If dog owners are opinionated on one thing, it’s collars. Here’s your chance to voice your opinion on why you should or should not use a certain collar.
I’ll go first:
The two collars I recommend are the Halti and the pinch collar.
Every dog is different, and there is no collar best for all dogs. But for the average medium or large dog, the best training collar is the pinch collar. With a quick leash pop as a correction, the dog learns not to pull.
Of course, it takes a lot of time, patience and practice to get to the point where the dog heels reliably, but the pinch collar is a good tool to use to get to that point, especially with powerful dogs.
The pinch (or prong) collar is similar to a typical training (or choke) collar, but it is more effective. With my mutt’s short, smooth coat, a regular training collar constantly slips to the thickest part of his neck where it is useless. The pinch collar remains high on his neck and rarely needs adjusting.
Some people will say pinch collars are inhumane. Personally, I think it’s inhumane to have my arm ripped off.
Still, I know many people have issues with the pinch collar and will not use one under any circumstance. Other dogs pull so bad even with the pinch collar that they could hurt themselves. That is when I recommend a Halti.
Haltis are basically the same as Gentle Leaders. Both are head collars that minimize a dog’s pulling. Even for the worst cases when a dog pulls no matter what, the pulling is less noticeable when the dog wears a Halti.
The problem with Haltis is dogs will go right back to pulling once they are on a regular collar. For some people, that’s OK, they just depend on the Halti and use it all the time.
I don’t want to depend on any kind of training collar, so I switch back and forth between the two kinds while trying to use a regular, flat collar as often as possible.
For what it’s worth, Ace prefers the pinch collar. Although he tolerates them, he hates Gentle Leaders and Haltis because having something around his muzzle makes him feel restricted (or shall I say under control!). I don’t think he even knows when he has his pinch collar on.
What collar do you think is best for dog training?
KB
Tuesday 14th of December 2010
Well, I am going to try the pinch collar. We have adopted an 8 month old lab/border collie who is about 50 pounds. We've tried a standard collar, a harness and a halti. We all have sore shoulders and have been draggeed down our snowy sidewalks trying to walk him. I don't want to give up on him and it seems like the posts here have some positive ideas about the pinch collars. Anything I should be cautious about? Aware of?
Thanks, KB
Lindsay Stordahl
Tuesday 14th of December 2010
Well one thing to be aware of is the pinch collar can damage the dog's throat if he's pulling and pulling and pulling! So, just be careful and aware of that. It's best if you keep the collar high up on your dog's neck where he is more sensitive. This will discourage him from pulling. So, find one that is not too loose. You can always take out a few of the links of it's too loose, though.
Pinch collars come with different sized links. I tend to like the pinch collars with smaller links. They seem to be more effective and give me better control than the collars with huge links.
Lindsay Stordahl
Sunday 31st of January 2010
Yep, you're right. And for now the pinch collar will encourage you to walk your dog more often, to bring him along to more places, etc. Because it's more enjoyable when he's well behaved!
tanya
Sunday 31st of January 2010
Well, in my opinion it was a training session for my little guy...teaching him to walk nicely with tons of other people and dogs around. and he did a great job with it, there was no pulling, tugging or jumping, he was very well behaved. thank you for the words of confidence, I feel much better now!
Lindsay Stordahl
Saturday 30th of January 2010
It's your dog; you can do what you want. I think you are making the right choice because you know what's best for your dog. Pinch collars are nog allowed during certain obedience tests such as the Canine Good Citizens test, but for training purposes, they are a great tool.
tanya
Saturday 30th of January 2010
I am using a pinch collar that was suggested in puppy preschool classes with my 7 month old vizsla. However, today while out taking a slow walk at a dog expo I was informed that pinch collars are not allowed for walking purposes per the akc. I am still training my little guy with the pinch collar and find that is works best, choke chains don't work for him. Is it ok that I use the pinch collar. I have tried them on my arm and know that they don't cause pain but this woman was very angry and pretty much yelling at me because walking him was not in a "training room."