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Keeper Collars

6.5K views 17 replies 13 participants last post by  sissl  
#1 · (Edited)
For those of you who are using the KEEPER COLLAR hidden prong keeper collars, what width did you order?
 
#5 ·
#11 ·
What a horrifying instrument of torture. I gave my first dog wobblers with a choke chain. That was the last time I used a choke chain on a doberman. I adopted a beautiful boy (at age 10) in 2017 who was reported to have "arthritis". In his first week with us, we visited his original vet practice. She said it was NOT arthritis. It was wobblers. There was no record of his ever having it previously, but he had spent 6 months with a family member of his original owner prior to being turned over to the shelter. He came with 1/8th inch scabs, an inch apart, in a circle around his neck. I can't prove it, but he was absolutely a puller when I got him and I am sure the inexperienced person had him in a prong collar. I think they should be banned. Rant over.
 
#12 · (Edited)
I'm sorry, Hana, but one idiot misusing a tool doesn't mean the tool should be banned.

I once rescued a dog that was on the run. Had a flat collar embedded in her neck. Additionally, my MIL's little dog is a mix of breeds prone to collapsed trachea - if she were to walk him on a flat collar, she could cause him injury. Does that mean we should ban all flat collars?

Head halters can contribute to wobbler's. Should we ban head halters?

Corrective harnesses can affect gait, to the degree the dog injures themselves from falling. Should we ban those?

Dogs can end up dead from eating blankets. Should blankets be banned?
 
#14 ·
Absolutely. There is no doubt about it in my mind. To wit:

My son has owned Dobermans his entire adult life and had never used anything other than a martingale. Now with two kids, and his wife and him both working full time, when they got Popeye, he decided to hire a professional trainer, who had come highly recommended. The have done intensive one on one and also had a very successful "board and train" session. These efforts have worked wonders on Popeye, who was pretty trainable to begin with.

The trainer convinced my son of the value of both a prong and an e-collar for specific training. He instructed him the careful and proficient use of both and the positive results are quite obvious, both on and off leash.

I also use a prong. Lolas Unlimited: Secret Powers.

John L
Portland OR
 
#15 ·
I used a prong on my previous rescue Dobe. He was a 2 yr old big boy and it took a couple of face plantsfor me to ask our trainer. The prong was a miracle, he quickly understood what "easy" meant and didn't need it much after that. The only thing I used the e-collar for was to enforce his recall - he also got that pretty quickly.
My current girl I raised as a puppy and she responds well to a flat collar.
 
#16 ·
I use a prong for training from about 4 months. And I use prongs as brush up reminders particularly for heeling for the dogs who are competing in performance the more advanced they are the smaller the prong--I use micro/mini on dogs with titles when training. Again they are just a reminder--like the treats the well trained dogs occasionally get--just another reminder of what you get if you do it right.

I've never had a male that responded well to a flat collar--it makes them give me eye rolls asking what does this mean?

dobebug
 
#17 ·
Worse customer service I have ever received from a company. I have purchased prong collars for 40 years but to be sure I ordered the right size I measured my dogs neck per their instructions. Upon receiving the collar, it was way too big. I have been trying to get the right collar size since January 29 and have talked to three customer service agents and the owner with absolutely no resolution. I continue to get the run around and two of the agents were actually rude. I paid $85.93 for this collar with tax and shipping. I was even willing to pay a return fee of $11.75 to exchange the collar for the right size but no one could determine what the right size would be nor did I ever receive a return label. I questioned whether the collar was mis sized but was told "this wasn't possible as it had never happened before". Really? Ever heard of a first time for everything? I sent pictures, etc., and now am not getting a response from my last conversation with the owner. Also, their tag and seam is on the outside of the collar which bothers my dogs ears. You can actually see it in the picture. Poor design. DO NOT BUY FROM THIS COMPANY!
 
#18 ·
Canvas catches on itself and doesn’t slack like a chain does. Prongs dig in and actually feel painful, whereas Sprenger doesn’t (try it on your leg). Doubt my one collar is the painful anomaly that I have to slack myself. Corrections don’t carry meaning this way and it just hurts. Used it once. Honestly with such a short coat it didn’t look hidden on Anouk either. It stuck out from her neck weird looking, looked like a flat collar from a distance. The prongs themselves might have all been at a severe angle on hers. Don’t know. It was expensive and I got sucked into the idea of it but we use her Sprenger collar.