especially a dog that pulls with great force.
Honestly, I was more worried about my CC"s safety when she would pull with such force on a regular collar. I didn't want to hurt her neck, or her throat, which from what I understand is a risk. The prong gave me a way to easily and safely correct them for unwanted behavior and enjoy peaceful, non-pulling walks.
My dogs love them. The CC, at first, would throw temper tantrums because as I said it is an odd sensation to them and you are 'taking control' of them. It's easy, at that point to think the collar is doing something bad, or that it's hurting them, because they may protest at first - don't give in. That's all it was for my girl, was temper tantrums. It was not hurting her, she simply did not want to do the command I asked without a treat, and she wasn't shy about letting me know it. Keep trying with it at least a few times and work through the tantrums. They are short lived and once they learn they can't get away with that behavior - you will own him instead of the other way around. This type of training helped me take control of my dogs actions. Instead of it being about how do I cater to my dog and ask her to focus on me, it became my dog listens to me because she respects me and I'm important to her. She even asks permission to come inside, jump on the couch or jump on the bed, which she never did before this type of training. I can't stress enough, she's happy and our bond is stronger. It's not torture.
After a few sessions with the collar my girl responded quite nicely and now she loves it. She's more than happy to go on walks, she's not fearful of it, in fact if I reach for it she's all tail wags. Our Eurasier was always fine with it, and the way he loves squirrels, it's a nice relief with him on our walks as well. He also actively waits for it to be put on him. If there was even the slightest chance it would hurt my girl (or my boy) I wouldn't use it, we've been through hell and back with corrective, life saving surgeries - she's my angel. Now she's my angel who listens pretty well (did I mention she's stubborn?)
The dog will respect you, not dislike you - you have to be the strong one, they're looking to you for guidance every step of every paw. They count on you to be the strong and dominant component in their lives.
I was skeptical at first too, and it seemed scary - so I put one around my thigh and tugged. It doesn't hurt, if you get the one with the rounded prongs (smooth and filed) - also do you research or have someone show you how to use it. Any serious dog trainer will sell the good ones and I'm sure they'd be happy to spend 15 minutes showing you how to use one. Don't get them at Petco or PetSmart - they don't have the smooth ones.
I hope that helped!!!