Prong Collars?

Question

I've been using a halti on my GSD pup who is just abouts 5 months old now, and she hates it. Infact, She gets worse with it every single day! now it's to the point where she won't even walk with it on, if I take a step she'll jump up and bite either me or the leash in protest. Besides that, when she used to walk on it, she'd pull no matter what, with the halti leaving marks on her face-fur and shutting one of her poor little eyes as she walked!

SOOOoo despite me being so strongly anti-prong collar for years and years, I am thinking it may be a more effective and actually more humane method of controlling her.

What do you think, world? I don't want to be cruel, but I'm not even sure what that is now! halti versus prong, let's hear it.

Answer 1

Prongs are not inhumane they prevent trachea damage. Dogs who pull on choke chains or flat collars both are more prone to trachea and neck injuries, prongs are not sharp you can even get rubber tips for them. They apply pressure when the dog pulls in spots around the neck muscles, the dog self corrects you don't have to do it for them, they pull and the collar self corrects by exerting pressure. They do not collapse the dogs throat or choke it out like a flat or chain choke does.

Prongs do not fit like other collars they should be worn high on the neck just behind the ears and jawline, never pull a dog on a prong. Let them self correct or have someone experienced with prongs teach you how to 'snap' a prong correctly. Always use a safety chain or hook your leash to both prong and flat collar, prongs can pop loose especially the cheaper ones or if not fitted correctly. Some have a swivel which I prefer and some also have a quick release buckle or clip to put them on and off, prongs can be difficult to put on and off.

I have a doberman and they are prone to neck injuries, a choke or halti is last thing I would put on him, some people say they work but I have seen dogs (shepherds) stiffen their neck and pull against a halti. A dog that darts and hits the end of a leash hard wearing a halti gets the same kind of injury to the neck as whiplash, it can be very dangerous on dogs that are by body shape predisposed to neck injury. The idea of a halter on a dogs head and the people that compare it to a horse halter fail to note that a horse halter pulled back by a rider does not 'stop' the head and sling the body past it. Riders hold both reins and the horse stops at his own speed because of discomfort, not because the rider physically stops it dead in its tracks.

You should get her into obedience classes so you can learn how to train her, classes are as much for the owner as for the dog. In the mean time a prong will prevent her from damaging her own throat. A harness is another option, they also make no pull harnesses that will work for some dogs like the gentle leader by premier pet, the loop is on the front and when they pull it tightens across the chest and pulls them sideways. There is another type that has straps that run from the bottom of the collar under the legs and back up to the loop on top, when they pull it tightens across the chest and under the front legs. These types do work but not if your dog drops to the ground or backs out of it. Dipspite what they say they do not instantly stop your dog from pulling, they greatly reduce its ability to effectivly pull and decrease desire eventually because pulling is no longer working or comfortable.
What works for one dog does not work for all, sometimes you have to try several things to find one that works for you and your dog. In any case the dog will benifit from training so you eventually don't have to worry about pulling at all.

Here is a link about prongs
http://www.cobankopegi.com/prong.html
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http://www.archangelboxers.com/pb/wp_f9365001/wp_f9365001.html
A Study on Prong Collars was done in Germany: 100 dogs were in the study.50 used choke collars and 50 used prong collars. The dogs were studied for their entire lives. As dogs died, autopsies were performed. Of the 50 which had choke collars, 48 had injuries to the neck, trachea, or back. 2 of those were determined to be genetic. The other 46 were caused by trauma. Of the 50 which had prong collars, 2 had injuries in the neck area, 1 was determined to be genetic, and 1 was caused by trauma.

Answer 2

Switch - the halti is not a training tool, no matter what someone says. Once you take it off, the dog will be back to its old tricks because it never learned not to act a certain way.

THe prong is not cruel, it pinches only if the dog pulls or acts up. Therefore - it's actually the dog that ends up controlling whether or not the pinch occurs. You do not need to "pop" it, just a firm pull and release is all that is needed if your pup acts up.

I tried harnasses, haltis, buckle collars, choke chains, and the prong has worked the best. It's not cruel - try it out.

Answer 3

I will not even go into how I feel about the halti, but, use your imagination. The prong is one of the most humane training collars invented. A properly fitted and used prong is more humane then a choker and gives better results in training. Try it on your dog and see for your self.

Answer 4

I had a male shepherd that I eventually used the prong collar on. I was mad that I waited so long to use this collar because of the stigma I felt about this type of collar. I would never use a choker collar again, the prong collar allows the dog to correct the pulling their self. No more pulling, no gagging, eventually he walked perfectly on a regular flat collar.

Get him into obedience classes and socialized with both people and dogs. GSDs are large dogs and can be very protective/territorial. They also excel in obedience. Some classes do not allow this type of collar.

Answer 5

Well, if you've tried the halti and it's not working for your dog, go ahead and try the prong collar for a while. Work on teaching your pup to walk nicely, and eventually she will be able to use a regular collar.

Answer 6

I'm not anti prong collar because I used one on my Weimaraner because she hated both the halti and the gentle leader. However, she still pulled on the prong collar too. I ended up using a harness on her and our lab, they don't pull as much on the harness like they do with nothing but collars on and it doesn't hurt their necks.

The harness I have is one that tightens around their front legs when they pull. I have attached a link for it.

Answer 7

Cannot be compared.
The Halti is a 'device' which will restrict pulling.
A pronged collar is an aid for you to train her to stop pulling.
A pronged collar is NOT designed to stop pulling, a halti is.
Both work great when used correctly... I'm not saying you aren't , I just mean, I am not anti either method.
=)

Answer 8

For strong pullers, use a front attaching harness. Something like an Easy Walk or Walk Your Dog With Love harness. Fit is extremely important so make sure you read the instructions or have someone that knows what they are doing help. The logic is the same as the face harnesses, but most dogs don't mind them on. Mine gets excited when she sees it. She is 140 pound stubborn Great Pyre that can easily be walked by my 110 pound children.

Answer 9

My dog used to pull constantly. The best thing I have ever done is buy a harness. There are rubber tips that are supposed to be put on those prong collars. Most people don't know that so please if you go that route buy the rubber tips. The harness has helped tremendously. There are even "no pull" harness.

Answer 10

The halti may not be the solution for her. Your best bet would be to take her through training. A trainer can work with the 2 of you to decide what course of action should take. PetSmart, PetCo and most adult education facilities offer these at pretty reasonable rates.