I've had some thoughts on different types of training collars lately.
I work as a Pet trainer at Petsmart. Of course, Petsmart philosophy is "Prong collars make dogs aggressive!" And the Gentle leader is used instead.
Obviously, not all of us (and definitely not me,) have that same belief. I see the Gentle leader as a tool to physically control the dog, in addition to training. It's more restraint, than anything. I see the prong as a way of almost doing the same, but with clearer corrections, and with a lot less restraint.
I used to use a prong collar on a few of the rescue's dogs, and also one of my own dogs in the past. One was dog aggressive, and at age 14, I can't say I was confident in the way I was handling him. The past few years, I've been concentrating on learning Positive reinforcement methods-- I'm certainly not "Positive reinforcement is the only way, aversive methods are abuse!" type-believer.
But when the dog sees another dog, and wants to react (whether it be aggression or over excitement), I worry about the pinch that the dog receives as it's viewing that other dog. How do you gain control in this situation, without associating that other dog with the pinch of the collar? I would imagine, slowly desensitize the dog from a distance and slowly decrease-- thus avoiding the need for corrections... I'm just not confident. I need opinions
What are your opinions on use of training collars with reactive/fearful/insecure dogs?
I work as a Pet trainer at Petsmart. Of course, Petsmart philosophy is "Prong collars make dogs aggressive!" And the Gentle leader is used instead.
Obviously, not all of us (and definitely not me,) have that same belief. I see the Gentle leader as a tool to physically control the dog, in addition to training. It's more restraint, than anything. I see the prong as a way of almost doing the same, but with clearer corrections, and with a lot less restraint.
I used to use a prong collar on a few of the rescue's dogs, and also one of my own dogs in the past. One was dog aggressive, and at age 14, I can't say I was confident in the way I was handling him. The past few years, I've been concentrating on learning Positive reinforcement methods-- I'm certainly not "Positive reinforcement is the only way, aversive methods are abuse!" type-believer.
But when the dog sees another dog, and wants to react (whether it be aggression or over excitement), I worry about the pinch that the dog receives as it's viewing that other dog. How do you gain control in this situation, without associating that other dog with the pinch of the collar? I would imagine, slowly desensitize the dog from a distance and slowly decrease-- thus avoiding the need for corrections... I'm just not confident. I need opinions
What are your opinions on use of training collars with reactive/fearful/insecure dogs?