Prudence

Prudence has been pulling on her pinch collar for a few months now.

She goes to doggy day care, and I think they are a little lax with keeping her from pulling, and now she's pulling me while she's on the pinch collar.

The pinch collar does slide down a little bit, and I can't seem to get it to stay on the right place on her neck. Any tips and tricks for me?

mmctaq

Tighten the collar, and possibly go to one with smaller links (depending on what you're using now). The smaller the links, the "pinchier" they are...

This seems impossible for people to wrap their heads around, somehow, but: I begin loose-leash walking in class on week two. I begin week two with the question to the class: "How many of you have dogs who pull?" EVERYBODY'S hand waves enthusiastically around in the air... "Me! Me! I do!" And then I ask them to show me, one at a time, how their normal walking looks. Almost without exception, I see people pulling on dogs, and dogs reacting to being pulled.

Unless a dog is permitted to pull (or, being pulled), there will be no pulling. You need to change your style/strategy/management...

Prudence

Thank you. I have the largest prong size currently. Sounds like another trip to petsmart is in order to get one with smaller prongs.

Thanks for the advice about managing her pulling.

Amelia_

Why not actually do some training?? Kikopup has some good videos on YouTube on how to teach loose leash walking.

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cara708

How about the gentle leader. Goes around the nose. Or there is another that goes around chest like a harness.


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KevinK

If you simply walk the other way when a dog pulls, the dog will no longer pull. What's important here is the TIMING. The SECOND the leash gets tight, go the other way, and continue. If you are consistent, and can accurately do this, your dog will quickly stop pulling. If your timing is off, it's almost worthless. I was just showing someone this over the weekend, they were surprised at how their dog that doesn't focus and drags them down the street was walking at my side in about 3 minutes. Gave them back the leash, back to pulling. They called it a fluke... took the leash back, right at my side, I wasn't even holding the leash anymore. The difference? The timing, and they were inadverntently allowing the dog to pull.

Timing is a hard concept for people to get, it takes alot of practice, and it takes some focus. But once you get the timing right, the rest falls into place.

Prudence

Thanks for all the recommendations. I tried a harness with her and it didn't work nearly as well as the pinch did initially.

I just tried walking her and having her sit every time she pulled. Even with turkey as a treat she was still really distracted. I will practice walking the other way; I want to take her out on walks even in the cold temperatures we've been having.

GunnersMum

IMO, If you are going to utilize a training tool like the prong collar I would highly suggest going to a trainer to show you how and when to use it. Dogs have had serious neck damage done by untrained owners using it incorrectly.

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"In seeking wisdom, the first step is silence, the second listening, the third remembering, the fourth practicing, the fifth -- teaching others."

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AlyssaN

Dogs do not know how to walk nicely on leash. It isn't hardwired into them. Therefore, you need to train her.

Amelia_ is right, Kikopup has some great videos for training your dog to walk nicely using positive methods.

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leakaufman

I totally agree. I had a personal trainer work with me and Judah over a period of several months and never regretted the time or cost. Hopefully you can find someone in your area who can help you. Prong collars can be excellent tools to use for training if they are correctly used and properly fitted.

KevinK

I think a big thing we have to remember is that collars are training TOOLS, not training SOLUTIONS. And it's like anything else... I can buy the best tools in the world, but it won't make me a master mechanic, a gourmet chef, an artist, etc. It just makes me a normal guy with great tools. Learning how to implement those tools, and to use them properly, THAT'S what makes the difference.

Prudence

Thank you all. I really appreciate it. A trainer is not a bad idea.

Patches Mom

Pinch collar needs to be right behind the ears for it to work properly small pinches are best the big heavy ones are for show only do not do a thing. Also always use a lite weight back up like a nylon choke chain in case the pinch comes loose. good luck
Choke chain cause more damage then pinch collars in the wrong hands, pinch collars should never be use to give a correction the dog will correct itself with a pinch if you turn go the other way when the dog tries to pull.

Okie-dobie

The larger prongs are fine you just need to make sure the collar is as high as you can get it. Going to a smaller prong might be to much correction for your dog. If you have to take a link out and use it on the "live" ring.

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Lil Mama

We have tried all products when leash training. I didn't like the harness as it seemed to encourage her to pull. I bought a prong collar, but just didn't like using it. I felt it made Lil Mama look like a vicious dog that couldn't be controlled without inflicting pain (I know it's just a pinch, it's a visual thing on my part).

I have had great success with the Gentle Leader. The lead goes over her nose and works on the same concept as a bridle on a horse. It is much easier to control the animal when you have control of their head. Lil Mama balked at first having something over her nose, but now she politely sits and helps me put the lead on her. We have great loose leash walks and those moments she gets a mind of her own, all I need do is slightly tug the lead and she's back in check.

Adara

If she has desensitized herself to the pinch, it may quit being effective also. just food for thought.

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Flirt, ADAMAS All the Girls Do It, OA, NAJ, CL2-F, CL2-H
Gabby, Ch Gold Run's Token of Rumor, JH, NA, OAJ, NF, NJP, CL2,CL3-H, CL3-F Vizsla
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Prudence

Thanks for all of your recommendations. She seems to be pulling less as of yesterday, when I did the walking in the other direction method. We'll continue working on it.

KevinK

It will work, if you do it every time, and if you do it at the RIGHT time. I have always seen near-instant results with this, but it's 100% crucial to get the timing down. If you need any extra help feel free to send me a message, I don't come on as often as I used to.

millerdobes

I don't know how old your dog is or if you have tried other training but I would suggest it. Very few dogs require a pinch and if you are doing agility it COULD slow their motivation. We have never used them. Maybe it took a little longer to stop the pulling but it was worth it and the dog was trained with few corrections and more rewards. More fun that way for us and our dog.

It does sound like your pinch doesn't fit tight and they should be. You can also us those plastic tips which I would suggest.

Prudence

She will pull until she coughs on the choke collar. It was worthless for her unfortunately. My dog is 5 now, and she got into all sorts of bad habits because I was letting her take advantage of me.

millerdobes

Walk her when she is hungry, use rewards. Turn the other way and show her the treat. This has worked for me and I'm no strong woman by any means and old. LOL.

If you are using the pinch, correctly, you should be correcting and releasing. Sounds to me like you need an obedience class. No offense, I always learn something new in mine. At the very least, I'd have someone access what is going on that is experience with the breed.

5 years old is not an old dog and in their prime really. She can learn new things but it does take more work to retrain. Best to you and hope it works out whatever you choose.

I hate it when I always do typos and have to edit!

Prudence

Thanks. Will try it.

Adara

what method did you use to train loose leash walking or whatever you are doing? Does she know where you want her? Have you rewarded for the correct position? I start by doing some luring, then I reward every few steps and then less often and less often. This is a bit hard to see but this puppy is only 4.5 months old and walking nicely with another dog with us.

llw1 - YouTube

llw2 - YouTube

I've told her WHAT I want her to do over and over and over

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Flirt, ADAMAS All the Girls Do It, OA, NAJ, CL2-F, CL2-H
Gabby, Ch Gold Run's Token of Rumor, JH, NA, OAJ, NF, NJP, CL2,CL3-H, CL3-F Vizsla
Havoc, GCh HRQ Guess Who's In Trouble, JH, OA, OAJ, CL2-H, CL2-S, CL2-F Vizsla
Envy, Kizmar's Bailey HotShot of Adara, Vizsla

LuvMyDog_Worldwide

Don't tighten the collar, a collar only moves when the lead changes the angle between you and the dog. Either take care how you're holding the lead in relation to the neck or use a shorter lead. That takes care of most issues. If you just tighten the collar without altering your lead technique you end up with a collar that's correcting too often or all the time....and that's not effective.

LuvMyDog_Worldwide

Nope