Collars Collars Collars!!!

There are so many out there and just as many opinions on how and why to use them. So here's my opinion.

1. A collar will NEVER teach your dog to heel. It may make it easier to walk your dog but just remember a dog who KNOWS how to heel doesn't need a special collar. Collars are a management tool that helps out your shoulder socket while you train your dog to heel.

Regular buckle/snap neck Collar: This isn't a collar for walking. It should be designated as an accessory. Have fun with colors and patterns to match your dog's eyes but stop thinking of it as anything more then a ID tag holder.

Choke collar: My absolute least favorite collar. This collar does exactly what it says it does. It chokes your dog. Many times I see dogs walking down the street on these collars dragging their owners and coughing along the way. This says to me several things. First if the dog is still pulling then the collar isn't doing it's job so find another collar. and second why would you want to choke your dog???? What do you get out of this.... I don't understand

Pinch Collar: I hate this collar as well but if you have to choose between a choke or a pinch collar then choose the pinch collar. Again it works by choking the dogs neck but not with a chain wrapped around the whole neck but with prongs sticking into the dog's neck. It is extensively more successful at minimizing pulling which means there is less choking of the dog's neck. If you think this collar looks fierce then try wearing it. Your right, it is fierce and problematic...

Gentle Leader/Halti: This is my favorite training collar! I won't get into the specifics of which brand is best but for most dogs I prefer the gentle leader. Both collars use the same type of technology as a horse halter. Put the force at the neck and the dog can't put his/her entire body weight into pulling. And for lunging this works wonderful because the dog can't drag you. The downfall is these collars almost always need some training sessions at first. Most dogs won't just wear the collar, period.

Harness: Not to be confused with a NO-pull harness. I think this is the absolute best collar for your dog. During training I often use gentle leaders but this is for the well trained dog. If you can walk your dog in a perfect heel on a regular harness then you have done a stellar job of training a heel. Pat yourself on the back and go have some chocolate.

NO-pull Harnesses: These are for the absolutely lazy people. They don't want scary collars but they also don't want to spend any time training a heel. So they hope a no-pull harness will be a perfect quick fix. It works and doesn't work to varying degrees and must always be used because the second you take it off the dog begins pulling again.