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Chain or prong? IMO the dog should have some level of obedience before introducing a prong (or any kind of negative reinforcement). Chains are not training tools (in my opinion), since they are not quick enough to reinforce behavior. Prongs are a different story, but we have/work with import shepherds, so their level is different. 5 mos is probably too young unless (and its a big unless) its a true working lab. My recommendation would be puppy obedience classes asap.
I believe in using whatever collar allows you to use a light touch for corrections. A hyper dog pulling and choking on a flat web collar and being too obnoxious to take anywhere is NOT more humane than a prong collar that is slack and requires just a light contact.
5 months is definitely old enough for a good obedience class. Unfortunately so many of those have new methods that don't believe in discipline some are a waste of time... They'll need to look around for a good one that can think and offer relevant advice.
Chain or prong? IMO the dog should have some level of obedience before introducing a prong (or any kind of negative reinforcement). Chains are not training tools (in my opinion), since they are not quick enough to reinforce behavior. Prongs are a different story, but we have/work with import shepherds, so their level is different. 5 mos is probably too young unless (and its a big unless) its a true working lab. My recommendation would be puppy obedience classes asap.
Thanks, yes I'm going to suggest this (as I said in my first post)
I believe in using whatever collar allows you to use a light touch for corrections. A hyper dog pulling and choking on a flat web collar and being too obnoxious to take anywhere is NOT more humane than a prong collar that is slack and requires just a light contact.
5 months is definitely old enough for a good obedience class. Unfortunately so many of those have new methods that don't believe in discipline some are a waste of time... They'll need to look around for a good one that can think and offer relevant advice.
Thank you. I imagine they will balk at the use of a prong collar when they aren't keen to buy a choke chain.
I know they have to get her under control before she grows any bigger.
I don't use a prong or an e-collar until 6 months of age. They are a very effective tool....when "properly" used. From what I've seen, most people don't fit the prong properly. That said, there are some other approaches that can work well. From what I am hearing you probably need to get a good trainer to teach YOU how to deal with the puppy.
One thing to add - and you likely already know this, but its worth saying. The importance of obedience training can’t be overstated for new dog owners. Not just for the dog, but if the owners (your son,DiL) take it seriously, they will get as much out of it as the dog. The importance of structure for high drive dogs is more ‘human’ training vs. dog training.
Thank you. I imagine they will balk at the use of a prong collar when they aren't keen to buy a choke chain.
I know they have to get her under control before she grows any bigger.
Prong collars are actually a lot more humane than a choke chain... and give a much more intuitive correction, similar to the correction given by a momma dog on the back of the neck. It speaks to their instincts, without hurting them at all.
Put a prong collar on your own leg sometime and yank it as you would to correct the dog. Seriously. It feels strange, but it isn't a painful device. A choker just chokes them, it's not a natural correction at all, they have to learn that it's a punishment for misbehavior. Prong collars they understand much more intuitively.
Last edited by Diana Holbrook; 12-23-2022 at 01:20 PM..
A properly sized prong collar WILL NOT hurt a dog! For those that are not aware, and somewhat counter intuitive, Smaller prongs (2.25 mm) provide more correction than larger prongs. The collar should be very high on the neck and not sitting loose.
We use a prong (pinch) collar on our 4 month old goldendoodle. It made a big difference.
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