Anyone ever use a prong collar on their dog?

[Modem Butterfly]

I have a Shar-pei with a terrible pulling problem. It's difficult to walk him because he pulls so terribly, and because if he moves his head just right, he can almost wriggle out of his collar (his neck is bigger than his head). I have tried the Gentle Leader and Halti collars, but again, the head shape makes them difficult to use correctly (plus we live in the South, where it's hot and humid most of the year and these collars inhibit panting). A choke chain is not an option in training because of the wrinkles (getting caught would be most painful!) but I think a prong collar might be a possibility. So has anyone had any experience with this?

[flvegan]

1. Use a Martingale (Lupine brand) collar

Widely used with greyhounds and other dogs where their head can slip out of a regular collar. The pulling will not be limited much by a prong collar, but you can damage the dog's neck and windpipe (same with a choke collar). A martingale collar puts pressure around the whole of the neck, rather than the most forward point. The brand Lupine guarantees their products forever, even if chewed.

You could also try a no-pull harness, which works very well.

[Modem Butterfly]

4. So far the harness hasn't helped much

Because of the wrinkles, I have to alternate between a neck collar and a harness on my dog to hold his ID and rabies tags (he always has his tags on, even when he's in the house, just in case he gets out). His skin gets irritated and raw if you use one or the other too long.

Where can I find a Martingale collar?

[flvegan]

7. Here's Lupine's site

http://www.lupinepet.com/

[Squatch]

2. Never use a pinch or choke collar with a leash

The dog can build up a head of steam when on a leash. The resultant force on the neck can be damaging.

I trained my lab on the pinch collar, but only held the collar in my hand. When I put him on the leash, I switched to a flat leather collar.

[Modem Butterfly]

9. In this case, the leash is kept very short

My 'pei is extremely strong and would yank my arm out of its socket if I gave him any slack at all.

[RebelOne]

3. Yes, when I took my dog to obedience school,

I was told to get a prong collar. Actually, I think they are cruel, but if your dog pulls, it will definitely cure him. I never used it again after my dog graduated from obedience school. But she does get threatened with it when she tries to pull me down the street. I tell her that I'll put the "bad" collar on her.

[ashmanonar]

8. dogs are tough.

i mean this in the strictest sense, not in the "you should beat your dog bc they don't feel it" sense.

but quite honestly, dogs DON'T FEEL THE COLLAR. our lab will still pull against a prong collar. it helps tremendously over a normal webbing collar, but she's just thickheaded enough to not care that it might pinch her.

whoo boy, did she react to the electrical bark collar tho. dog was afraid to bark for a week. we didn't have to use the bark collar ever again.

she's such a wuss tho. she acts tough, but she's a giant wuss.

[sffreeways]

5. I'm using one now

I have a 6 month old 70 pd chocolate lab that is super enthusiastic. When she has the collar on she calms down immediately, I don't have to correct her at all. She goes wild the minute I put her in her regular collar so I'm not sure this is very effective. She knows the difference so it defeats the purpose which is to train her to walk calmly. My dog is still very young and I am hoping it gets better.

She has this awful habit of wriggling out of her collar or choke chain now and taking off. She's playing a game of 'see if you can catch me' but just yesterday she tore out in front of a school bus. It was a close call. I'm going to keep using the prong collar until I can train her better to walk calmly.

I've been watching the dog whisperer lately and I'm going to start employing his techniques to see if that works. That guy is a dog god. He uses an english leash up high on the dogs neck and that seems to work after a few corrections.

The prong collar looks so abusive but it doesn't hurt my dog at all because she knows her limit when she is in it. But like I said unless it's on she's dragging me down the street.

[Modem Butterfly]

6. Scary!

I tried putting the prong collar on my own neck and having my partner yank the heck out me. It is definitely not abusive. But you're right, I want him to walk well under all circumstances.

[havocmom]

10. Look into using a Halti on the dog

http://www.doglogic.com/halter.htm

http://www.allourpets.com/htmls/halticollar.shtml

It sorta looks like a muzzle but it does not restrict the lower jaw at all. Fits over head, down and across muzzle. The lead is attached by a free hanging slip loop under the dog's chin. When the dog pulls, the pressure goes to the top of the muzzle instead of their very strong necks. They will slow down pronto!

I have a very big strong Golden and I am not young and strong anymore. This was a real help. A 90 pound neighbor with a 120 pound lab had given up walking him til I suggested a Halti. A friend took a tiny widow's Husky and trained it with a halti so she could walk it after her husband died.

Works well. Please consider it.

[Modem Butterfly]

11. I trained my Chows with a Gentle Leader, and my female is a dream to walk

But my last Shar-pei had a problem panting enough with both GL and Halti, and this Shar-pei has an even meatier mouth. We tried late last fall, but it was still hot then. Maybe I could get him trained before it gets hot...

[havocmom]

17. Might consider taking the Halti to a place that does sewing

I sew and I sort of adjusted the lengths of the nose strap for my hound.

Not hard. you can get the strapping fabric at most fabric stores. S place that does shoe or luggage repair would have machines plenty big enough to sew the heavy strap fabrics. Find one who is dog friendly and see if they can make the adjustments for your dog so that part is comfy.

I also took off the silly plastic clip buckle and replaced it with a stronger metal buckle. Doens't make sense to me to have flimsy plastic on a device build for big, powerful hounds! ;)

[ProfessorGAC]

15. Sorry. Didn't See Your Post

I concur completely. I use one exclusively. They are great. The Promise Collar is the same thing, btw.
The Professor

[Modem Butterfly]

18. No biggee

My male Chow, who was 4 when we got him from the shelter, took about six months to train using the GL, but adult Chows are really stubborn. My female we got from the vet when she was just six months, and she took to the GL no problem (also, I walked her and my male on a doubler and my male was NOT into puppy shenanigans when he was trying to mark). My first Shar-pei was 2 when we adopted him from the shelter and was basically leash-trained, but needed some brushing up on the basics, especially where female walkers and joggers were concerned (he was scared to death of all females except for me and one particular vet tech). My current Shar-pei is an excitable little bastard and outweighs our female by about ten pounds. He also has better eyesight, since she had entropian surgery early on. Our usual methods of training have been no use to him, and he doesn't get walked as much as he deserves. We have a very large, fenced in backyard, but it's not the same as a nice, long walk.

[Taverner]

12. Yes. In short, they work

But I have a big Samoyed - so nothing else get through to him. Well that and petting.

[China_cat]

13. A prong collar might be the answer

Just make sure it is fitted properly and you get training in the proper way to use it. If not fitted right or used wrong they can cause severe damage to the dog's trachea.

[ProfessorGAC]

14. NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!

Don't use those, they're cruel. So are choke collars.

There are two alternatives. The Halti and the Promise collar. I use them EXCLUSIVELY.

I've got a 100+ pound lab. If he wanted to he could pull me over and drag me around the block.

The Halti (which is what i use, but they're both the same thing) fixes around the dog's snout. A band goes around the back of the doggies head and clips to the other side about even with the ears.

The leash attaches to a little extension under the dog's bottom jaw. With this the dog can only pull as hard as the muscles in their neck allow. Rather than fighting the strength of the whole body, they can't pull any harder than the force it takes to turn their head. If they try to pull, all you have to do is move your leash hand to the right or left and let physics work. In the earliest stages, you can give a slight tug when the dog gets out in front of you which pulls the head back a bit toward you and slows them down. After a while they figure out how far they can go.

It is absolutely non-painful to the dog. It almost completely alleviates the pulling problem, gives as much control as a regular collar and they don't mind having it on. You have to get the right one for the breed. (It's not so much a matter of size, since they're adjustable.) You have to get the one that fits the dog's head shape. (One made for a lab wouldn't work on a boxer, or your Sharpei.)

Try this before the prong collar. I am firmly testifying to you that they work, and they are completely uncruel. (If that's a word.)
The Professor

[noonwitch]

16. I used one to train my old dog

She was impossible, and the vet recommended using a pincher collar. I used it for a few months, and she was much easier to walk afterwards. Rosie was a dog with a lot of problems-I got her from the county shelter and she was so malnourished that I think it caused brain damage. She was very high strung, even into old age to some degree. She also was only attached to me, and really didn't like too many other people, except my brother and my uncle. I felt really bad about using the collar, but it was absolutely necessary to get her to where I could walk her in public.

My current dog is more gentle by nature, and it wasn't necessary. I got Katie at the Humane Society Shelter and they had taken very good care of her. She has never had the nervous behavior problems that Rosie had.