I see nothing wrong with a choke or prong collar if used properly on big dogs. I'm not sure how people see it as cruel when used properly. It doesn't hurt the dog, it only offers a quick correction. I guess the real problem is that many don't know how to really use them. They expect the collar to work wonders and do all the work for them. That isn't how it works.
Small dogs however I believe should only wear harnesses. I sorry but I cringe every time I so much as see a collar being used for walking on a small dog. It's just too risky.
Mine all have collars but only for id purposes, never for walking.
I don't even know why they call them choke collars. If put on properly and used properly they do not choke the dog. It only offers a quick correction. If it is choking the dog than you either don't have it on right or are using it improperly. Yes there is a wrong way of putting it on. If not on the right way the chain won't slide and then yes you would be choking the dog. If you just go out and buy one without knowing how to use it you are probably going to do more harm than good.
I trained my cocker in obedience using a choke chain. She did great with it. Again the collar is made to only provide a quick correction and then the collar slides back into place. It is in no way choking the dog. A regular collar will choke the dog and can really damage their throats by them pulling. I've seen big dogs wear a regular collar coughing badly because they are choking themselves so much. With a choke collar or prong collar it wouldn't happen.
Now I tried the choke collar with our border collie husky mix and even a prong collar. It didn't phase her the least. Positive training didn't work either. If you were to walk her your arm would be nearly taken off. She was so hyper and so strong. So I then found the halti head collar. It worked wonders. We can now have a nice calm walk with her.
Every dog is different so not every training method will work for every dog. You do what works best that isn't harmful to the dog and use it. |