Ziggy Dog Training Collar

[Maribeth Seagers]

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I was wondering in what situations you would use a walking aid such as a martingale, etc? Or if you would use them at all. Twice I've had separate trainers tell me that because Ziggy is powerful and despite different methods to get him to walk better (making a 180 when he pulls, using treats when he pays attention to me, stopping in my tracks and not moving until he comes back, etc.) . One of these trainers is from a Control Unleashed class, the other was his agility instructor.

Frankly I'm really tired of the pulling, he is powerful and he will dive and pull to get at something he wants which could be any random thing, from a rock, to a stick, to just some weird smell, who knows. He's also reactive and my fear with using any aid is that he will accidentally correct himself if something sets him off and make his reactivity worse. I started using a shorter 18 inch leash which helps because the more leash he has the more speed he can put behind a lunge. Today was particularly frustrating because we went to his control unleashed class and there are other reactive dogs, and even though we're well spaced out there are occasional incidents of lunging combined with him pulling me in all kinds of directions during the class. I don't like to get frustrated or angry when I'm trying to train him so I kind of had to stop and sit out the last few minutes of class because I knew it wouldn't do him any good.

Venting aside, I'm tempted to try something like a martingale or even a plain slip collar, although I've been avoiding it. I'm at the point where it seems the more positive methods of getting it to stop haven't been working and it isn't pleasant to get jerked around. I'm just trying to find out what others have done or if they've used walking aids and what were the results.

One of my 4 is a puller, or I should say WAS. After years of trying all the "tried and true" methods for teaching loose lead walking, I found something that worked for Ruby. It is from Pam Dennison's "Complete Idiot's Guide to Positive Dog Training" 3rd edition. She devised this for her rescue Border Collie who pulled like crazy. It is very embarrassing for a nationally known dog trainer to have a dog that pulls like crazy! No special training collars, required, rather a regular buckle collar will do, though if your dog is trained to pull on a regular collar, you may want to switch to a harness. Attach a long line that is at least 15 feet long. Start out. Your dog will take off. BEFORE Ziggy gets to the end of the line, click and treat and throw the treat toward Ziggy. If you haven't done clicker training with Ziggy, you will have to charge the clicker first. Pam's book will tell you how to do this and much more. The reason for throwing the treat is that you are not teaching heeling. You are simply teaching loose lead walking, and Ziggy doesn't have to be at your side all the time. Keep clicking and rewarding when the line is loose. If the line tightens, then no treat. " Hmmm. I get a treat when my neck feels good." Start this out in an area with no or few distractions, and gradually work your way up to other places that may be more exciting. The "Be a Tree" works for many dogs, but what Ruby and Pam's Emma learned from it is that when Mom stops, you run back, get a treat, and then go out and pull again so you can come back and get another treat! It all depends on how a particular dog's mind works! It is the challenging dogs that teach us the most if we are able to think outside the box. And the very best trainers do that. They observe a particular dog and figure out what that dog needs.

I use slip leads and martingale collars and leashes but not because they provide any 'correction' in walking. I use them because Jack has a big neck and pointy head and comes out of his collar pretty easily, because they're easy on and off, and because i do agility where I need to be able to get the dog naked in a hurry to run. As far as I am concerned they are USELESS as corrective devices, at best, and at worst dangerous unless they are limited slip.

Pulling walking aid? I have 100+ lb GSD mix with high prey-drive. I've used a lot of things with him over the last year (he's 2) to get him under control, espcially during winter and icy surfaces - he's big, I'm not, I like my teeth. Front clip harness, prong, gentle leader, etc. I had the most success with a prong attached to a very short (6") leash/training tab. At this point he's got loose leash walking down, but I still keep him on a prong collar for backup in case of squirrels or fleeing cats (leash attached to both regular collar and prong, prong only engages if regular collar fails).

But seriously - front clip harness, head collar, prong, but a slip or martingale isn't really going to help you. I don't like choke chains but even they deliver correction and then release if used right and put on right. A slip leash doesn't. It just hangs the dog - slowly and without releasing again and that's just plain dangerous.

And NOTHING will work unless it's paired with active training to show the dog what you want. Otherwise, you'll just be stuck using a corrective device forever, the dog will never know how to loose leash walk and that's really not your goal. So whatever you use, pair it with training of whatever method you like. I've had good luck with penalty yards and heavy food/praise reenforcement.

For reactive dogs I like a head collar on a very short leash. I find it's easier to keep their attention on you. You have to use a short leash though, because they can cause neck injury if the dog sees something and takes off after it on a 6' or 4' leash.

Like cpt jack said, these are only training aids, not to be used forever. You have to actively train to eventually lose the aid. If a dog doesn't learn to pull they will eventually pull with anything you try, harness, head collar, prong, etc.

(Putting flame-resistant gear on): I used a prong collar on one dog, when he was prone to pulling (when he was still a six-month-old pup). Why did I cave (when this was the LAST thing I wanted to use?) and go with this?

He'd just had bilateral OCD surgery on both shoulders. He was still a pup, and hadn't learned *not* to pull on leash. He was often subjected to "high impulse" environments - I would walk out of my office with him, on leash, only to discover young kids chasing balls. No way to backpedal gracefully and find an alternate route to my car in the parking lot.

I didn't *want* to use a prong collar. The P/T vet expressed concern over his pulling on the leash with a conventional collar or any sort of harness. He *was* going to pull, and fall, and was going to re-injure those healing shoulders.

I argued with the vet that we could use a Gentle Leader, or a harness. Nope, those would put too much pressure on his healing shoulders, or would force him to use one forelimb in preference to the other. Harnesses would "squeeze" his healing shoulders and impair their development as they healed from surgery. I eventually caved, and used a prong collar. But I treated it as a training aid (I also used a conventional collar, with a second leash). It didn't ruin my dog; he didn't become dog-reactive (pulling, then flinching, on seeing other dogs). We transitioned from it as soon as we could manage. He interacts well with other dogs now both off-leash or on-leash, and he doesn't pull at present on a conventional leash.

Prong collars look like medieval torture instruments, though if they're used correctly, there is evidence that they protect dogs from tracheal injuries that may be incurred with conventional collars or (worse) choke chains. At least this is what my vet tried to convince me.

You can find many blovations but no credible scientific evidence that training (aka "choke") collars or prong collars cause trachial damage. Tools don't matter much, your attitude does. Your dog doesn't pull. Your dog does not have the right to pull. Your dog will be happier not pulling than he was pulling.

There are many possible corrections to put a stop to pulling. General rules are the same for any correction. Corrections should be the gentlest effective correction. Apply correction as dog is deciding on undesirable behavior - not after he's been doing it for ten minutes. If you can't apply the correction properly, don't apply it at all. You must mean "Don't pull" not "Don't sniff that candy wrapper". If the undesirable behavior is well established, unless it's life threatening (car chasing etc) don't try to cure it with one dramatic superpowerful correction - it'll take several. Remember: at first the dog does not know what you're getting at and may panic or jibe or whimper. Don't reward this behavior with your kisses and tears. He's not the trainer, you are.

Honestly Lyka has lunging issues on a leash, as she just LOVES all dog/people and wants to play. I use a pinch collar with her and if used and sized correctly it really helps the problem. I would contact a professional to show you how to use it, because there is a specific way you have to hold the leash for it to actually work and be safe

I use martingales when I need to get my dog's collar on and off quickly - like when going to the start line in Agility. Using a martingale will also ensure that I don't accidentally leave the collar on, which can result in an NQ in the venue that I compete in.

My martingales are set so that when they tighten, they do not put extra pressure on the dog's neck. I could still put the usual two fingers in between the dog's neck and collar that I can with a flat buckle. It's not there to administer a correction, but to keep the leash attached to the dog where it is required that I have one (going in and out of the ring).

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