Pinch Collar

[Lbodley]

I would like some opinions on pinch collars. I have an 85lb boxer boy. He is a good boy but I use a pinch collar with him. My husband does not when he walks him. It seems he pulls much more too. Anyway, in the obedience classes I have attended they do not like the pinch collar. I quit using for awhile. But, on occassion when a cat has crossed our path a choke collar became almost impossible to hold on to. When I use the pinch collar I just feel I have more control. He is a big dog for me. I have a 45lb female who does just find with a choke. Please tell me what you think and any advice. I am going to go back to classes and fear I will be scolded for going back to the pinch. At one point they put one of those nose collars on Rocky but he hated it.

Lisa

Mom of Samantha 8 years old
Rocky 2 years
Natural ears/docked tails

 

[Vanessa]

We use one on Annabelle. It works for us. The instructor in our obedience class also uses it on her dogs. I asked many people with big dogs about the collar before we got it for her, and everyone said that they had alot of success with them.

 

[Lbodley]

I should have put this in training

I am just learning my way around. Please have patience with me. I should have put this question in the training area.:(

 

[Lbodley]

Thanks Vanessa, I wonder why the 2 different trainers I have used frown so much on them. One reason they said is it made them appear to be mean. I cannot remember the others. I always feel bad for using it but..like I said it works and Rocky does not seem to mind. Thanks for your feedback.

 

[alaska]

I have seen alot of dogs pull even though they have a pinch collar on, I have seen the same dogs with a Halti head collar on and there is no way they can pull if you have control of their head, the same way a horse is haltered. Of course they arne't going to like it at first, but the more he wears it the more he will get used to it, give him a reward when he lets you put it on him, make it a good experience for him. I have a big male who pulls too, I have tried choke chains(they rub the hair off his neck he pulls so hard) and the pinch collars he blocks the pain I assume cause he still pulls. I have found the head collar much better, and saves both of us the struggle.

 

[Brutus and Amaya's Mom]

We use a prong to walk Brutus. He is trained to heel off leash but a bunny in the path is to much to handle without a prong on. He just has to much prey drive and I am to small to handle 80 lbs of dog. With the prong I can give him a quick leave it, a correction and on we go.

 

[Alisha Mobley]

I also use prongs for training my 3. All 3 have now been off leash trained but I still use the prong collars on occasion. You can do a search on prongs to learn more and also a search on choke collars to learn the risks and dangers of using them. A prong is much safer than a choke collar...there is a recent discussion about both collars in this forum under thread title "When do I start obedience class and use choke chains?" If your trainer frowns because you switch from a choke chain to a prong collar then let him frown or find a new trainer.

 

[Rushing]

When My Gibson and I started our obedience class our insturtor recomended we get a Pinch collar. She uses it on her Dobi. Gibson still likes to pull (He thinks he is a sled dog)but it made things alittle bit easier, but when my G-friend takes Gibby out on walks she uses the head Hati deal and that works great for her but I like to use the pinch when I'm walking him. When he and I walk we doing training and when she takes him out it for fun and exercise. Although the pinch looks like torture he seems to like that better than the Halti. He just looks so sad with that thing on his head.


Rob


Big Papa to Gibson
9 month old Tiger striped Flashy male w/cropped ears

 

[tcarlisle]

I would question anyone that teaches correction based training methods but objects to the prong (or pinch) collar.

Here is a quote from the follwing website:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/4620/prong.html#AStudy

"A Study on Prong Collars was done in Germany:
100 dogs were in the study. 50 used choke and 50 used prong.
The dogs were studied for their entire lives. As dogs died, autopsies were performed.

Of the 50 which had chokes, 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 prongs, 2 had injuries in the neck area, 1 was determined to be genetic. 1 was caused by trauma. "

Choke collars place far more stress on the dogs neck and trachea than a prong collar. The prong collar spreads the force more evenly around the circumference of the neck, while the choker chain concentrates most of the stress on a small portion of the front of the neck and trachea.

Also, typically a lot less force is required to deliver a correction with the prong collar v.s the choke chain. This means that you get the correctional point across with less force. This equates to less force and lower possibility of damage to the dog.

Lastly, if you are using physical punishment, then the punishment is most meaningful and effective if the punishment is severe. It is doubtful that a choker chain can deliver a meaningful correction to an 85lb dog. What happens is the trainer corrects as best as he/she can, but the dog just sort of shrugs it off and the behavior is not impacted much at all. On the other hand, if the punishment is of the correct level, the dog will get the point and the behavior will be impacted. With using insufficiently intense corrections, what happens is the dog gets desensitized to the corrections and becomes "harder". After that happens, your corrections mean nothing. Correcting an 85 lb dog with a choker chain is pointless, in my opinion. If you are going to use corrections, make them count -- a prong collar will allow you to do that.

Tom C

 

[rjsone]

True prongs are definitely better than chokes... I use the Gentle Leader and have noticed tremendous success! I noticed instant results! Naturally, he did not approve of his new collar. But, after the typical period of getting used to it, he is fine with it.

I like it because it makes it nearly impossible for the dog to pull you. I prefer this over allowing him to pull and feeling pain and/or discomfort as a result.

My current trainer suggested the Gentle Leader and said that anything additional beyond that is a deficiency in the owner, not the dog. That may be a bold statement, but the collar works very well for me.