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Anonymous
Hi /an/
I have a question. Are prong collars better for a dog than just a regular collar? Sometimes when I am walking my dog, she sees something to run after and she tugs really hard against the collar. I am a big guy, and I can easily hold her back, but she is a fairly big dog and generates a lot of force. I am just afraid she will hurt herself because she takes all of the pressure straight to her throat. However, I think that if I used a prong collar, the pressure would be distributed around her neck, and she would not pull as hard because of the prongs. Am I wrong in these assumptions? How stressful is it on the dog to wear one?

I am also considering a harness, but I want to leave that out of the discussion for now.

Pic is a martingale collar (I think). This could be an option, but I am not sure it would help all that much because, at a certain point, it is just like a very tight normal collar.
>> Anonymous
Train your dog not to go after whatever's enticing them. Keep treats handy to distract her and reward her when she focuses on you instead of the stimulus. Martingale collars are good but the dog can't wear them when not being walked (potential choking hazard.)
>> Anonymous
I forgot to add that prong collars ought to be left to the professionals, as most people use them in all the wrong ways and tend to stress the dog more because of improper use.
>> Anonymous
>>313226
>>313229
Thanks for the info! I am pretty good at behavior modification, I just didn't think it would be good in this situation. I can't constantly reward her when she is walking well, and then cease when she goes after something (negative punishment), and I can't really tell if she is ignoring something she would chase, so i cant reward her for those times (positive reinforcement). I don't even see how negative reinforcement would work in this situation, so I think that the best option is positive punishment. However, since this is about the safety of the dog, and not about getting rid of a destructive habit, I see no point in putting the dog through the stress that comes with completely suppressing a natural instinct. Thus, I think the best option would be to remove as much of the danger as possible.
>> Anonymous
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You could think about getting your dog this kind of collar
the idea is that when the dog pulls it directs their motion downward and to the side and prevents them from pulling so hard.
they're actually surprisingly effective. Of course the key thing that you understand is that your dog needs to learn to walk on the leash calmly (reinforce with treats as anon suggested.)
You might want to get your buddy several different collars and leashes intended for different activities (short ones for city walk, longer ones for walks in the park with more freedom) and they might even start to recognize that different collars mean different things.
and if you do get a training collar be sure to take it off when you are done with it - they are not intended for extended wear and can be very uncomfortable
>> Anonymous
>>313243

"positive punishment" is bullshit, ugh. unless you're a professional dog trainer, don't use a prong collar.

What you do is train her to respond to a command such as "look at me" (or whatever words/gestures you want to use to get her attention) and use that when she attempts to go after something. You can start doing this at home when she's not on a leash and work your way up to walks. The more distractions you add, the higher value of treat you use. Of course you can eventually phase out the treat reward system.
>> Anonymous
>>313263

Positive Punishment != good punishment/happy punishment/whatever BS you think.

Positive Punishment = Reduction of a Behavior via an applied stimulus.

For bonus points,

Negative punishment = Reduction of a behavior via a removed stimulus.
>> Anonymous
If you don't want to hurt her as she pulls (and as you train her), consider a harness with leash.
>> Anonymous
>>313253
I have one of these for my ADHD afflicted pit. It works wonders. She doesn't pull at all on it, and has learned from that to not pull when on a normal leash, too. i recommend this(it was the only problem with the dog when i got her, she just zigzagged everywhere and would drag me around chasing butterflys or whatnot, HUGE change in how she walks now)
>> Anonymous
My family used choker chains for all our GSDs, until one day I convinced them to try a nose halter, ala>>313253

Try them. Your dog will doubtless hate wearing them at first, but they work brilliantly and you no longer have to worry about them making violent, sudden lunges at things. You control an animal's head- any animal- you control its entire body.