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8K views 102 replies 23 participants last post by  Rott lover 
#1 ·
Hello!

I have a 3-year-old pit bull who is very strong and loves to tug my arm off on walks! In result, I haven't been able to walk him because my hand swells up from holding the leash so tight. My friend told me to check out a prong collar for him since I have tried leash leaders, chock chains, a harness, and training classes to teach him to heal by my side. None of them worked until I used a prong collar. I was hesitant at first because I feared it would hurt him but when I saw a night and day difference I was excited to be able to take my dog on walks again as he deserves. Although, I bought one at Petco which was extremely hard to take off and on because you had to push the prongs together to remove the collar so I bought one at PetSmart that had a clip which was very easy to take off and on but the prongs were too loose/flimsy that they unhooked while walking my dog and he broke free. So I'm back on the search for a new prong collar.

Any recommendations on a prong collar that has the clip option that is durable and reliable?


Thanks,
Monica
 
#4 ·
I'm guessing you're from America...?
I can't honestly say I've never even seen a prong collar for sale in the UK let alone anyone use one...
Yes I am. I forgot pit bulls are banned in the UK. What a shame :( might be the reason why there is no need for those collars. I'm sure you guys have other larger breeds that are extremely strong. What do you recommend for a dog who tugs a lot on walks?
 
#6 ·
Dogs have a natural instinct to pull against pressure, it's a safety thing (oppositional reflex if you want to read more about it). But loose leash walking can be trained if you apply a little patience. Have a look at this video below. Far better to have your dog choose to walk gently than have him do it only to avoid the discomfort from the collar (you would probably walk slowly too if you had to wear really high heels that you weren't used to - it doesn't mean you would enjoy your walk).

 
#17 ·
That must be awful to watch and that on top of your swollen hand and I don't blame you for trying to change that.
It's very difficult to train on a whole long walk, maybe you could break it up into lots of little outings, you could then be more comfortable to train and you should be able to keep his attention for short periods. You could also practice getting his attention on you when at home as this helps when out and about
It's not a quick fix, took me a whole year with one of my rescue dogs, but it's well worth it.
I used 2 completely different leads, one he knew he could relax a little and sniff and the other he had to behave 100%

Thank you! I'll give this a try!
Oh a leash leader, yes! I tried that and it worked for a little bit until he would stop and rub his face on the cement to try and get it off. It got so bad that when we got home he had scraps, cuts, and blood on his face. Poor guy :( That device is pretty smart, I could try using it again and train the behavior of trying to take it off out of him.
I wish you luck
 
#11 ·
Oh a leash leader, yes! I tried that and it worked for a little bit until he would stop and rub his face on the cement to try and get it off. It got so bad that when we got home he had scraps, cuts, and blood on his face. Poor guy :( That device is pretty smart, I could try using it again and train the behavior of trying to take it off out of him.
 
#12 ·
The best way to get a dog to walk nicely on a leash is through training. Tools can help give you control whilst you are training, but the dog needs to understand what you want from him. The prong collar works by making it painful to pull. I much prefer to teach it the opposite way around and show my dog that walking by my side is rewarding. It does take time, but is worth it. In the meantime, a useful tool to help gain control is a harness with two points of contact (one at the back and one on the chest) and a double-ended leash. Some dogs do adjust to headcollars, but some do not.
 
#14 ·
We have a member from the US who knows about prong collars so I think she is the one to come with a balanced view on them. I would say though that if you are not able to train your dog and his pulling is that bad then a prong collar is certainly kinder than letting him choke himself and cut off his breathing. I would suggest you try training as well and hope that you win through and just think of the prong collar as emergency first aid. I have never seen one used so have no idea how harsh they are but I know they are used more in the US.
 
#15 ·
I saw prong collars being used in person in the UK for the first time just the other week. And it made me sad.
But
I would say though that if you are not able to train your dog and his pulling is that bad then a prong collar is certainly kinder than letting him choke himself and cut off his breathing.
They were using them instead of choke leads, and the usual choke leads round here don't have safely stoppers limiting damage. So Blitz's point here is also my opinion.

(I do have issue with the American guidance advice being to use them high up on the most sensitive part of the neck possible though. For some breeds with a naturally tapered neck this makes a smidgen of sense, but it's not a universal dog thing and the advice is universal rather than tailored.)
 
#19 ·
my neighbor had PBT that pulled like a freight train and I was trying to help as well with finding something that worked for them. Unfortunately we found the combination too late as he broke his dads arm before we found it. Tone training with treats, along with a double handle harness with a gentle leader. it took a good two months of 3 walks a day to get him to walk nicely. Now you don't need anything but a normal collar and leash and he stays by your side at all times.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Hello!

I have a 3-year-old pit bull who is very strong and loves to tug my arm off on walks! In result, I haven't been able to walk him because my hand swells up from holding the leash so tight. My friend told me to check out a prong collar for him since I have tried leash leaders, chock chains, a harness, and training classes to teach him to heal by my side. None of them worked until I used a prong collar. I was hesitant at first because I feared it would hurt him but when I saw a night and day difference I was excited to be able to take my dog on walks again as he deserves. Although, I bought one at Petco which was extremely hard to take off and on because you had to push the prongs together to remove the collar so I bought one at PetSmart that had a clip which was very easy to take off and on but the prongs were too loose/flimsy that they unhooked while walking my dog and he broke free. So I'm back on the search for a new prong collar.

Any recommendations on a prong collar that has the clip option that is durable and reliable?

Thanks,
Monica
My advice would be to ditch the prong and work on teaching him to walk nicely. Pitties are notorious for habituating to punishment (aka punishment callous) and the number of pitties I've seen hauling their owners around impervious to the prong digging in to their neck.... Yeah, he'll get used to the prong too.
And as you've seen, a good yank will pop it off, so prongs aren't the safest either.

I'm just going to climb up on my offended platform and have a rant so fair warining ;)

One, as the owner of a very large, powerful dog who's probably got a good smattering of pitbull in him, it pisses me off to no end that a dog's size is used as an excuse to use certain tools. When my children were 6, they could walk both our great danes (and the aforementioned pit bull mix) on a loose leash with plain flat collars. In crowds, at a parade, wherever. It's called training.
Pit bulls are no different than any other dog, and are often much more trainable than many breeds. No reason a pit bull can't learn how to walk nicely on a leash.

Two, the above said, I'm sick to death of prongs being labeled as the height of cruelty while people still slap on head harnesses with no desensitization, or allow their dogs to pull for years on a slip lead, then wonder why all these gun dogs end up with laryngeal paralysis and thyroid issues. Not related to chronic micro injuries to all that delicate neck tissue? Hrm... Prongs by comparison are far less dangerous to the dog's well-being.
Do they hurt? Yes. That's why they work. It's the exact same principle as putting a bit in a horse's mouth and attaching reins to it. If the dog pulls he feels enough discomfort to motivate him to stop pulling. You release the pressure on the leash, dog figures out how to make the prong not hurt. Used properly, they basically just sit there on the dog's neck and don't hurt, and mild pressure lets the dog know we're turning this way or that way.
Bits operate on the same principle. Just sitting in the horse's mouth they don't hurt. Horses learn quickly to respond to mild pressure. Some horses who have been yanked on their whole lives have mouths of steel. Same happens with dogs and prongs. Hence why other ways are so much better.
Are they the height of cruelty what need to be banned? No. Not IMO.

Three, I'm also sick to death of people with zero experience with a tool having their "OMG how cruel can you be?!" shock and outrage hissy fit. *waiting for the embedded collar pictures to pop up.*
If we're going to educate people on better ways, which I'm all for, we have to not lose credibility by sounding like ignorant furbaby parents who have no clue. Way to completely tune out the message.
I have successfully talked hundreds of owners out of prongs (with gear swap booths at dog events) but you don't do it by starting out by attacking the owner who is probably only doing the best they know to do. When we know better, we do better. Let's help people know better with information instead of judgement.

I can't honestly say I've never even seen a prong collar for sale in the UK let alone anyone use one...
You probably have and didn't realize it. I don't know about in the UK, but in the US more and more people are simply choosing to cover their prongs than deal with the judgement, merited or not. Once on, it looks like a regular martingale collar.
 
#21 ·
cover their prongs than deal with the judgement, merited or not. Once on, it looks like a regular martingale collar.
This is why most people think that they are rare in the UK...they are not rare at all, but because of the judgmental rants thrown their way it is far easier to just cover them.
The hysteria surrounding prongs just pushes them into the shadows, teaching people how to teach LLW and showing them the results is what people need IMHO

As for the rest of your post as usual I wholeheartedly agree :Cigar
 
#22 ·
As others have said - it's down to training, not pieces of equipment.

My mutt loved dragging me when she was younger, she paid zero attention to me on the other end of the lead - made walks rather miserable. Then I discovered the giving into leash pressure video - which someone has linked and it helped us massively.

Lily has always wore a harness - I don't want her choking herself or damaging her throat/neck area.

We started training indoors - once she'd figured out, then we took it to the garden, once consistent there, we took it to quiet places outside and over many weeks, I kept reinforcing as we faced more distractions - walking her become and is now very pleasant.

I did film bits initially but then I dropped my phone - phones and pavement aren't a good combination :Facepalm
 
#38 ·
Libby and Pip have harnesses . They heel pretty well now but if the neighbours cats suddenly shoot out in front of them they might lunge, so less damage than a collar and certainly less damage than a choke collar .

Ive tried to film my dogs and end up with a film of the pavements. :Hilarious
 
#25 ·
Amazon stock them, as do a couple of other online websites, so it's not particularly hard for people to buy them. Much easier than putting in the time and effort of actually training. I don't really go in physical petshops all that much, and even if I did, wouldn't know how representative rural Yorkshire is of the UK as a whole.
 
#31 ·
Thank you all for your advice! I'm going to try and practice walking him on a leash in my backyard were I can control my surroundings and reward him with treats. I'm hoping the loose leash tactic works although it seems like more of a game for him because as soon as he gets out of my grip he'll make it two feet before he stops and looks back like it's not fun anymore haha! He's such a happy boy, I just want him to be happy on walks too. He's honestly a very well behaved dog since I trained him when I first got him but I always had difficulty with training him on walks.
 
#32 ·
Definitely watch the video on giving in to leash pressure. If he likes the "game" of you catching up, he'll be super easy to cue to stop pulling with leash pressure.

Check out EZ Walk harnesses at petsmart or petco. They're pretty cheap, easy to fit, and if you hook it in the front give you decent control. The store will probably even let you take it out of the package to see which one fits best.
I would NOT use it long term, it sits over shoulder joints where I wouldn't want it to stay indefinitely, but it's a great tool while you're both learning.
Ideally you want him on a well fitted body harness once he learns how to walk nicely.
 
#64 ·
Yup, here too. You ride in a hackamore, you wouldn't tie a horse up in one. (Well I suppose you could, but not what they're made for.)
Hackamores can be metal too, crank down on the nose. I don't like those.
 
#67 ·
The confusing part is that vest in America is a waistcoat (as I understand it). Both sleeveless bits of clothing you wear on your top half, but one generally more public than the other! I had a very confusing conversation once with someone I didn't realise was conversing with the American meaning.
 
#71 ·
not something you would ride in
You can get Borsals in the UK and I have ridden in one many times :) I personally hate Hackamores due to how severe they can be...funny how most people in the UK think most/all bitless bridles are hackamores.

I have always used head collar and halter interchangeably, but then I also use leash and lead in the same way...I spent many years in the polo scene both here and in Australia so I'm very mixed up with language :Bag
 
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