Loving Pet Owners Use Prong Collars
Mila Supinskaya/stock.adobe.com
I’ve had the opportunity to visit a dog park again for the last week since I’ve had a young-ish sociable dog staying with me for board and train. Molly is a lovely Labrador Retriever who sometimes pulls on leash, sometimes jumps on people to say hello, and sometimes chooses to ignore people who call her to come over. We’ve made progress on all three of those things in the last week and everyone who has met her has pointed out how sweet Molly is.
There’s a good dog park in our area that I sometimes go to. There are certainly closer ones. And there are some that are bigger and have more amenities. But this is a “good” dog park in that most of the people who come pay attention to their dogs and the overwhelming majority of dogs who visit are friendly with humans and other dogs. There are sometimes squabbles, but very rarely injurious fights. No, not all dog parks are good. And not all dogs should go to dog parks. That’s why I haven’t been to a dog park in a while - most of the dogs I’ve had staying with me recently weren’t good candidates. But Molly is. She did great. She’s sometimes loud when she feels even mildly offended. And she’s also sometimes loud when trying to engage another dog in play. But she made several new friends and seemed to enjoy herself enough that we got a chance to practice those new “not pulling” skills as we approached the dog park gate each morning.
It was good to get to see many dogs I know (including some who I’ve had the chance to work with). Oh, and yes, it was good to see the people too. I even got to see a few dogs who were puppies the last time I saw them who are now adolescents or even adults and it was great to get reacquainted with them.
And I got to meet lots of new dogs and their new (to me) people. A few of them really stood out to me. One dog was an adult fawn-colored Doberman. I’m a fan of the breed since my uncles had several while I was growing up. Despite their “tough” reputation, I’ve had the pleasure to know and work with many who were great fun. And the one at the dog park qualified. She ran right up to me to say hello, noted that I had a treat bag with interesting smells, and trotted off to play with other dogs. She ran fast, wrestled appropriately, and heeded the body language of the other dogs in the park. Truly a lovely dog in every way. And she was wearing a prong collar. I was chatting with the friendly woman who’d come along with the dog - complimenting her on the dog’s great behavior. And, only after we’d chatted for a while, I offered an unsolicited piece of advice about dogs wrestling while wearing a prong collar. I suggested that another dog could get their mouth caught on the prongs, panic, pull, and cause the prongs to dig into her dog’s neck. The pulling could hurt her own dog in addition to the damage that might be done to the mouth of the stuck dog and I pointed out that many dog parks prohibit them for this reason. I noticed that she took the prong collar off of her dog a few minutes later. She said to me that she really didn’t like using it, but nothing else had worked to reduce the dog’s pulling. I empathised and pointed out the Molly was a big puller too but that she was making good progress.
A Shiba Inu came into the park another day - and he was wearing a prong collar too. The owner removed it before coming in and we had a chance to talk about her spicy little dog (I admit it - I talk with everyone and I especially like feisty dogs). Her dog got into prolonged arguments with several dogs and I steered Molly to another part of the park to ensure she wasn’t the next target. Someone told her that I’m a dog trainer and she put her dog in the “airlock” between the two gates and came over to ask me for a card. I hope she’ll contact me - I think I can probably help.
On another day, a couple came in with their Aussie who was wearing a shock collar. The owners took turns pressing the button repeatedly on the remote and I watched as the dog came in with apparent optimism about playing with other dogs but finally gave up and sat away from all other dogs after being repeatedly shocked when he expressed normal but rambunctious play that worried his people. I didn’t get a chance to speak with them much but I have every reason to believe they love their dog (heck, they took time out of their busy schedules to take it to the park to get some exercise and to play with other dogs even though I didn’t feel like the dog had a good time).
I’m confident all these people love their dogs. They all played with them, petted them, praised them, and sometimes even gave them treats. So, how do we square those behaviors with their willingness to use devices which cause their dogs pain and carry the risk of causing increased fear and agression?
They don’t know any better.
Surely none of them want to hurt their dogs, right? Someone at a pet store may have sold them the prong collar. An insufficiently-educated dog trainer convinced them that a shock collar doesn’t really hurt and would solve their problems. Their well-meaning coworker mentioned that they used a prong collar with their last dog and it stopped the pulling. So, they decided to give it a try.
And they saw results. I don’t deny that pain will change an animal’s behavior. If I put a prong collar on you, you’d stop pulling too. So would I. But they don’t realize that:
We don’t have to resort to pain, fear, or intimidation if we get the right information. Our industry is almost entirely-unregulated and anyone can call themselves a dog traing - even using outdated methods reliant to the use of pain, fear, and intimidation.
There’s a strong correlation between the use of pain and increased aggression. After all, dogs are remarkably adept at forming associations. When you pull out the leash, it means walks! And, unfortunately for many, when they see another dog, it means pain - though we meant to teach that pulling causes pain, it’s easy for that to be overshadowed by the appearance of the dog which caused the pulling and our pulling dog makes the wrong connection. When dogs believe that other dogs cause pain, we start seeing real problems when other dogs approach a leashed dog. Since we don’t live or train in a laboratory, we can’t control everything and those negative associations are a real risk.
Dogs who bit someone - or another dog - soon after their owners started using prong/shock collars have paid for the landscaping in my yard. I’d happily buy no more plants if we could get rid of those devices.
I used to be really judgemental about people who used prong and shock collars. I didn’t always say anything, but I sure thought it. But the longer I do this, and the more people I meet, the more I’m convinced that these are typically good people struggling with a problem, looking for a solution, and being convinced that they should use these outdated methods JUST because they don’t know any better. There’s a LOT I don’t know about a LOT of things. So, it’s unfair of me to judge them simply for not knowing.
My ire is reserved for dog trainers and pet stores and device manufacturers making money off the entirely unecessary use of such devices. There’s plenty of money to be made using effective, modern, evidence-based and pain-free methods.
So, if your dog trainer or pet store suggests a prong collar or a shock collar or jerking on your dog’s leash to make them stop pulling (as I saw another dog being subjected to yesterday), know that they are uneducated and keep looking for better advice. You can get your dog to work with you without hurting him. And I know you don’t want to hurt your dog.