Choker vs Harness

Are you using a choke collar?
 
Kate

yea its a choker.  He doesn't respond well to it. 

To be honest, I wouldn't respond well to one either.  Choke collars HURT, and they can cause permanent damage.  Prongs are safer, but personally I wouldn't even use one of those, except as a last resort.  I would enroll him in obedience classes that use positive reinforcement techniques (praise and rewarding), rather than using something which may very well be hurting him - all that will teach him is to be frightened of you and of having his collar on at all, and wearing a collar is necessary. 
 
I am sure some others will weigh in here, but I am not sure you'll find an awful lot of support for the use of a choke collar.  It is generally seen now as an outdated training tool, and has been replaced with training techniques that are much kinder to the dog.
 
Kate

FYI He's an APBT.  Completely docile with no trace of a fear biter in him.  He was raised ina kennel with his littermates up until I picked him up.  It has been a real struggle humanizing him and I realize its only going to continue. So any advice on proper training techniques are appreciated.

harness. theres no reason to be using a choke collar IMO.  good luck.

A regular harness *might* increase his pulling power.  Thor LOVED having a harness on...made it much easier to pull me off my feet and drag me on my butt down the street.[:@]
 
I would NOT use a choker on this boy.  My vote also goes for the prong.  I used one on Thor who was a confirmed puller (93 lb gsd) after every other effort failed.....however, I never even CONSIDERED a choker.  Used one on Shadow as well but only because he gets sooo excited on a leash that he's hard to handle.  Honestly I found that working my dogs on drag lines and then picking them up with plenty of slack taught them BETTER to walk nicely on lead than anything else.
 
We live in the country and this past winter there was a period of time that I just flat could NOT get into town for our weekly socialization walks.  This was maybe 3 or 4 weeks and the first time we DID go, I was dreading their leash manners, but after that many weeks of drag line work, every one of them was an absolute DREAM on lead.  Might be worth a try for your boy.

I'd try an Easy Walk, for this guy. It might be just what you need, to keep him from dragging you.

You shouldn't be doing things that scare him, as that will only make him harder to deal with.

Pit Bulls can be stubborn dogs (I say this from experience not prejudice) My father used a choker on his it for a year trying to control her pulling problem with no results. I finally convinced him to use a prong on this big strong girl. He was against this because of the look of the prong, but hey the prong pinches while the choker does just that, choke the heck out of the a puller.
 
This girl would go for a walk down the street and come back practically weezing.
 
But if you dont want to use a prong, there is a no pull harness available and gentle leaders, try a few different methods and see which works for you.
 
Good luck and keep us posted! 

With so many other options choker chains should be taken off the market.  Go for the prong if you need something that stops pulling.  I don't understand why a collar would scare him but it is neccesary so keep working with him.  As he grows more comfortable with you he will realize that you wouldn't do anything to hurt him.  Jake sits immediately when he sees me get the prong collar because he knows it means walk time.  Welcome to Idog.  Keep coming back for great info., there is lots to be offered.

The dog is afraid of THIS collar because he KNOWS that it does hurt.  And he can't trust his owner because SHE is the one inflicting the pain with the choker.  So the OP needs to go back to basics and find something BETTER and painfree to use, or at least LESS painful, such as a prong.

With so many other options choker chains should be taken off the market. 

 
They still have a time and place, but this isn't one of them.

There are also restricted choke collars(aka martingale collars).  They allow a correction, but do not tighten far enough to threaten the windpipe.  [linkhttp://www.ldsleather.com/collarimages/black_martingale_collar_210x162.jpg]http://www.ldsleather.com/collarimages/black_martingale_collar_210x162.jpg[/link].  There is a time and place for a choke collar.  It is after the handler learns how to use it.  Any equiptment can cause damage to the dog in one way or another.  As long as you are reasonable and not letting the dog slam into the collar, most of the equiptment that has been mentioned will work. 

To get a dog used to wearing a collar, put a collar on him and let him wear it around the house for a few days until he gets used to it.  Once he's comfortable with that, attatch a leash and let him drag it as long as you are supervising him.  Do not allow him to drag a leash when you are not watching him, for obvious reasons. 

Check chains are only for dog trainers / owners who know what the heck they are doing.

A dog should NEVER be allowed to pull on a check chain. Loose lead only unless quickly checking the dog back to heel. They are NOT used to choke a dog and unlike some martingale collars will immediately loosen. They also have to be put on the dog the correct way round so they will loosen as soon as the lead is slack.....

Obviously there must be some good martingale collars around but limited slip collars seem to work better. They still don't loosen as quickly as a check chain does.

Prong collars are ILLEGAL in many countries, check chains are not.
Best.

Prong collars are ILLEGAL in many countries, check chains are not.
 
And that's just bass ackwards.  A properly used prong causes a pinch and discomfort evenly around the neck.  A choker, CHOKES, and I see idiots letting their dogs pull on a choker almost to the point of passing out.