Comfort Tips for Prong? Yes or No?

Yes No or doesnt matter

  • yes

    Votes: 1 7.1%
  • no

    Votes: 7 50.0%
  • doesnt matter

    Votes: 6 42.9%

  • Total voters
    14

Saeleofu

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#21
if they didn't inflict pain, they wouldn't work. there is no magic to them- they make it uncomfortable, so the dog doesn't pull. plenty of dogs learn to tune out the discomfort of a prong and pull just as hard as they do on a flat collar.
Pain and discomfort are two different things. It's not pleasant, no, but it is not painful. If a dog tunes out the prongs, odds are they're being used inappropriately.

Personally, I think they should be a temporary tool to teach the dog how to behave rather than a lifelong management tool, and I used them only temporarily or in certain situations. If it's used long-term, that's when dogs learn to tune it out. Also, if they're not fitted properly they can be ineffective. And of course, if the handler doesn't know how to use one, they probably won't work as well.
 

ACooper

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#22
if they didn't inflict pain, they wouldn't work. there is no magic to them- they make it uncomfortable, so the dog doesn't pull. plenty of dogs learn to tune out the discomfort of a prong and pull just as hard as they do on a flat collar.
I most definitely agree that they aren't "magic" and are uncomfortable.........but discomfort and pain are two different things. Being able to breathe and discomfort are also two different things.

And for me personally, if Orson decided he could "tune out" the prong collar and pull 'just as hard' as with a flat collar, that would be the day it was no longer used..........just like the anti pull harness and the gentle leader. He decided he could deal with it where those are concerned and they sit gathering dust in some forgotten closet ;)

I have NEVER needed to give a 'correction' of any type with his prong collar on.......he walks like a perfect gentleman with it. I personally couldn't imagine doing any sort of leash 'pop' with a prong or choke chain on him :eek:
(not that we use a choke chain, don't like them, won't use them)
 

Saeleofu

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#23
I have NEVER needed to give a 'correction' of any type with his prong collar on.......he walks like a perfect gentleman with it. I personally couldn't imagine doing any sort of leash 'pop' with a prong or choke chain on hi
A prong and a choke chain are both training tools. As such, corrections are needed on occasion. What's the point of a choke chain if you never give a correction with it? If you make corrections while in a training collar, then maybe you will see proper behavior. It is when training tools are not used to train that problems stay...problematic.
 

ACooper

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#24
A prong and a choke chain are both training tools. As such, corrections are needed on occasion. What's the point of a choke chain if you never give a correction with it? If you make corrections while in a training collar, then maybe you will see proper behavior. It is when training tools are not used to train that problems stay...problematic.
But that is where I've stated time and again........I've tried and tried with him. We have worked on his leash manners since he was 3 months old. His lead skills were going great until he got closer to two years old and started in with DA. If it were a perfect world, no loose dogs ever out and about, his leash manners would be FINE on a flat collar.

He is dog aggressive, there ARE loose dogs out and about.......I have no clue when one will show up, and there lies the problem. I don't consider his prong collar a training tool anymore.........it's a safety device plain and simple. *shrugs* it is what it is.
 

Saeleofu

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#25
If it were a perfect world, no loose dogs ever out and about,
No kidding. That'd be awesome. I actually had someone argue to the point of leaving another forum that there are no loose dogs in Australia. Sorry, but there's loose dogs everywhere. It would be great if there weren't, but even with the best enforced leash laws, it just doesn't happen.
 
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#26
there are so many loose dogs where Iam I've basically given up walking anyone more than a half block. Very fustrating.

so if anyone finds out the magic way to contain them all, iam on board.
 

AGonzalez

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#27
I have a Herm Sprenger (and I just found it, sorry DC lol) it's smooth and I wouldn't put any comfort tips on it.

I don't use it on Lacey, I've never needed to, but it was wonderful when I was teaching Smokey that dragging me down the street like a ragdoll just wasn't going to work. Took maybe a month before I put him back on a flat collar and had a nice walk.
 

elegy

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#28
He is dog aggressive, there ARE loose dogs out and about.......I have no clue when one will show up, and there lies the problem. I don't consider his prong collar a training tool anymore.........it's a safety device plain and simple. *shrugs* it is what it is.
that's how i use luce's as well.

it works because it's an aversive. i'm not sure why we need to play word games about it.
 

darkchild16

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#29
same as acoop and elegy at home with dogs he knows he can be off leash and walk in a heel without loose dogs He will walk in a heel but you add a loose dog to the mix and a small woman with a toddler and soon to be a infant walking a 75 pound lgd/hound mix then you need something a little more then a nylon martingale.
 

Fran101

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#30
Ive heard that rubber tips tend to help with hair breakage

but ive also heard that if you dont make sure its well made/put together, the rubber with cause hair to get stuck in it (ouch!)
 

Saeleofu

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#32
If you're not using it to train, then of course you don't need the pops. But if you use it for training, yes, you need the leash pops.

A leash pop is not a jerk or a pull. It's a pop. It's quick. It's not forceful. It's a "Hey, don't forget that I'm here, too" kind of thing.
 
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#33
Sierra's doesn't have comfort tips (TBH I've never even heard of them, let alone see them in person...) and she dances for me to put her prong on.


(I think this is the first time I've admitted to using a prong on Chaz... I've kind of avoided the subject like the plague.)
Kharma and Tallulah do too :)

Heck, I've posted pics of Tallulah where you can see the prong. Not only is she a puller, the prong is the one collar I can put on her for walking that doesn't rub her nekkid little neck raw.

Kharma's good on leash, but there is the occasional lunge after a varmint, and, even more importantly, it keeps HER safe. I can say that she is absolutely under my control. It also keeps some people from walking right up to her.
 

DanL

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#34
I have a prong for both Daisy and Gunnar. Neither have any kind of tips on them. Gunnar's is a nice Sprenger model, real heavy duty. Daisy's is more of a medium duty but for her it's more like power steering and rarely needs to be used as a correction.
 

ACooper

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#35
it works because it's an aversive. i'm not sure why we need to play word games about it.
I don't know if you meant this towards me or not, but if you did I am confused..........I can't see that I've used 'word games'.

I know full well what it is and what it does. As I've said before, I tried it on my upper BARE arm to get the sensation before I ever put it on him. If it were 'painful' I would not use it. If he pulled like mad on it, I would not use it. If he had ever yelped, whined, or had skin broken, I would not use it. I know it isn't comfortable at all times, if it were, it wouldn't work.

If that wasn't directed at me, sorry.........I am just confused since you quoted me to make the statement.
 

ihartgonzo

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#38
A leash pop is not a jerk or a pull. It's a pop. It's quick. It's not forceful. It's a "Hey, don't forget that I'm here, too" kind of thing.
Personally, I can get the same affect by simply saying "hey, don't forget that I'm here, too" to my dogs. :rolleyes:

Prong collars are the most ginormous pain to put on dogs at work... firstly because the dogs despise them, and you have to stab them just to put them on. 99% of the time they are not properly fitted, I can see that and I've never ever used one. Sometimes they are literally skintight, sometimes they are loose enough to fit a hand between the dog. I see a lot of flat edges on prongs, sometimes rounded prongs, but never rubber tips. It does seem like they're more to make the person feel better than anything.

As far as using prong collars for "safety"... has anyone heard of sense-ible harnesses, and/or the many other safer, more humane ways of controlling a dog? It's the 21st century. Prong collars, chokers, etc seem so barbaric when there is so much more out there. I would even use a Halti way before using a prong... have you guys ever thought of your dogs self-correcting themselves when they see other dogs, and that constant negative stimulation exacerbating their DA issues? Has anyone who needs a prong gone through +R classes without training collars?
 

DanL

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#39
I can see me using some kind of head halti on Gunnar, having him launch after a prey animal, and snapping his neck. I'll stick to the prong. This post wasn't about whether a prong should or should not be used, it was about using rubber tips on one.

I've been to many +r classes where no corrective collar was used, and I've done many classes that are completely off leash.
 

MafiaPrincess

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#40
Ditto.

Sierra's doesn't have comfort tips (TBH I've never even heard of them, let alone see them in person...) and she dances for me to put her prong on.


(I think this is the first time I've admitted to using a prong on Chaz... I've kind of avoided the subject like the plague.)
I really don't care what people use on their dogs. Their dog their choice. Do want to point out though that Sierra dances around all happy like because the prong means a walk. Not because she enjoys wearing a prong.
 

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