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The Secret To Choosing a Dog Training Collar

submitted: May 5th 2008 | by: SteveWagstaffe | Total views: 5 | Word Count: 719 | |

Training a dog can be a rewarding experience, especially if the dog that you are training is your own. Having training aids can be a great help, if you know what you are doing. Items such as training collars have proven to be effective, if used in the right hands. If you are unsure and have no expertise in dog training, then training collars have the capacity to seriously injure your dog. This article is going to attempt to explain about the different types of training collars on offer and which ones you should be considering using. It is also advisable to get expert help as well.

The first collar to investigate is the prong collar. Whilst it actually looks to be the most evil of the collars, it is actually the least likely to cause harm, although if people want to abuse the collar (and the dog), they will find a way. Under normal usage, when the collar is pulled, the prongs that make up the leash pinch the dog's neck. The thought behind this is that the reaction is similar to the of the dog's mother's teeth used to reprimand the dog when it was a puppy. The collar is reasonably safe. The most likely problem will be if the collar is not fitted correctly. If the dog continually pulls on the leash though, the prong collar might not be the best one to use.

The adjustment of these collars is quite easy though. Simply remove or add prongs to suit the neck of your dog. If you can just insert a finger between the neck of the dog and the prong collar, then you have just about got it right.

The Halti collar, also known as the Gentle Leader, is more akin to a harness than a collar. It fits over the dog's face and works by closing the dog's mouth when the leash attached to the collar is pulled. The theory is that if you can control the dog's head, you will be able to control the whole dog. This type of collar is especially good for pulling or aggressive dogs.

The downside of the head control collars such as the Halti is that most dogs do not like having any sort of restriction placed over their nose. You might have to work quite hard to fit the collar in the first place. You also need to be careful not to injure the dog. You need to ensure that you use the device correctly.

Choke collars can be very effective in controlling a dog. Sadly, in the wrong hands, choke collars can be exceedingly cruel and can hurt dogs. Control lies within the trainer themselves. If you genuinely think that a choke collar will do what you want, but you are not sure how to use one properly, seek expert guidance.

Correct use of a choke collar starts with correct fitting. They work by tightening around the dog's throat when the leash is pulled. Equally, the tightness should be released when the trainer eases up on the leash, but if the collar does not fit correctly, this might not happen resulting in undue distress to the animal. If your dog is one that continually pulls on the leash, then the choke collar is probably not the right collar to use.

An electronic dog collar has the propensity for harm. Whether it is used to abuse dogs though rests entirely with the people that use them. Used correctly, electronic dog collars are a very humane way of training a dog. In inexperienced or malevolent hands though, they can hurt dogs.

The electronic dog collars work by allowing trainers to give dogs small electric shocks via a remote control to control the behaviour of the dog. How much of a shock the dog gets is entirely in the hands of the trainer, so in good hands, the electronic dog trainer can be very flexible and very effective. As a rule of thumb, the shock that is applied should be just enough to make the dog's ears twitch, but obviously the amount of electricity involved will depend on the size of the dog. In any case however, if the dog cries out when the electricity is applied, then the setting is too high. Once again, this type of collar is only really suitable for experienced trainers.

Tags: dog training, puppy training, pets, dogs, dog behavior, puppy behavior, dog training tips

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