Choker Chains?

Yes she did spiritdog I have one of her books No Bad Dogs The Woodhouse Way. There is a part in her book that she explain the right way and the wrong to aplly a choke chain. I really enjoyed read the book.

Hmmmm all this info on choke chains is making me rethink the choke chain I walk my pup with.  So I've got a couple of questions:

If, as in my case, I have a dog with very little coat, will a prong collar do damage to skin underneath?  Especially if he's got the sighthound "see it-chase it" mentality.  I don't want to untrain this instinct because he's going to lure course.
 
I've got all kinds of leash commands that vary from heel to easy, to with me (loose heel) as well as hand signals left and right, so on and so forth.  Plus it seems that when he's wearing the choker, the chain is always low on the neck, closer to the shoulder/neck area.
 
All of our on lead training has been done with the "Playtraining" method, will the prong adversely affect this?  What this really means is...short sessions (3 minutes max-2-4 times a week...all kinds of fun and games after)  very little leash correction.  I'm encouraging his independent thinking to be more directable.  It seems to me that a prong would diminish the independence.
 
Are there any good websites or other places that can teach responsible prong collar usage?

Someone else mentioned a martingale collar briefly, and you really might want to consider one of those.  They are designed to tighten when the dog pulls, but stop tightening before they choke.  You can get them in nylon, cotton, leather...whatever is easiest on your dog's fur and your budget.  I know well the hound instinct...my Bassets quickly learned how to back out of a regular collar when they wanted OUT!  The Rescue that I work with provides them with each foster or adoption.  You can google them and come up with lots of options.

Are there any good websites or other places that can teach responsible prong collar usage?

 
Suzanne Clothier's site: www.flyingdogpress.com

Martingales will not stop a confirmed puller from pulling, but they are useful on hounds to prevent the collar from slipping over their heads if they back up)
 

Thanks for the info on the easy walk, Anne.  Since we've worked so much with drag lines, they are actually much easier to walk these days.  Go figure!

Martingale collar is some what like a choke chain. [linkhttp://www.canineuniversity.com/articles/products/products_09.html]http://www.canineuniversity.com/articles/products/products_09.html[/link]
And they do work.

cavowner, we "oldies" all learned how to use a slip collar - in those days there was little else.  But, what I don't understand is all the resistance to any new method that might work as well with no discomfort to the dog.  Even Barbara Woodhouse took the time to try to invent a slip that did less damage to the trachea and the haircoat. 

Who said I hadn't tried all the other options, I have, many times, except for a prong collar as they are illegal here.
The only option that has a dog walking at heel consistently on a loose lead, for me, has been a check chain or similar. I absolutely hate walking any dog who pulls on the lead .... and who doesn't watch & listen either. I don't put up with it from small dogs and I don't put up with it from large dogs either.

There has been no damage to throat or haircoat, My dog took out reserve BIS yesterday. A loose check chain cannot damage anything.

I only said it works for me.

These are all just tools to help re-train a dog. If you start out from day one insisting upon no-pulling, you will need nothing to help you, you can walk your dog on a body harness or a flat buckle collar, or even off-leash.
 
I think prongs are the best choice for dogs who normally don't pull, but every now and again, for environmental reasons, lunge hard against the leash. The prong automatically punishes them for lunging.
For dogs who habitually just pull hard all the time, an easy walk harness may help you break the habit. But you have to work with the dog, not just assume the equipment will solve the problem.
I'm not willing to use a choker-- the only way to use a choker to teach loose-leash walking is if you plan to give the dog a leash-pop every time he ALMOST pulls. If you wait until he is pulling, you can't give a proper leash pop. Which means you're constantly punishing your dog for almost being bad. Not fair. Traditionally you'd use a choker NOT to teach loose-leash walking, but to teach the dog to walk in heel position, so he'd get leash-popped every time he moves out of heel position. I think expecting your dog to constantly heel on every single walk takes most of the fun out of it from your dog-- dogs get most of their jollies on walks by sniffing, which they can't do in heel position. Many a dog who can do a lovely heel on command will still pull hard on leash when not being asked to heel. Loose-leash walking is a different concept than heel.

I don't put up with it from small dogs and I don't put up with it from large dogs either.

 
What I said was a generalization and not specifically directed at you.
I don't put up with pulling either, but I have not found choke chains either efficient or kind.  JMHO