Calling all GSP owners! What are your thoughts on ....

My GSP does very well on a choke, but my trainer reccommends a prong if the dog is harder to control.

First of all, go to obedience class and work on heeling and socializing.  Practice outside, in your yard, or out on the sidewalk.  If your puppy can't keep her mind off the critters, try a pronge, if your dog still pulled against the pronge, cansider the "Canny Collar". 

My English Pointer is so prey driven when we go for a walk, even a pronge collar didn't help.  She would stand up on the hind legs and pull against the pronge to follow a bird, rabbit, squirrel, etc.  No amount of food, toys, training method, etc.  could keep her mind off of the critters.  AARRGGGHH.  I was dreading having to take them for walks. 

I really didn't want to use a head halter on her and the Gentle Leader harness did nothing.  She learned to put her weight into her shoulder to offset it.  I actually first read about this head halter on this forum.  

I bought a "Canny Collar" as a last resort and it's been working like a dream.  I don't feel as though I'm driving spikes into her neck ever time she put's her weight into a pronge collar.

I think this collar is safer with a pulling dog because it hooks in the back and there's no danger of wrenching the neck if they try to take off after a bird.
http://www.cannyco.com

I purchased the first collar from the UK.  I purchased my second (for my setter) from here:
http://www.theanimalexperience.com/canny.htm

Hey, how about some pointer pix?  []

Until I read your post I had no idea what a Prong Collar was.
I have a Pointer who is 12months old and does pull on the lead and sometimes it is not a pleasure to go for a walk with him,he had a gundog lead to start with but I recently bought a choke chain and it does seem to slow him down a bit.
I have just looked on Google and found a link about the collars and how good they are and used correctly are a very good form of stopping pulling.
[linkhttp://www.cobankopegi.com/prong.html]http://www.cobankopegi.com/prong.html[/link]
 
It may be something I need to look for in the pet store next time I go,thanks for sharing this info and Good Luck with the Walking!!

Very interesting Diane to read your Post,jazzie is exactly the same NOTHING will entice him if he has his mind set on ANYTHING----So very stubborn and knows what he wants.
He is getting better and I feel most of his problems of excitement are his age and his temprement(just wants to luv and cuddle everyone in sight!!!)
But I will seriously think about the collars and see if it works for us.
And YES please post some pointers pics[]

claire1011

Gosh he is gorgeous!

i have a slight dislike for prong collars (or pinch collars as some may call them) but its kinda personal....
i had TWO butt headed men on two different occasions tell me that no dog will pull against a prong collar.
once was at the park with my cousin. we came across a couple of officers with their k-9 in training (they have their own private agility course at the park) at some point i mentioned that Kaydee will pull on the odd occasion, but usually when we first begin our walk, it usually takes maybe two or three minutes before she settles down into a steady stride..
anyway mister officer said use a pinch collar.. i said "She's a BULLDOG... i dont think it will work." then my cousin started backing him up and agreeing that no dog will pull, that her shepherds dont pull against a pinch collar... they didnt listen to the "bulldog" part of my arguement ie - high threshold for pain..... so i just let it go that day. i know my dog better than them.

the other incident was in another chat forum. there was a guy asking about which was best, prong or halty or choker... and how old could the dog be before you used it....
i told them if the dog is young then you dont NEED a choker or prong. its a prime time to teach good manners on the lead before the dog is big enough to take you turf surfing.... then this other guy, trainer of rotts and schuttzehund stuff, argues with me that he has used them and they work and what did i know anyway, i wouldnt know a real dog if it bit me in the arm pit.... he totally bypassed the fact that the guy was asking about a puppy.... and totally bypassed the fact that i said the prong collar is the lazy way of training a dog that has missed that critical stage.... instead the guy asssumed i didnt like it because i thought it was cruel and harmful!!

i think a prong serves a purpose, but i ran into a lady once that was walking her dog, some big hairy mutt, she had a prong collar on him and he was DRAGGING her!!! oh yeah no dog can stand them.. riiiiiight.....
honestly the best thing i have found to stop pulling is a halter.... if it can stop an 80 pound bull puppy from pulling then it can stop any other dog.... or so i believe. but they all must be used appropriately. any collar can desensitize the dog if its over used or used in the wrong manner. of course any collar is capable of hurting a dog if its not used right.

anyway,just stating my view on it. maybe its a little too personal for me. i dont hate prong collars, but i dont think they have a purpose if you are raising the dog from a puppy. you have ample time to leash train it.

I strongly recommend working on training him to heel...we just recently did this with our own GSP and it was miraculous. And he's 70 lbs...he loves to walk and he would just pull us and make it impossible to take him along on walks once he got to that size. it was difficult enough to walk him when he was a puppy, much less full grown. I felt like a terrible owner, my hubs and I would go out for walks and cage our dogs when we left because we couldn't take them along.

We called in a home trainer for some other issues, and decided to ask about walking them. She worked with them and us to teach heeling and again, it was miraculous. The GSP especially took to it right away. We use a choke collar when we walk him because he is still learning and needs the quick corrections with the choker, but if we work on it enough we should be able to get to the point where we don't even need the choke anymore and can just use his regular collar. The key is keeping the choke up high on the neck, right behind the ears - they (the other being my springer - Sam) definitely respond better with either the choker or their normal collar up high like that. It has taken some work but it really wasn't even that bad...again, especially with the GSP.

We've since been able to take our dogs on walks and it's been nice. Tucker, the GSP even went on a hike with me the other week. I didn't keep in a heel for the whole thing by any means...but i think learning the heeling even helps when i let him out in front of me...and then it's there if I need to correct him, like if he really starts pulling me again I can put him back in the heel and remind him who's (at least trying to be) boss.

 ~Erin 

 

 I like the canny collars or sensation harnesses for leash training. Much better control over the dog, and humane. Win-win!

I use the Mendota EZ-Trainer/Leash

I have used the prong collar for both my dogs as a training tool only.  When we are going for an exercise walk I use the harlequin collar and back up the training done in the prong.

While I use them I truly believe that most people that use them aren't doing so properly.  I had both mine fitted by a professional and I was trained on how to use it.  As an example, you shouldn't use it to keep your dog from pulling once it is at the end of his leash but to correct a mistake made in listening to you.  A quick, sharp tup that is quickly released is what makes a prong (or choke/training) collar effective.

We have two GSP sisters who are 1 yr. old.  They weigh 75 lbs. each and we have used prong collars since they were about 4 months old.  Hannah still pulls to some degree (she doesn't seem to mind the discomfort), but she's not pulling me over if I keep the leash short (no more than 3-4 ft.).  Zoey, her sister, seems to know exactly how much length she has on a retractable leash and doesn't like the feeling of the prong collar on her neck if she pulls so she doesn't go forward enough for it to pull me or her.  She is much easier and pleasant to walk.  Unfortunately I cannot walk them together as they have to wrestle and tangle their leashes if they are next to each other!  I must say I have tried every type of collar I could find and none of the collars worked as good on our GSPs as the prong - they are just such strong (and headstrong) dogs wanting to get out there and find something!

 

I do not have a GSP, but I do have two large dogs. Prongs work well and there is nothing wrong with using one if you need it. As far as choke chains versus prongs I find the prong to be far better for most people than the choke. The choke is designed for giving corrections that need to be timed and given quickly and released. Most people just use them to hold the dog back and the dog ends up choking away as he merrily pulls his human down the street.

 You might want to try a sporn harness. That has worked well when I just want to go for a nice relaxing walk with both dogs.When I have both dogs Gunnar always has a problem with trying to be in front of Hektor so I use a sporn on him. It works very well and he has never pulled when using it.

 As far as prongs being cruel, well they look like an instrument of torture but they really do not hurt the dog if used properly. What you want to avoid is allowing the dog to lean into them and pull as if he is pulling and the collar is always tight he can hurt himself. Most dogs will not do this. You can also buy little rubber thingess that fit over the prongs which can help with short haired dogs.