Every so often the differentiation between training discipline and constraint is needlessly confused. Using verbal commands and non-verbal clues, with leashes or snacks, to solicit wanted behavior is training discipline. Using choke or 'stop-barking' collars, electronic fences or barriers and related devices is for constraint or prevention of unwanted behavior.
Restraint/constraint isn't needfully a negative factor. Dogs by nature want and look for social continuity in which someone is the alpha (leader); and in any human-dog pair the person has to take that position. To relinquish your role as the leader (alpha) will mean destruction of belongings, potentially unhealthy circumstances for other pets and people, human conflict and an unstable dog. The question is how best to acquire compliance from your dog.
Choke collars were developed to lend a hand in securing restraint. Dogs, exactly like humans, can be very different from each other in make up. Some are by personality more assertive or perhaps slower to get the picture. For ones that don't perform constructively to a regular leather or nylon collar, a metal correction collar can provide an additional hindrance to lurching ahead and jumping up types of behavior.
The immediate negative is that when correcting collars are used inappropriately - as is all too possible - they can give you results you didn't want and also be potentially unhealthy. Choke collars fit only one way and when correctly fitted should make allowance for a one to three fingers distance between the neck and the collar; three fingers for bigger dogs, one finger for smaller. By and large a collar two inches longer than the circumference of the neck will be ok.
If used poorly, correction collars can rub the skin - producing irritated areas that your dog will likely scratch and make worse. These collars can also accidentally depress the windpipe. An instantaneous pull-and-release does no harm, however. Its intention is to generate unpleasant pressure. But for dogs that aggressively challenge the lead this action is probably not enough. Generally, overuse of this type of collar is not approved of, notably for smaller dogs.
Prong collars are not as hazardous as they appear, but - from this handler's prospective - have almost no positive properties. The only good aspect of this devices' design is their limited diameter - they can only close down so far. Nonetheless, a critter with such an unyielding proclivity to pull that prongs are meaningless must have more than a quick fix consisting of choking and 'pronging'. That kind of dog most likely needs to have tenacious and persistent behavior modification training.
Halter collars, which encircle the neck and the snout, but don't hamper panting or impair drinking, can give further restraint. The downside is they don't assuage biting if that's a problem. If biting is not a concern an ordinary leash and collar, or perhaps a chest halter might be preferred.
'Stop-barking' collars on occasion work when training those dogs that continue in a barking mode way past the reason to do so is gone. Barking is natural and an ordinary response to potential danger and is also used to draw attention when one becomes removed or separated from the group. But, for reasons not all that well comprehended, some individuals continue barking day in and day out or are set off by the most minor events.
Electronic collars that prohibit barking come in two forms: noise stimulus and shock stimulus. Noise collars generate a brief, unpleasant sound that distracts and tends to discourage continual barking.
Shock collars generate a temporary but unpleasant electric shock that is repeated during long-continuing or obstinate barking. Nonsubjective evaluations of their efficiency disclose mixed results, however. As with prong collars, any dog who is a candidate for one would profit more from knowledgeable, experienced training to determine the psychological reasons for excessive barking.
At times the perceived quickest route to solving a problem seems attractive and doable... until they become an overused alternative to more appropriate (both to trainer and dog) long-term training. Putting in the time to comprehend how to gain your dog's undivided attention and compliance without inordinate amounts of reliance on control equipment is definitely the better way to go. The results are happier dog handlers and more stable dogs. - 29953
Restraint/constraint isn't needfully a negative factor. Dogs by nature want and look for social continuity in which someone is the alpha (leader); and in any human-dog pair the person has to take that position. To relinquish your role as the leader (alpha) will mean destruction of belongings, potentially unhealthy circumstances for other pets and people, human conflict and an unstable dog. The question is how best to acquire compliance from your dog.
Choke collars were developed to lend a hand in securing restraint. Dogs, exactly like humans, can be very different from each other in make up. Some are by personality more assertive or perhaps slower to get the picture. For ones that don't perform constructively to a regular leather or nylon collar, a metal correction collar can provide an additional hindrance to lurching ahead and jumping up types of behavior.
The immediate negative is that when correcting collars are used inappropriately - as is all too possible - they can give you results you didn't want and also be potentially unhealthy. Choke collars fit only one way and when correctly fitted should make allowance for a one to three fingers distance between the neck and the collar; three fingers for bigger dogs, one finger for smaller. By and large a collar two inches longer than the circumference of the neck will be ok.
If used poorly, correction collars can rub the skin - producing irritated areas that your dog will likely scratch and make worse. These collars can also accidentally depress the windpipe. An instantaneous pull-and-release does no harm, however. Its intention is to generate unpleasant pressure. But for dogs that aggressively challenge the lead this action is probably not enough. Generally, overuse of this type of collar is not approved of, notably for smaller dogs.
Prong collars are not as hazardous as they appear, but - from this handler's prospective - have almost no positive properties. The only good aspect of this devices' design is their limited diameter - they can only close down so far. Nonetheless, a critter with such an unyielding proclivity to pull that prongs are meaningless must have more than a quick fix consisting of choking and 'pronging'. That kind of dog most likely needs to have tenacious and persistent behavior modification training.
Halter collars, which encircle the neck and the snout, but don't hamper panting or impair drinking, can give further restraint. The downside is they don't assuage biting if that's a problem. If biting is not a concern an ordinary leash and collar, or perhaps a chest halter might be preferred.
'Stop-barking' collars on occasion work when training those dogs that continue in a barking mode way past the reason to do so is gone. Barking is natural and an ordinary response to potential danger and is also used to draw attention when one becomes removed or separated from the group. But, for reasons not all that well comprehended, some individuals continue barking day in and day out or are set off by the most minor events.
Electronic collars that prohibit barking come in two forms: noise stimulus and shock stimulus. Noise collars generate a brief, unpleasant sound that distracts and tends to discourage continual barking.
Shock collars generate a temporary but unpleasant electric shock that is repeated during long-continuing or obstinate barking. Nonsubjective evaluations of their efficiency disclose mixed results, however. As with prong collars, any dog who is a candidate for one would profit more from knowledgeable, experienced training to determine the psychological reasons for excessive barking.
At times the perceived quickest route to solving a problem seems attractive and doable... until they become an overused alternative to more appropriate (both to trainer and dog) long-term training. Putting in the time to comprehend how to gain your dog's undivided attention and compliance without inordinate amounts of reliance on control equipment is definitely the better way to go. The results are happier dog handlers and more stable dogs. - 29953
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