Prong leashes

[Cthulhu7]

Hey everybody. I've been posting a lot, but i haven't had a dog since i was five, so bear with me.

Cthulhu pulls on his leash a lot. He's easily distracted by squirrels, birds, etc. i know that as a schnauzer he's bred for hunting, but i can't have him pulling my arm of every time he's excited.

what's the general stance on prong leashes? Are they ok if used properly? And does anyone have a good link for a tutorial? Thanks

[Maxy24]

I would personally try a no pull harness (front clipping) for control and do some training first. If you can't make any progress using pain free techniques then consider a prong collar. Can't help with instructions on use, never used one myself.

[skittledoo]

I've never heard of a prong leash? Do you mean prong collar?

Honestly you are going to get some varying responses on here when iy comes to prong collars, shock collars, etc.

I personally have used a prong collar on my dog Cricket though we rarely use it anymore. I think when used correctly and on a dog with a good solid temperament they can be useful. I wouldn't use one on say a dog with reactivity issues and I wouldn't recommend them as a forever solution, but instead as a tool to help you while you work on teaching your dog not to pull. I WOULD recommend having a professional trainer show you how to use one correctly though if that's the route you decide to take. Have you tried positive reinforcement training first? You may be able to work on this situation without needing to resort to a prong collar for backup.How big is your dog? I can't recall if I've seen pics yet or not. I personally wouldn't use one on a smaller dog either for safety reasons.

If used and fitted correctly I definitely see a use for them on certain dogs, but I feel they can be disastrous if the person on the other end of the leash doesn't know how to use them. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people yanking dogs around all over the place on prong collars and it makes me cringe.

[Greenmagick]

I would work on training and self control. Work on getting him to focus on you, leave its, etc.

I used prongs for a LOONG time, recommended them, sold them, etc. No more. Do I think they are horrible torture devices? NO, but I also know there are better ways to train and I wont take the chance of reactivity they can cause.

[Zizzy35]

I have a no pull harness, and it helped a lot. I know there are a few different brands now.

[AdrianneIsabel]

Prongs are great when used properly. They aid walking and can be used as successful training tools. I would however make an attempt to also train the dog to not over stimulate as well.

[Kayota]

I don't really like prongs... There was a lab on one at the vet office I'm job shadowing at, and it just pulled non stop regardless! I felt so bad for its neck.

As an aside, if you do get one, don't let your vet staff handle the dog with the prong on--the tech I was shadowing was constantly leash popping that dog and yelling "sit, sit!" I took the dog's head in my hands and looked at him and said "Hey, you. Sit." and lo and behold, he finally sat. Didn't even touch the collar. I wanted to say "hey, look what I can do that you can't!" and smack the tech.

[Saeleofu]

i have used prongs in the past when necessary and probably will again on future dogs. You must, however, understand that it's a training tool, not a long-term solution. Dogs that pull constantly and pull in a prong just learn to ignore it, and then it's useless. You have yo actually train as well.

A prong LEASH could be a bit uncomfortable...though probably quite useful in teaching handlers not to constantly keep a tight leash

Originally Posted by Kayota

As an aside, if you do get one, don't let your vet staff handle the dog with the prong on--the tech I was shadowing was constantly leash popping that dog and yelling "sit, sit!" I took the dog's head in my hands and looked at him and said "Hey, you. Sit." and lo and behold, he finally sat. Didn't even touch the collar. I wanted to say "hey, look what I can do that you can't!" and smack the tech.

Had you done that where I work you would have been dismissed on the spot. we don't let shadows touch animals for liability reasons, and grabbing a dog's face is definitely out of the question, especially when you stare at him as well. Granted popping a prong and giving a dog a command it clearly doesn't know is stupid as well, but not as dangerous and likely to get someone bit as taking a strange dog's face and looking directly at them in their face.

[AdrianneIsabel]

Many of the dogs i work with would rather a collar correction than a human grabbing them or potentially intimidating them by getting in their face.

That said there are right and wrong ways to use every tool and every training technique. It just takes time and tinkering to find the best option for your dog.

[Cthulhu7]

Thank you everybody. I did mean collar, not leash. I tend to forget that he's only been with us for a week and a half, and needs time. I will look at other forms of training first.