Nice article on prong collars

I don't think I'd be comfortable sliding a prong on OVER the head, that sounds potentially dangerous, but otherwise nice article.

 I agree with mudpuppy about slipping it over the head. That IMO is a bad idea as it can hook on the dogs ears and cause him to avoid the collar when you are trying to put it on.

 The better made prongs come with a snap and are very easy to put on. If you are going to use one these are worth the extra money as it makes putting it on easy for you and easy for the dog.

 I would also add that it is important to NEVER leave the prong on even when you think you are watching. I say this from experience. I had one on Hektor because guests were coming over ( I ended up not even needing it) and he was in the house wearing it when I heard a crash and something breaking and the dog doors making a huge bang. I ran out into the garage and found Hektor cowering in the garage and broken glass all in the dining room. He had gone to drink from his bowl, which is one of those on a metal stand and his collar had hooked on the stand. When he moved the bowl went flying and broke and the stand stuck to his collar and only came loose when he hit the dog door at full speed in his attempt to escape.

 Learn from me and never leave it on unless you are actually working the dog in it.

Word on the not leaving it on and I can not tell you how many people leave prong collars on their dogs while letting them off-leash at the dog park to play! It's terrifying! 

Here's a better article with pictures:

I don't think they should even sell chokers. Dangerous even in the hands of the expert.

Always use real Herm Sprenger prongs and not cheap knock-offs!  Sprenger sprongs have smooth, rounded tips, and a quick release snap.  Knock-offs often lack a quick release and do not have smooth tips, they are cut straight so the edge feels sharp. 

Shuggie

Here's a better article with pictures:

http://www.leerburg.com/fit-prong.htm

That would be an article with a different opinion on when and how prongs should be used. Totally fair to post it, but "better" is purely subjective. I would not use a prong as suggested in the Leerburg article.

I have used a prong as suggested in the first article, and had great success with an anxious and aggressive dog. 

Liesje - you are so right on the Herm-Sprenger collars.  The first prong I ever bought was a basic pet store prong.  I didn't know any better, nor did the positive trainer who suggested we try one. When we later bought an HS, I was amazed at the difference.

The better made prongs come with a snap and are very easy to put on. If you are going to use one these are worth the extra money as it makes putting it on easy for you and easy for the dog.

I agree that these are much easier to put on, BUT, I've had bad luck with these- I had two of those, in two seperate sizes, and I found that with both of them, the snap will come undone if the dog yanks suddenly on the leash. The first time happened with Ogre- he lunged at some ducks at the park and the snap immediately came undone and the collar fell off. The second time, Culley was walking nicely and then suddenly decided to pull and his came undone as well. Luckily I reacted faster than they did and managed to grab them before they got away from me...but I just don't trust the snap on prongs and I'm nervous every time I use one.

On using prong collars in general, I used to be totally against them. I'd seen dogs get seriously injured on them, plus they "looked cruel." Really, the dogs I'd seen injured by them were the result of major misuse on the owner's part. When I decided to try a prong for the first time one my dogs,  I first put one on myself and yanked, HARD, and even with a hard yank it was only mildly uncomfortable.

 I did major research before I bought one and now I've used them on several of my dogs, all with awesome results. Honestly, I wish I had tried them sooner- a few sessions with a prong fixed ALOT of on-leash reactivity issues with my dogs. It seems like when they're just reeeeally focused on something- a squirrel, another dog, whatever- even very mild pressure from a prong will get their attention. And they don't react negatively towards it at all- it's not "Oh god my neck that hurts, what do you want!?" it's more like "Oh I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention. Did you want something?" As someone who prefers all positive training and usually has a clicker in one hand and a fist full of treats in the other, I'm usually the first to say "Oh god that's cruel why would you do that," but I really have had great results with prong collars and have seen absolutely no indications that they upset my dogs in the slightest.

I DO agree that they need to come with a manual, or something though. It seems like everyone I see with a dog over 40 pounds has a prong collar on it. They're usually way too big and the dogs are wearing them somewhere down around their shoulders, and are pulling as hard as they possible can while hacking and coughing and turning blue with their owners trailing behind them, wondering why it isn't working. I've also seen people yank their dogs off of the ground for daring to look off to the side and then keep CONSTANT pressure on their dog to keep its attention and force it to 'heel.' I can't think of a single time in recent memory when I've seen a person not blatantly missuse a prong collar. They're awesome tools if you have half a clue what you're doing- considering that most people don't, I can see why they've been labeled as "cruel" by alot of people.

It seems like when they're just reeeeally focused on something- a squirrel, another dog, whatever- even very mild pressure from a prong will get their attention. And they don't react negatively towards it at all- it's not "Oh god my neck that hurts, what do you want!?" it's more like "Oh I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention. Did you want something?"

And, you may get that reaction from a pain-insensitive breed with not such a reactive temperament.  The problem is that people think this is a one size fits all solution, and there are many dogs that do have the "OMG my neck hurts" reaction and it causes them to think that the thing they see at the time is the problem.  That tends to make the leash reactive dog worse, not better.

In the article, the trainer mentioned correction with this collar.  The prong collar is really designed to be self-correcting, i.e. dog pulls on lead, collar tightens, dog feels pressure/pain, dog slackens the lead himself to reduce the pressure/pain.  Viola, walking nicely on lead.   He also talks about not using a prong on a puppy less than fourteen weeks of age.  Heck, if you get a pup that young, and train it properly, you should never need a prong anyway.  Additionally, this collar should never be fit over the dog's head - accident waiting to happen.  Don't be lazy - open the links and fasten it correctly.  Also, consider why you are using the collar, and investigate first whether there is a non-invasive, minimally aversive solution to the problem first.  If not, consider any negatives.  There are dogs that I would prefer to see acclimated to muzzles, rather than use prongs.  There are also dogs that don't seem that bothered by them.  But, no matter what equipment you are talking about, and whose opinion you believe, in the final analysis, there's no substitute for good training.

let's be realistic- the entire point of using a prong is to cause pain. Just because the dog isn't yelping doesn't mean he isn't in pain. They are a great tool for re-training certain dogs to stop pulling on the leash; I don't think they should be used for anything else. And certainly not be used to give collar corrections, ever. An almost fool-proof way to instantly create a crazed leash-reactive dog is to give him a hard prong correction while he's looking at another dog.

 Hmmm. I had great success with limited and precise use of prong collar corrections.

It is possible to use P+ within a thoughtful OC framework. It is interesting that many of the people here who are so in favor of OC gloss over the fact that certain kinds of punishment have been found useful in changing behavior. There are rules for effective punishment.  

In my case, corrections were used *only* for failing to obey a command that was well known.  Never in training a new behavior, or as punishment for a freely given behavior like leash lunging or whatever. The corrections were given at a level that was effective, not nagging.  It only took a few corrections to change the behavior of willfully ignoring a command.

Now, I don't think this approach is needed with many dogs.  I don't think it should be a first resort, or a second. But I will vigorously stand by my belief that there are situations in which this kind of technique is effective and appropriate. The situations may be few and far between, but they do exist. 

I agree in principle- but how sure are you that your dog was "willfully" ignoring your command? 90% of the time when dogs disobey it's because they are distracted or confused. Dogs don't generalize well at all, in fact they really suck at it; many people don't realize that just because the dog "understands" the command at home, in the backyard, and in the petstore doesn't necessarily mean the dog has any clue what the command means when in the park or when a squirrel is present or when the owner is wearing a hat; or that a dog that understands COME said in calm voice really can't recognize COME said in an excited voice as the same sound; and they assume the dog "blew them off" and deliver a very unfair and ineffective correction.