All dogs need training so that they learn to behave appropriately, especially in a family environment. To this end, training collars have been created to help you with this process, and they have proven to be very effective in this role. As with many things however, in the wrong hands, dog training collars can be used to hurt and abuse dogs, so you need to understand how they work and what they do.
The prong collar’s bark is worse than its bite. The collar itself is made up of metallic prongs that are linked together. When the leash is pulled, the collar gives the dog a pinch. The idea is that this is meant to remind the dog of its mother’s teeth, which would have been used in a similar way to restrain the dog as a puppy. The collar is safe as long as you buy one that is the right size for the dog. If your dog continually pulls at the leash though, the prong collar might not be the appropriate training collar for your animal.
Prong collars can be quite easily adjusted by adding or removing some prongs until you get the fit right. A rough guide to fitting is if you can fit a finger between the collar and the neck of the dog. Any looser than that and the collar will not be effective.
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.
There is a downside to this type of collar though. Dog’s, as a rule, do not like having restrainers on their face, and it might be quite a job to get your dog to accept a harness of this type. Care should also be taken bot to pull the head to hard, because the dog could suffer injuries to the neck or back.
One of the most effective collars used in dog training are choke collars. They can be abused though, either through ignorance or sometimes malice. If you do not know how to use a choke collar properly, seek expert help.
It is essential that a choke collar is fitted correctly, because they have the potential to harm the dog. The choke collar works by tightening around the dog’s throat when the trainer pulls on the leash. The tightness should be released when the trainer releases the leash, but in the case of a badly fitted collar, this might not happen, and the dog will continue to be choked. If a dog continually pulls on its leash, then a choke collar would not be an appropriate training device. They should also only be used by experienced handlers.
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.
Electronic dog collars work by passing small electric charges to the dog via a remote control, which is handled by the trainer. The amount of shock that is passed to the dog is completely under the control of the trainer. The rule of thumb is that the shock should be sufficient to make the dog’s ears twitch and no more. The amount will vary upon the size of the dog of course. Should the dog cry out when the shock is applied, then the shock is likely to be too strong.
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