Choosing a Training Collar

Since I've had so many questions about this recently, I've re-written
the article for the website about Choosing a Training Collar, and
included a description of the head collar, and how to desensitize
your dog to accept it. As always, questions and comments are welcome
and appreciated -- that's how I know when we need a new article! {grin}

There are so many different types of collars available -- yet, many
people never really think about the different types, or even why
there are so many different types. This article will help you with
this frustrating decision: which training collar for your dog?

Collar types have evolved right along with training methods. For
many years, the collars of choice were mostly meant to facilitate
the use of correction-based training methods: choke collars, prong
collars, and shock collars. Very big dogs were likely to sport
either the prong or shock collars, simply because the dog is big
-- it takes less effort for a big dog to pull you down the street,
than it does a little dog. So, even today, many trainers recommend
correction collars for the big guys, based on size of the dog alone.

I don't recommend correction-based collars or methods: I recommend
headcollars. What's a headcollar, you ask? If all you've ever
used is a choke or regular flat collar, you're going to LOVE head
collars! A head collar is like a horse's bridle, without the bit.
The Gentle Leader is the best one, and it consists of a collar
that goes around the dog's neck, with a nose loop attached... the
nose loop keeps the dog from dragging you down the street. When
the dog pulls, the nose loop causes his head to be pulled down,
so he stops. A head collar reduces the pull of a 170-pound male
down to 4.4 pounds... they're wonderful!! The headcollar isn't
intended as a corrective collar -- I tell people that they're a
"restraining" collar, rather than a "training" collar. The headcollar
is intended simply as a means of controlling the bulk of the dog,
while you teach appropriate behavior.

If a trainer is very insistent on a particular type of correction
collar, and you're not comfortable in using that collar on your
dog, don't use the collar! First, it's your dog -- you don't have
to use anything that you don't want to use. Second, your dog will
sense that you're not comfortable in using the methods and collar
that was recommended -- you'll likely end up with bigger problems
than you started with. And, third, if a trainer is trying to force
you to use methods that you're not willing to use, your instincts
are probably telling you to find the closest door... and your instincts
are most probably right. Never allow someone to badger you into
doing something to your dog that you're not comfortable doing!

Choosing a Training Collar

First, you have to know your dog. Is it a puppy? A small one?
A regular collar, or none at all is fine. You'll be able to work
with him in an enclosed area with no collar at all. Save the regular
flat buckle collar for when you take him places, or just hook to his harness.

For all others, there are a combination of collars:

Older dogs, big "pully" pups, and dogs with sensitivity problems
require training collars when worked in an unconfined area (harnesses
are pretty much useless as a training tool for a bigger, pully dog)...
if you're working in a securely-fenced area, though, you can work
with no collar at all. I use a combination of 3 things, depending
on where we're working, and what disturbances we're likely to encounter while there.

First, understand that my dogs are 3 St. Bernards -- 2 adult females,
about 115 and 150 pounds, and a geriatric male, about 95 pounds).
They are extremely happy to see other dogs, who may or may not
be so happy to see them. Cis also has a sound sensitivity, which further complicates matters.

If we're working in an area where we're likely to encounter other
dogs, but no odd noises, they all wear head collars connected by
a coupler, in conjunction with a harness. This allows me to control
the jumping, barking, and play-bows to a better degree, so that
the owner of the other dog (and the other dog) isn't so nervous.
In the event that something should trigger Cis' sound sensitivity,
I grab her harness. A word of warning about head collars: I have
seen my dog try to "bolt" in fear while wearing a head collar.
I haven't seen any studies done to this effect, YET, but I've seen
how her head gets whipped back and to the side, 'til it looks as
though her neck will snap. I always recommend a harness in conjunction
with these collars, when dealing with a fearful dog.

Note: All 3 of my dogs each wear headcollars for training and walks.
They also wear regular flat leather collars, for ID purposes.

Cis has made gigantic strides in her battle against her sound sensitivity...
when working toward this end, if we were working in an area where
we were likely to encounter something that would trigger her sensitivity
(like walking downtown, with the construction, traffic noises, church
bells, police sirens, etc.), she wore a prong collar. If you are
concerned about the humanity of a prong collar, read The Prong Collar/Choke
Collar Comparison Report. There is a little less control around
other dogs, but a lot less strain on her neck, when confronted with something scary.

A prong collar is not my first collar of choice -- the head collar
is. However, if you learn to use a prong collar properly (it is
to be used as a restraining collar, rather than a training collar),
it can be quite beneficial under certain circumstances. All collars
have their limits, though... the headcollar comes closest to being
the perfect collar for training the big, pully boys, in my book.

Both of these implements have their drawbacks, so that it's been
necessary to interchange based on location and circumstance, in
Cis' case -- however, Cis' circumstances are outside the norm, behaviorally,
due to her sound sensitivity. You have to use your own judgment,
and realize that whatever collar you choose is only a TOOL. Clicker
training has helped tremendously with the "problems" we have encountered
when out walking. Cis may never get completely over the sound sensitivity,
but there has been phenomenal improvement over the past year. And,
I am now able to make her sit while barking at another dog -- my pride knows no bounds!!

Please note: there are no circumstances under which I use a choke
collar -- and I will not ever use or condone use of a shock collar.

Teaching Your Dog to Accept the Headcollar

Slip the nose loop over the fingers of your right hand, and pick
up a slice of hotdog in those same fingers. Feed the hotdog to
your dog, allowing him to see the headcollar approaching his face
with each slice. Do this until he's comfortable, about 7-10 slices.

Then, allow the nose loop to slip off your fingers with the next
slice, and land on the bridge of his nose, behind his nose. Just
let it rest there, while he eats that slice. He'll shake it off
-- that's fine. Do 5-10 more slices this way, until he starts to
allow the nose loop to STAY on his nose, between slices... at this point, you're home free!

When he's allowing it to stay there, just reach behind his head
and close the fasteners. Feed him a few more slices, then attach
the leash and take him for a walk -- take the remainder of the slices
with you, and use them if he starts to have problems with the feel
of the nose-loop. Try to stay in constant motion, so that he really
doesn't have time to be bothered by it.

Here's the crux of teaching any dog to accept it: the headcollar
must come to represent ONLY good things -- so, you must ONLY allow
good stuff to happen, when teaching him to accept it. Some people
only try to use it when they need to do crappy stuff to their dogs,
like take him to the vet's -- and, of course, the dog associates
this with the collar, and fights it. If you teach your dog that
Really Good Stuff happens when the collar comes out, he'll start
to get excited about seeing it. Once he's associated it with the
good stuff, you can use it to take him to the vet's -- just don't
do that on the first few times he wears it.

When I take the headcollar off the hook by the door, I've got 4
Saints sitting in a row, each trying to stick their heads into the
same collar. {grin} They sit politely, but they're so excited
over the collar that they still crowd.