[Twinkletoes]

Hey Twink
I am looking at the canny collar now and it is interesting. I can see how it would work very well to correct pulling without discomfort or risk of injury to the dog. My question is, do you have a problem with the nose loop slipping off if his lead is loose and he's sniffing around?

i usually just keep the lead alittle taught when he bends down to sniff..if it slips off though they still cant go anywhere as they are still attached by the collar and lead. I found with the dobes as they have a longer muzzel it rarely slips off .Its only happended the once with Harv..but i really havent heard anyone have a major problem with them atall ..for Harvey i got the size 3 when he was younger but now i have just bought the size 4 which will last him the rest of his life.

I cannot praise it enough..its great for jogging and in crowds as you have full control and they cannot run ahead or drag you.

Did you watch the videos..they take awhile to load but really show the difference

 

[TracyJo]

I did watch the videos and I love that Rottie I've been waffling between a gentle leader and the sensation harness. I've read reports about spinal and neck injuries due to the gentle leader, but I take those with a grain of salt because ANY training device can be a liability in the wrong hands. But I remember how hard it was to get Storm used to hers... The Sensation Harness seems really great but am hesitant because I'm still concerned about possible aggression and it offers little control. (although she has made AMAZING progress on the whole agression/fear thing). However, this collar doesn't seem as though it would be nearly as objectionable as the gentle leader and I like how it hooks at the back of the neck rather than under the chin. Just seems that it would allow the dog more natural movement and there is less chance of injury due to handler error. But then again she's doing great with learning how to walk on a loose lead. Kind of scared to screw up the good thing that we've got going by introducing a new collar. Sorry I'm rambling with random thoughts now

 

[Twinkletoes]

Dont woryy im another rambler when it comes to posting ..that rotties gorgeous isnt he..so well behaved the main reason i chose the canny was becasue it fastened behind the head and the way it was designed and a plesure for both of us to use ..i defiantly wouldnt swap if your girls doing so well on a loose lead ~ i would love to get harvey to do that he getting so much training at the moment i think that would tip him over the edge lol ..hes pretty good on a lead the canny just great for public outings as i have greater control

 

[LapDog]

We have all the options at home. Duchess will walk great at your side when you have treats. When you don't have treats sometimes she will think it is worthwhile when we talk loudly and cheerfully at her. We bought a training harness...this makes them feel uncomfortable under the armpits when they pull. Well we stopped using that because it started to break her hairs where the harness was sliding around when it tightens under the armpit. Also, there is too much room for her head to and upper body to wonder around....you dont have much control. Next, We got a gentle leader...We still will use that occassionally...the only thing is that it bothers her still so when she walks on grass she will stop drop and roll around itching it. On hard surfaces she will bow and put her head in between her legs with her forehead to the ground. It also takes away her personality when she would normally be excited and happy. When we go to the pet store...instead of giving good kisses and being herself...she will kinda have a gloomy stare...like "this is on my face...and i dont like it too much so dont mind me if I don't act excited to meet you or even be here." Then we got a prong and works great. But we don't like using it for social places...like when we take her to the pet shop...b.c she does like to go up and meet other people and dogs and so we don't like using it b.c we know she is so happy to be around that kind of atmosphere...and we don't want the collar to correct her for being happy haha..if that makes sense. we try to use her regular collar and just bring lots of treats.

 

[hotpursuit]

He's free to run around and be a silly puppy when we play at the park. I would like our walks to also be "business" (no constant nose to the ground, sniffing everything and everyone who walks by), but he can't seem to focus for very long, and I wonder how much pushing from me is too much at this age.

if you want the walk to the park to be business then make the entire walk to the park in heel.... talk to you dobe continuously, thats a good heel, good boy, good heel, cross strrets where you normally dont, do about faces throught the trip, this will keep him happy, and on his toes wondering/waiting for your next move, really change it up, he will be looking at you the entire trip after a short time.

 

[2dobies]

I am considering buying a prong collar, and actually picked one up at Petsmart last weekend and tried it on Darmok. I guess I'm just a big soft heart (or soft head, maybe), but I just didnt like the way it looked--metal sticking into her throat and all. I really should try one, though. She is 3 yrs old now and although she is trained to do so many things, she STILL likes to pull when on a leash. If we go somewhere (pet store, or crowded areas) I still will use a GL, but like I read on other posts here, she also will rub her face a lot when it's on--usually she rubs her snout between my knees while I'm standing still! Or lay down or grass and roll her head around! I dont mind her being in front if we're just out for a 'fun' walk, because she still knows that I call the shots, but I sure would like to have her walk without pulling so hard!

 

[TracyJo]

I've got to say that for the longest time I strongly opposed prong collars. I mean I was under the impression that death was better than a prong. After MUCH thought, discussion here and research I bought one. I've yet to have to correct Chi with it, I attach the leash to both rings but the improvement is amazing! Walks are so much less stressful now. We can jog without her getting so super excited that she's bouncing everywhere. I can concentrate on her social skills rather than keeping my arm in socket. Best part is that she doesn't run from it! She's fine with it. She sees it and knows it's time to go for a walk and out the door she wants to go. The real test was the other day when I walked her to the tennis court. I took it off of her while we played and worked with some off leash training but when I picked it up to put it back on her to leave she practically put it on herself.
I don't think that it is a collar for every dog and I'm sure if Chi had a more competent trainer she wouldn't need one. But I do know that the prong collar has made our life soooooo much easier and more fun!

 

[Lexus]

I am considering buying a prong collar, and actually picked one up at Petsmart last weekend and tried it on Darmok. I guess I'm just a big soft heart (or soft head, maybe), but I just didnt like the way it looked--metal sticking into her throat and all. I really should try one, though. She is 3 yrs old now and although she is trained to do so many things, she STILL likes to pull when on a leash. If we go somewhere (pet store, or crowded areas) I still will use a GL, but like I read on other posts here, she also will rub her face a lot when it's on--usually she rubs her snout between my knees while I'm standing still! Or lay down or grass and roll her head around! I dont mind her being in front if we're just out for a 'fun' walk, because she still knows that I call the shots, but I sure would like to have her walk without pulling so hard!

Prong collars actually can be great training devices. Just make sure the prongs are short, mine are only about a half inch or so long (I think TracyJo even picked one up with rubber on the bottom of the prongs), and the collar needs to be not tight but resting in place against the skin, not loose enough that it hangs. And on a fitting that enables it to stay high up on the neck, not on the lower under muscles towards the chest. And not so high it pinches the sensitive bottom skin of their ears.

While any collar can be harsh in the wrong hands, a prong is better than say a choke collar as it won't pinch their skin. Just be sure to have a back up collar on her too, as it is not unheard of for a prong to unsnap. The key really is the fit, when it is fit right, it doesn't offer discomfort to the dog. And like with Lexus, they more or less correct themselves as you walk.

It's your desicion to try one, hopefully this offered some help with how to fit it.

 

[Gracie's_Mom]

Gracie also has a prong. When she sees us pull that out she knows she is going some place, a walk, a store or any place that we might need extra control. She gets so excited, she starts jumping, spinning, air bitting and just carries on until it gets put on. Then she becomes a 'working dog' sort to speak.

 

[IloveMyDobie31]

So, Apollo and I have been working hard on heel for a little over a month now and he's an absolute dream when he's wearing the prong. Unfortunately, when it comes off everything goes out the window...including remembering to sit when we stop. Any tips for fading out the prong properly?...I tried putting on both his regular collar and the prong and changing to the regular collar sometime during the walk, but as soon as he realizes he's not getting poked when he pulls...it's all over.

Just some more info...the tree method, and walking backwards have never worked with him. He's reallllly treat motivated, but because of that reason, I wanted to use food as a last resort because he gets so food crazy I don't want him to depend on it :-/

 

[TracyJo]

Personally, I think that training with treats is great but I understand that not all share my phylosophy
He's still young and learning. Just keep practicing these commands with what works for you and gradually work away from the prong.
I would imagine that if you were to offer treats as reward for heeling well with the prong, he would quickly realize he has to do the same thing for the same reward without it.

 

[forager]

Gentle Leader?

It looks like you purchased a prong collar. Good Luck. About 6 weeks ago--our dobe was 4 1/2 months old at the time--we purchased a "Gentle Leader" because of her incessant pulling. It really did the trick. Our walks are relaxed, the leash full of slack.
I suspect it takes a while for the dog to behave thusly when another type of leash is used after training with the Gentle Leader, but we are sticking with it until she associates walking with a loose leash. From the moment we started with the Gentle Leader, her struggling stopped. It's worth a try.

 

[2dobies]

I know this is an older thread, but I had something to add. I dont know if any of you watch The Dog Whisperer on Nat'l Geog. channel, but I just started recently watching it. Some of the things he says/does makes a lot of sense. I saw him use a regular choker chain on a dog that pulls and jerks around, only he said to not put the collar low on the dog's neck, for that is just an invitation for it to pull. True...that's how my Sasha does. He said, instead, keep the chain up high on the neck, right at the jawline and the top of the chain at the base of the skull. I just took Sasha for a 45 minute walk, using this technique. WHAT A DIFFERENCE! We walked past yards that had pit bulls barking at us and lunging at us on their tie-outs, past a yard with 6 beagles that all chased us up their fence line howling at us, past a bloodhound that hopped and bounded like a 200 lb bunny, and as long as I had her chain up high on her neck, and watched her 'body language' I could give her a very slight jerk--and I mean SLIGHT, hardly no pressure at all--and told her SHH! and kept on walking, she was the model dobie on a string!!~!! She stayed glued to my left leg, and did not bark, strain, no hair standing up or any of the usual behaviors. I totally could not believe the difference! I had treats with me (boiled liver) but Sasha doesnt respond to treat-payoffs when she is outside. That's kind of weird, because inside, she would do anything for a piece of boiled liver! She has a nervous, sensitive stomach, tho, and I think when she is all excited about going for a walk places she doesnt usually go, she doesnt really want anything to go into her stomach. Anyway, I was so amazed at her response to just a little difference in position of her chain collar, that I had to brag about it!!!

 

[frznbuns]

Wow! Congrats all around! I love to watch that show. I found a lot of what he says is true also.. we use a prong on all of our dogs and we also keep them high on the head and we also found that it made a great difference in them. I also agree that watching the body language really helps a great deal! well, congrats again. and keep up the good work!

 

[Prettydobie]

I can tell you from experiance it works. Trinity use to be all over the place and it felt like she was going to rip my arm off. I started using a prong collar because nothing else worked. Well after about a week there was noticable change. She wasn't all up in peoples yards she didn't pull it was great. I actually like taking her for walks now. LOL I don't always use the prong collar though cause after about 3 months of putting it on her to take her for walks I slowly backed off. Like the days I didn't put it on her I would still bring it so she would know I would have. Kind of like telling her " Don't make me put it on you". She doesn't really need the prong collar anymore. The only times I have to put it on her is when I don't walk her for awhile.

 

[IloveMyDobie31]

Like the days I didn't put it on her I would still bring it so she would know I would have. Kind of like telling her " Don't make me put it on you".

lol, i do the same thing with apollo, except i leave it on but i hook the leash to his normal collar. when he starts pulling i stop, make him sit, and switch back to the prong. i doubt we'll ever be completely prong free, and if by some miracle we are...it tcould be a while before that happens.

 

[Prettydobie]

I use to do that but for some reason trinity is inbetween sizes on prong collars so if its not hooked up to the leash it has a tendance to move around so that the part you hook to the leash is in the front instead of the back. LOL I tried to go down a size but them its to small and I can't buckle it. LOL

 

[Lil Arrow]

I know this is an old post, but with Pyper I use a slid halter. When she pulls, it tugs into her armpits and she backs off right away. I can not use a collar anymore, it only holds her ID and licence.

 

[Codysmom]

Cody always got so excited to go out it took us about 5 minutes to get him to sit to put the collar on. I was using the prong cuz he was almost as strong as I am. wheat really worked best was, before we stepped our I said 'heel' (he knew exactly what I expected all the time - but without pupperoni.....)and took our first step. if he pulled AT ALL we stopped and he had to sit. Then heel again and at the slightest pull, stop and sit. the first time we must have stopped and sat 50 times, but then he realized that I meant business and was fine after. we usually had to go thru this routine after a few days of rain and he hadn't been out. But these guys are smart enough to figure out that they don't want to walk two steps and sit, which is what you will have to do for a while. but if you stick with it, you will be happy you did.

good luck
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