What's Wrong With The Prong?

Pain is not needed to teach your dog to become a more enjoyable and better-behaved companion.

Pain Collars

Prong, choke, and shock collars HURT! And in turn, they hurt your relationship. Studies show that dog owners that use aversive equipment such have diminished bonds with their dogs, and are less satisfied with their dogs’ behavior.

Pain collar-related injuries are quite common. The skin on dogs’ necks is significantly thinner than human skin. Prong collar injuries, for example, range from skin punctures to spinal cord problems and even crushed tracheas. Prong, choke, and shock collars are designed to inflict pain and cause discomfort. Numerous studies have shown the harmful effects of correction-based training methods.

If pain is experienced every time your dog attempts to greet another dog or move toward something while out on a walk, soon your dog will associate the presence of dogs or other stimuli with pain and discomfort, leading to increased fear, reactivity and aggression. Furthermore, these collars do nothing to train your dog what behaviors to perform, they only tell him what not to do, using pain and fear.

Despite what some trainers or pet store employees might say, pain collars are not safe or humane. There’s no good reason to use them when many humane, effective alternative walking equipment options exist.

Need help with your dog’s behavior? Consider taking a private lesson, or scheduling a behavior consultation in our Specialty Clinic.