I am interested in views on these and any personal experiences of them working. I am in dire straits would not be considering use of these collars otherwise.

My young German Shepherd is becoming a real problem for pulling and things are getting desperate. I work full time, my partner part time, and care of our two dogs has always been shared between us. My partner has been unwell for some time which has affected his strength, and he was recently pulled into the road by the dog. Since then he has, probably reasonably, refused to walk her anymore.

The problem is that I could always handle her, but now she gets out for an hour less every day and she is becoming much worse to walk as a result. She still gets out for half an hour twice a day, running free both times with my older dog (who is always well behaved on the lead) but it's just not enough for her. She's pulled me over twice and I'm under pressure from family to consider giving her away- which would devastate me as she is such a lovely dog otherwise.

I have tried her in a plain headcollar, Halti, a canny collar and a anti-pull harness as well as a half check and a choke chain. The headcollars and harness worked for between one and three days, until she adjusted her way of pulling to compensate! The half check and choke have had no effect on her pulling, but she pulled until her tongue went blue and she was virtually collapsing, so I won't put them on again. She's been to dog training since she was a pup and knows how to heel but she ignores me if we are going out.

My friend's mother lives in the US and is very slight with two large dogs. My friend has said that her trainer has recommended use of the pinch collar and she has found it to be a great success, and is now able to handle both her dogs with ease. I cringed looking at them as they are not the nicest looking item but watched a video of one being used on the internet and the dog seemed totally unphased by wearing it and only reacted, and not excessively, when it was used to check the dog.

So now I am honestly considering it. Any views?

Sorry but I find them horrible and the 'easy way out'.

Train your dog through pain and fear and your dog never gets any pleasure from probably the thing they look forward to most in their life (a walk) then go for it but personally I would persist with the training to stop lead pulling. I know how very hard it is and frustrating because it is something I haven't yet 100% achieved with my own dog but I would never, ever use those methods.

Would it help to hire a dog walker in the day to lessen the pressure on you and your partner? Maybe a bit more exercise is needed as well.

How old is the dog. You say the dog has been in training since a pup? If this is an area if concern in particular where the dog is advancing in other stages you may need to consider 1 to one training to work with just the lead pulling.

You seem to have tried a great deal of methods, but I would stick to one and persist, as this is something that doesn't fall into place overnight and swapping and changing will confuse the dog. Have you tried clicker training so rewarding the dog when he stays by your side and once he begins to pull, stopping abruptly turning back the other way, avoiding all eye contact and not moving forward again until the dog has calmed down, if you walk a few steps and he pulls do this all over again, yes It may take twice as long to go on your walk and it may take a while for your dog to realise what you are getting at but it may work!

Useful IF used correctly. I feel people do need professional training to be sure of not injuring their dog. Also is a bit breed dependant. A bull and terrier for example would be unfazed by the prongs ( which are blunt btw) and be more inclined to cause itself injury pulling into it.
I personally think they are a better option than the horrible Halti, but only if used correctly.
Studies have shown that injuries are somewhat less than those caused by misuse of check chains and headcollars.
Any training aid is open to misuse if not used correctly.

Instead of inficting pain why not hire a walker or join a dog training class, to give more exercise and training ?

A prong collar might not be something you'd want to rush in to with a younger dog, but if you're having that much difficulty with other equipment it may be worth investigating.

However, contrary to the opinions here so far they're not designed to cause pain and are certainly not an "easy way out", the main aim of a prong collar is to get your dogs attention where they'd normally be too hyped up to listen, when you have the dogs attention you can begin calming them down and continue training.

The collars attract a certain level of contraversy due to how they look, from experience most detractors actually know very little about them but are full of opinion and scare stories based on bits of reading from random websites full of highly dubious information. Believe me, you are not a bad person for wanting to use one, and you are not going to harm your dog.

If you'd like to either email us or give us a call through the week we can go over the variations and working with the collar, if nothing else you'll actually get informed and unbiased opinion.

regards,

LuvMyDog

Hi all, dog is 1 year 4 months. Dog walkers have been considered but as she is so strong I fear she would not be taken on, also since being attacked by a staffie she is unpredicatable around other dogs (90% fine but on occasion quite scary) and I am not sure if that would also make her difficult to place. That is also the reason she is not currently in training with her class, but she knows her lessons and in the house responds to all commands 100%.

Regards the pain issue I have become more concerned with her hurting herself in her headcollars as she throws herself to the ground and scratches at her face. She has left her muzzle red raw at times.

While I can't comment on the standard of handling shown here, this vid made me think maybe a prong should not be ruled out. The dog never looks distressed wearing the collar at all.

http://www.ehow.com/video_2348830_us...-as-basic.html

Thankyou Luvmydog, I will contact you during this week for help.

P.S. My dog has met staffies since and loved them, it's hard to gauge which dogs she will react negatively too. I also wanted to state that as we have met so many lovely staffies, by no means do I consider them a bad breed.

I would recommend one-to-one training for just this particular issue. She is obviously trainable as she does it indoors 100% as you say, she's probably just very excited by a walk hence the pulling. When we did heelwalking at our training class a couple of weeks ago we had treats in our hands to have our dogs attention on us all the time whilst using the heel or close command. Praise and treat as they stay close to you. That way works for us but is very much still a work in progress LOL (dog is only 8mths). Could this be an option for you?

Despite others feelings on the type of collar you're considering, I get the feeling you're not 100% at ease with the method hence the post on here.

I feel for you when i got to the later stages of my pregnancy my partner walked my dog, my dogue that i had beautifully trained to walk nicely on the lead i may add and by the time i was well enough to walk him after my C-section he was a pulling drag me anywhere beast i went home crying after that first walk.

My dogue was 70 kilo adolescent mastiff, it took persevereance i used a dogmatic headcollar as an aid and after a while he was perfect to heel again and could be walked next to the pram, after a bit longer he could be walked back on his normal collar and flatl ead just the two of us and with the pram and after that even walking at snails pace with my son as a toddler.

You do just need to pick a method for your training and work hard at it and you will be rewarded.

I had huge success with a company called Barkbusters.
They come and train you to train the dog. The session is quite expensive but it's a once for life payment - if you need reinforcement, they come back; if the dog is rehomed (hope not ) they will train the new owners.

Bark busters is a franchise, with some pretty slick marketing. They state you do not need any prior dog experience to join them as a franchise holder (just the requisite fee).

The franchise owners provide a few days training to franchisees, but they work very much on a one-size-fits all approach including throw chains, water bombs, "Bah" verbal corrections, BARF diet etc. IIRC they also sell their clients obligatory half-check collars, which is unlikely to work for the OP, from what has already been posted.

Some dogs will respond to this approach, others won't. Being a one-size-fits-all outlook (last I heard the cost was about £500) repeat visits are a repeat of what is done on the first visit.

Barkbusters say using any other trainer, or trying alternative techniques or advice, after they are involved invalidates your guarantee with them, which is of course a neat way to avoid having to discuss any alternative views or ideas.

I also know people who have found that after a couple of visits Barkbusters are much less keen to respond to contact, after all there is nothing in it for them, once the fee is paid, or people give up on having them back as nothing new is added.

OP I really don't like prong collars but it would be untrue to deny that they do work for some dogs and unfortunately reward-only training does not work for every dog either, not least as not all dogs are food, toy or attention motivated in all circumstances. although of course desirable responses should always be rewarded, according to the dog's perception of reward, whatever techniques or methods are being used.

However any training aid, be it a pinch collar, or a food treat, will only ever be as good as how it is used. If your timing and technique is not good the collar will not work for you and it may be that you needed help with your techniques with some of the other methods you have tried, rather than necessarily trying a pinch collar.

If you cannot correct effectively with a lead check on a flat collar on a relatively calm dog, I would suggest you steer clear of a pinch collar on an agitated dog and seek help with understanding lead checks first, if only so you could then use a pinch collar correctly, if you still found you needed it, and you found it be to effective.

Some determined dogs can even be goaded to greater effort to pull, or to react to other dogs, by the sensation of the prongs and even blunt prongs can be harmful if a big strong dog leans against them, or if you are trying to haul it away from a dog it is determined to try to reach.Another reason why it is important to ensure you use it absolutely correctly.

I would suggest you look for a one-to-one trainer, preferably after personal or veterinary recommendation, being careful to explain the problem, including the dog aggression, and what you have already tried, and see if they can offer any suitable help.

You can also discuss if their methods suit you and your dog, prior to booking. .

It is very important to fit and use these collars correctly (if at all). Accordingly you may want to seek out someone experienced with pinch collars as you can otherwise cause considerable harm to your dog so even if just considering one, I would suggest you need to look at a collar together with a trainer experienced in their use, not just an experimental DIY approach.

Ensure you find someone who is experienced, insured, preferably qualified, and who is hands-on, not just theoretical, particularly if you are looking at behaviourists, some of whom are better at discussing than doing.

It sounds to me as though you are looking at more than just a lead pulling problem though and at that age many dogs will try pushing boundaries and experimenting, including in terms of with their physical and psychological strength..

I knew it was a franchise but not that no previous experience was necessary. Interesting info, thankyou.
Guess I just got lucky, got a great trainer, the size fitted all my dogs.