Apr 11
Pronged Collar - Good Tool or Super Cruel?
Bom Bom Bommmm (cue the thunder and lightning) - “YOU PUT THAT AROUND A DOG’S NECK?!?”
The infamous Pronged Collar. I’m interested in getting your feedback on this because throughout the years there has been an extensive list of training tools for dogs, but I’m assuming that most of us can agree that no other dog training device has been so aesthetically unpleasant. Actually, forget unpleasant, it’s down right scary; 50 relatively pointed metal spikes wrapped around a dog’s neck? Oh yeah, and it actually gets tighter when you pull on the leash! It does seem rather cruel, no?
I want to hear about real life experiences using this mechanism. Did it work for you and your dog? What exactly is it supposed to accomplish? Did you reach your training goals? Did anyone ever ridicule you for mistreating your k9 companion?
From what I’ve seen it has become much more popular over the last year or so. I’m curious, however, is it going to have a life cycle like it’s cousin the “choke collar”? If so, we should be watching for an exit stage left in the near future.
1 Comment »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
I have found this item useful on a 50+ lb lovable Australian cattle dog mix that I have had to walk from time to time. The dog catches on real quickly to what will happen if they strain at the leash. The collar when properly applied does not dig into the dog’s neck especially if they are a short hair. The points are blunt enough not to injure the animal and the animal is smart enough to understand the consequences of straining.
Normally its no problem with this big lug and all we need is a large buckle type collar, but it takes a while every year to re-train this dog not to chase bikes and joggers on his walk. By fall you have him sitting and watching the bike or jogger go by peacefully but the memory somehow goes vanishes when the winter comes and he stops seeing them on his walks.
I regard this sort of collar as a last resort for a strong dog. If you cannot control the dog effectively with what you have, then using this collar will let you do the job. After the dog is trained/re-trained you can back down to something that is perhaps more comfortable for you. However, this sort of collar is not the medieval torture instrument it appears to be and appears to work effectively without injury to the animal.
Comment by Bill — June 6, 2008 @ 8:06 pm