November 21, 2023 • 23 mins
Ever wonder why your aggressive dog isn't responding in the way you'd like to traditional shock or prong collars? Maybe it's because they're not the most effective or humane choice. Join us on the Dog Aggression Answers podcast as we set out on a quest to find the ultimate collar that can provide a constructive and humane solution for your dog's aggressive tendencies.
From shock collars to head halters, we dissect the pros, cons, and hidden truths of each - grading them based on their efficacy and kindness to our canine companions. We also cover the indispensable role of proper collar adjustment and leash control in behavior modification. As we tackle this controversial topic, we debunk the myths surrounding quick fixes and guide you toward a realistic approach to managing your dog's aggression or reactivity.
Unveiling our top picks for the best collar, we lay out compelling reasons that make certain types of collars the most effective and humane option for aggressive and reactive dogs. No gimmicks or magic, just a conscientious choice of tools to aid in your pet's behavior treatment process.
So, tune in for insights that could reshape your dog training philosophy and keep your pet's well-being at the forefront. This episode is a must-listen for any dog owner seeking answers to their pet's aggression issues.
About Scott Sheaffer
Scott Sheaffer, CCBC-KA, CDBC, CPDT-KA, is a certified dog behavior consultant who has worked with thousands of dog owners and their aggressive dogs. Scott specializes in the assessment and treatment of fear, anxiety, aggression, and phobias in dogs six months and older.
Social Media and Other Links:
Understanding Dog Body Language (this is the free video mentioned in the episode on reading dog body language)
Facebook
Training Videos
Scott Sheaffer's Dog Behavior Articles
Disclaimer
If your dog is aggressive toward humans, consult an experienced, certified canine behavior consultant immediately and ensure your dog cannot harm anyone. This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not replace professional guidance. Scott Sheaffer and USA Dog Behavior, LLC, are not liable for outcomes resulting from the advice provided.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Scott Sheaffer, CBCC-KA (00:04):
Welcome to the Dog Aggression Answers
podcast.
I'm Scott Sheaffer, your hostfrom USA Dog Behavior.
It seems that almost everyoneasks me what the best kind of
dog collar is for their reactiveor aggressive dog, and let me
just tell you right up fronthere.
There is no leash or collarcombo that's going to fix this,
(00:26):
but picking the right tool willhelp you in the overall
treatment.
Today's episode we titledMastering Leash Control the Best
Collars for Aggressive andReactive Dogs.
I'm going to rank eight of themost common types of dog collars
and, believe me, there are amillion, but I'm going to pick
the top eight.
I'm going to rank them from myleast recommended to my favorite
(00:50):
, with pros and cons of each.
Stay tuned.
Before we begin, I want toremind you that you can leave me
a voicemail message by simplygoing to USADogBehaviorcom and
clicking on the podcast tab.
(01:11):
You'll see a button in theupper right hand corner, as you
can click on and it will recordyour voice and send it to me.
It's really pretty great howthat works.
You can leave comments,questions or ideas for future
episodes, which I really lovewhen people do that.
I may include your voicerecording in a future episode
and comment on it, so that wouldbe great.
(01:31):
Now on to today's topic.
Humane and effective leashcontrol of your dog is the first
thing you need to establishbefore you start behavior
modification with youraggressive or reactive dog, and
the reason for that is mostbehavior modification exercises
are done on a leash or with aleash.
(01:52):
I tell my clients that adequateleash skills with their dog is
a prerequisite before we startbehavior modification exercises.
Picking the right collar foryour dog is an important part of
this.
I love how I just sounded onthat.
That was very text, and wasn'tit?
Picking, not picking, butpicking.
Don't make fun of me.
For a number of reasons, justgetting a modest amount of leash
(02:16):
control of your dog willprovide some help with your
dog's aggression or reactivityand provide a foundation for
behavior modification.
Let's think about what I justsaid Before we even start
behavior modification exercises.
Just getting humane and goodleash control of your dog will
provide a little bit of relieffrom your dog's aggression and
(02:41):
reactivity.
I'm going to talk more aboutthat in a sec.
There's one thing to know aboutdog behavior there are rarely
any super simple fixes for anydog behavior issue.
I know, I know what you'rethinking.
You've seen on the internetabout all kinds of quick
remedies to all kinds of dogbehavior problems, including
(03:04):
aggression and reactivity andleash control.
The truth is, if there was aquick and good remedy to these
things, I wouldn't have a job.
I would love that.
By the way, I would absolutelylove if behaviors were not
required and aggression andreactivity was not an issue with
dogs, because I really lovedogs, because it's always a fear
(03:27):
issue.
I always feel sorry for the dog.
I think so many peoplemisunderstand them.
The fact is there are no quicklittle answers.
It just is not realistic.
You have noticed that most ofthese solutions are and I love
this in quotes until now, or notknown until now or unknown
(03:49):
until now kind of solutions.
Lucky for you, you are nowgoing to find out what they are
for only $49.99, et cetera, etcetera, et cetera.
Again, unfortunately, in thereal world, problematic dog
behaviors are rarely that simpleto address, if ever.
Now onto the real world of dogbehavior.
(04:09):
I'm going to review and gradethe eight most common types of
dog collars and comment on howeffective and Humane they are in
my opinion, and I'll providethe pros and cons of each.
I'll start with the leasteffective, number eight and work
toward an end with the mosteffective.
It's going to be a countdown.
(04:29):
One of the key variables in myreview is how humane these
collars are.
Punishing types of collars losepoints fast With scott.
Let me just tell you thatplease remember, there are an
infinite number of dog collartypes.
I'm going to review the mostcommon types of colors common
(04:51):
eight times.
All right, let's start withnumber eight and you could
probably guess what this one is.
Shot collar yeah, you can onlyimagine how much I love those.
That's why it's ranked numbereight.
Shot collars are also referredto and I love this as e collars.
Doesn't that sound so much morebenign?
Yeah, electronic collars inorder to hide the fact that they
(05:14):
shock and hurt dogs.
E collar just sounds lessbrutal, doesn't it?
This kind of collar has so manyproblems that I could quite
literally write a book aboutthem.
Here are some of the big issues.
Here are some key points.
They frequently cause new andmore serious behavior issues in
the long run, such as aggressionor increased aggression.
(05:38):
We cover this in quite a lot ofdetail in other episodes.
Next, they are dependent on thedog owner to have perfect
timing when shocking the dog,which is almost impossible for
the average dog owner.
Next thing dogs almost alwaysdesensitize to them, so stronger
and stronger levels of shockare required, which only makes
(06:02):
things worse, as you can guess,and they only treat the symptom,
that being aggression orreactivity, and almost always
make the core issue Worse.
And the core issue, as we knowif you've been listening to this
podcast series, is fear.
Finally, and this is thebiggest one just sums it all up,
they are inhumane.
My grade, they get a big F, bigFox, don't love them.
(06:25):
Number seven, which is onlySlightly better than a shock
collar, and really just for onereason I'll tell you that in a
second and that's the prongcollar.
These are collars that haveprongs on the inside that
essentially stab, or they dostab, the dog's neck when the
dog pools about.
The only thing prong collarshave over shot collars is they
(06:47):
don't have any Timing componentin their use from the dog owner
or the handler.
The problems with this type ofcollar are almost exactly the
same as with shot collars wetalked about earlier.
Here the main takeaways theycan cause new and more serious
behavior issues.
Dogs acclimate to them also, sostronger and stronger levels of
(07:08):
prong penetration or jerkingthe leash is required.
In other words, they hurt thedog just like shot collar, in
different way and they too areof course, inhumane.
I give them an F plus.
I give it an F plus onlybecause it very slightly is
better than a Shot collarbecause that timing component,
(07:30):
but not much.
Number six, coming in at numbersix, is the choke collar.
These collars are normally madeout of chain We've all seen
these and constrict when the dogpools.
There's no electricity, there'sno prongs, just a chain that
tightens Unlimited, in anunlimited way, so they can
really choke a dog out.
They essentially choke the dogwith no limits, is what I'm
(07:52):
trying to say.
While not as bad as shockerprong collars, for sure, they
are still painful and can bedamaging to the dogs trachea.
The issues with this type ofcollar are here are the core
features.
They also cause new and moreserious behavior issues because
it's punishment based and, justlike with shock and prong
(08:12):
collars, dogs almost alwaysDesensitized to them.
So stronger and stronger levelsof choking are required,
possibly harming a dog and againspecifically the trachea.
They are inhumane, but not asmuch as shock and prong collars
are, that's for sure.
I give them a D a dog.
Number five is a tie, and that'sbetween two types of body
(08:37):
harnesses A top-attached bodyharness, where the leash is
attached to the top of the dog,and then a front attach, where
the leash is attached in thedog's fore chest, which is just
underneath the dog's head in thefront.
These are harnesses that wraparound the dog's body at
multiple points in the chest andfront of the dog, similar to
(08:58):
harnesses and this is a good wayto explain them.
It's similar to harnesses usedin dog sledding.
The leash is either attached tothe front of the harness, as we
mentioned, at the dog's forechest that's the front attach
type or on the top of the dogthe top attach type.
Some do both.
These are especially ineffectivefor large dogs.
(09:18):
Boy, that is the truth, and theway I like to tell this to
clients is you don't ever see abody harness on a horse.
Okay, you just have to havesome head control.
There's just no way you controla horse with a body harness
kind of arrangement.
It's always got to have somehead control, and the larger the
(09:39):
dog is, the more necessary.
Some type of head control isthe front attached body harness
type.
Always and I mean always, likea hundred percent of the time
gets pulled to this side of thedog, which cancels the
advertised method of action.
So the thought on these frontattached harnesses is well, I'm
(10:00):
going to attach the leash to thedog's fore chest that's the
area right underneath the dog'sneck and when he pulls it'll
pull the dog around either rightor left, and that will be
annoying, and so the dog won'tpull anymore.
Well, that sounds great intheory, but what happens in 100%
of the cases is this bodyharness shifts to the right or
(10:24):
to the left, so you have almostzero left and right pulling to
the dog when the dog pulls.
So it just doesn't work andwhat ends up happening is the
whole body harness is just a bigmess.
It's all shifted to the rightof the dog or to the left.
It's all bunched up.
It's just a big mess.
Head and neck control areessential concepts when
(10:46):
controlling a dog and thesetypes of harnesses just don't
provide it.
They aren't all bad, butthere's a lot not to like about
them.
Let me give you some key points.
They do little to help tocontrol the dog, especially
larger dogs, as we mentioned.
Despite what you may hear, dogscan and do escape from these
(11:06):
really important point.
In many cases they increasepulling for a number of reasons.
Think about it.
There's a reason that dog sledsuse harnesses.
They work great for pulling andfinally, they are this is
important at least humane.
(11:26):
They are at least humane.
I'm giving them a C.
Charlie, gonna give them a C.
Number three head halter.
If you've never used one before, you've probably seen them out
in public.
People walk in their dogs.
Many people think they'remuzzles, but they aren't.
They act very much like ahorse's halter, but don't
confuse that with a horse's bitbridle, a halter.
(11:48):
They work by attaching theleash around the dog's muzzle
gently.
They pull the dogs headsideways when the dog pulls and
this is very annoying to the dogand, as a result, can be an
effective tool to gain control.
So it's kind of hard tovisualize if you've never seen
one, but it's a strapessentially that goes around the
(12:10):
dog's muzzle, loosely fitted,and the leash attaches to the
bottom right underneath theirbottom jaw, and so when the dog
pulls it pulls their head aroundor pulls their jaw around, and
that's annoying to the dog andso they stop pulling.
These do not slip off.
They're pretty good aboutstaying in position and all that
(12:31):
stuff.
As opposed to the body harness.
A popular brand of these is theGentle Leader, although I
highly prefer the Coastal Walkand Train version Coastal Walk
and Train.
I do not own stock in thatcompany or anything like that.
I've just used a thousand ofthese things and that's the one
I think works the best for anumber of reasons.
(12:51):
Here are some of the attributesof this kind of collar.
So here we have some importantaspects here.
Dogs almost immediately stoppulling when using these.
They're very effective andright away.
There is an acclimation period,however, for the dog and owner.
Many dogs don't care for thesetoo much, but most do pretty
well.
They acclimate fairly quickly,but there is a period.
(13:12):
They can and do come off thedog not real commonly,
especially with the better ones,but they can come off, so keep
that in mind.
They are humane, especially theone that I recommend.
Not 100% of dogs will toleratethem, but most do.
Proper adjustment can be tricky, that is so true.
(13:33):
There's a collar adjustment onthem and then there's an
adjustment for the muzzle andthey both gotta be pretty good,
done pretty well, especially theone around the muzzle.
And here's an important pointWhile they stop pooling when
they are discontinued, and inother words, when you go back to
a regular collar, dogs almostalways start pooling again.
(13:56):
It's a great tool as long asyou have the tool on, but it's
not really a training tool.
I've really seen this over andover and over again.
They give the dog under a lotof control, but only when the
dog is using the head halter orhead collar.
There are some tools out there.
One is called the Clipper Leashthat will help transition off
(14:20):
the head halter onto a regularneck collar.
I'm giving these a B plus, aBravo plus.
I recommend these all the timeto clients, especially for older
clients or those clients withphysical limitations.
This is a real game changer forthat population.
You have a larger dog who hassome migration and reactivity
(14:43):
issues.
We've gotta get some leashcontrol.
These really work great forthat.
That's one of my key targetsfor these kind of collars.
Number two coming in at numbertwo, the Martin Gale collar.
This is actually a combinationor hybrid collar.
It's a standard old school flatcollar but also includes some
(15:04):
humane components of a chokecollar.
So it's a flat collar and achoke collar combined.
They're essentially just astandard collar that has a
limited amount of tighteningwhen the dog pulls.
So what's touching the dog'sneck is just a standard collar
cotton or nylon or leather.
(15:24):
So that's all that's touchingthe dog's neck.
The front of the neck, the back, has a secondary loop that
cinches it up a little bit, upto a point and exaggerates the
tension.
And let's talk about some ofthe features of this Martin Gale
collar here.
The primary advantages thelimited and gentle tightening
can act as a reminder to the dognot to pull.
(15:46):
It exaggerates the pressure onthe dog's neck, as we just
mentioned.
Next point they are humane ifproperly adjusted.
That's the thing.
They're really very humane, butthey're really always humane in
my opinion.
But they're more humane ifthey're adjusted properly.
That's really key.
Dogs that have small headsrelative to their neck size
(16:08):
light greyhounds can sometimesback out of collars.
Now there's if they becomepanicky or reactive, they may
move backwards away from theowner or the handler and the
collar comes over the dog's head.
This is not good, especially ifyou have a human, aggressive
dog.
This helps prevent that fromhappening.
It's very effective and a lotof people think and I guess it's
(16:31):
true is that is the genesis ofthese collars is for dogs like
this.
If I'm working with asignificantly human aggressive
dog.
I frequently use or evenmandate these just to ensure the
dog can't get out of theircollar.
And lastly, as we've beenmentioning on some of the other
leashes, this one is nodifferent in that proper
(16:53):
adjustment can be tricky.
I find that most of thesecollars are improperly adjusted
by owners and just almost 100%of them are improperly adjusted.
Either they're way too looseand have limited effect, or
they're too tight and choke thedog too much.
I'm going to give these an Aminus, an Apple minus.
(17:13):
I recommend these all the timeto clients.
Now we're coming into the homestretch.
Thanks for hanging in here.
Number one, the winner standardflat collar, just the old school
flat collar.
Just wraps around the dog'sneck, it's wide and it clasps in
the back.
It's my favorite type of collar.
(17:35):
It's funny I've worked with alot of dogs over many years and
it's funny that I keep comingback to this type of collar and
so many clients come in with allkinds of.
You can't even imagine Allkinds of collars looking for
that quick fix, of which thereis none.
And we've talked about itbefore and they want to believe
(17:59):
there's some magic collar after.
But there's not and they'realmost disappointed, as you
probably are right now, want tosay, hey, the standard flat
collar is the way to go.
But once I show them the propertechnique with the flat collar
and all the behavioral benefitsin other words, it doesn't make
the dog more fearful they becomebelievers.
(18:22):
In just about 100% of myclients this is simply just an
old school flat collar that I'mtalking about, made out of nylon
, cotton or leather, essentiallythe same type of collar that
we've been using on dogs forhundreds of years.
I recommend a flat collar with abelt buckle type of class like
would be on, like on a man'sbelt buckle, with the little pin
(18:45):
that goes through the holes,because they are easily
adjustable, super easilyadjustable, and they don't ever
slip Really a key point there.
You are probably asking so whatmakes this kind of collar so
great?
It's not the collar.
Well, it kind of is the collardone, hurt the dog, but it's the
handler, the person managingthe leash, that makes the
(19:06):
difference.
Proper technique and trainingare the key, and really, when I
say proper technique andtraining are the key, I mean for
the dog and the owner.
The best parts about this typeof collar are that they can
provide both permanent solutionsthere's no issue with.
When we stop using it, the dogstarts pulling again.
(19:27):
If we train to this collar,it's humane and it's permanent
what you've trained, nothing'sgoing to stop happening.
And also, as I just mentioned,they are humane.
They are 100% humane.
I love them for that reason.
The other collars we've beentalking about they can't claim
this.
They can't claim those twothings.
(19:50):
You may also ask why more peopledon't recommend flat collars
for pulling problems.
Well, for one there's nothingto sell right, and the other is
patience is the problem?
Not patience from the dog, ofcourse, but from the dog owner.
And here's why I prefer thiskind of collar.
Here are the main benefits.
Hang in there with me.
They are absolutely humane.
(20:10):
You know that's a big thingwith me.
They provide good control whenproper technique is used
consistently by the handler.
More on that in a bit.
I'm going to give you some helpon that in just a second.
Easy to put on and take offit's a big thing.
It's so nice, easy on, easy off, grooming that kind of thing,
so nice.
They can remain on the dog allthe time.
(20:30):
They can remain on the dog allthe time with the dog's tags.
There's no acclimation periodfor dog or the dog owner.
With this kind of collar, evenpuppies can tolerate this pretty
quickly the first time theyeven have one put on their neck,
and it can provide a permanentsolution to pooling when proper
and humane dog training methodsare used, and they are super
(20:53):
easy to adjust as well as takeon and on.
I'm giving these a grade of Aplus, apple plus.
I highly recommend thesedeclines.
There is no magic dog collarthat will give you a humane,
instant and automatic controlover your aggressive or reactive
dog.
Believe me when I say this.
I've worked with a lot of dogsand dog owners over the years
(21:17):
and I've seen all the leashesand collars that are on this
planet.
I think there's no magic here.
I wish there was, but there'snot.
It just takes some work to getgood control of your dog on the
leash.
I want to encourage you to workon this with your aggressive or
reactive dog.
To that end, I've included alink in the show notes in the
(21:37):
description for the podcastepisode that will take you to a
free video on proper leashtechnique with all sizes of dogs
.
There are a number of tips andtechniques that will help you
get your dog under control onthe leash using one of the
humane collars we've talkedabout in this episode.
This video is not very long andit goes over exactly what I
(22:05):
teach my clients Now in person.
I'm doing more detail, ofcourse, than customizing it, but
it's essentially what I'mteaching my clients prior to
when they start working onbehavior modification exercises
for their dog.
Thanks for tuning into DogAggression Answers Podcast For
(22:27):
more tips and insights, like thecollars we've talked about
today.
Head over to USADogBehaviorcom,who is sponsoring this podcast,
where we have a lot of trainingcontent for you.
Most of it's free too, by theway.
And don't forget to subscribeto this podcast so you don't
miss any future episodes onhandling dog aggression and
(22:48):
reactivity.
If you like this informationthat's been helpful, please
leave me a review.
That always helps get morepeople listening to these and
get more eyes on the podcast.
And just to remind you again,because I love to hear from you,
you can leave me a voicemailmessage by going to
USADogBehaviorcom and clickingon the podcast tab.
You'll see a button up there inthe right hand side that'll let
(23:10):
you do that.
Leave your comments, questionsor ideas for future episodes.
Until next time, work on thoselease skills with your dog.
Stay tuned.
Welcome to the Dog Aggression Answers
podcast.
I'm Scott Sheaffer, your hostfrom USA Dog Behavior.
It seems that almost everyoneasks me what the best kind of
dog collar is for their reactiveor aggressive dog, and let me
just tell you right up fronthere.
There is no leash or collarcombo that's going to fix this,
(00:26):
but picking the right tool willhelp you in the overall
treatment.
Today's episode we titledMastering Leash Control the Best
Collars for Aggressive andReactive Dogs.
I'm going to rank eight of themost common types of dog collars
and, believe me, there are amillion, but I'm going to pick
the top eight.
I'm going to rank them from myleast recommended to my favorite
(00:50):
, with pros and cons of each.
Stay tuned.
Before we begin, I want toremind you that you can leave me
a voicemail message by simplygoing to USADogBehaviorcom and
clicking on the podcast tab.
(01:11):
You'll see a button in theupper right hand corner, as you
can click on and it will recordyour voice and send it to me.
It's really pretty great howthat works.
You can leave comments,questions or ideas for future
episodes, which I really lovewhen people do that.
I may include your voicerecording in a future episode
and comment on it, so that wouldbe great.
(01:31):
Now on to today's topic.
Humane and effective leashcontrol of your dog is the first
thing you need to establishbefore you start behavior
modification with youraggressive or reactive dog, and
the reason for that is mostbehavior modification exercises
are done on a leash or with aleash.
(01:52):
I tell my clients that adequateleash skills with their dog is
a prerequisite before we startbehavior modification exercises.
Picking the right collar foryour dog is an important part of
this.
I love how I just sounded onthat.
That was very text, and wasn'tit?
Picking, not picking, butpicking.
Don't make fun of me.
For a number of reasons, justgetting a modest amount of leash
(02:16):
control of your dog willprovide some help with your
dog's aggression or reactivityand provide a foundation for
behavior modification.
Let's think about what I justsaid Before we even start
behavior modification exercises.
Just getting humane and goodleash control of your dog will
provide a little bit of relieffrom your dog's aggression and
(02:41):
reactivity.
I'm going to talk more aboutthat in a sec.
There's one thing to know aboutdog behavior there are rarely
any super simple fixes for anydog behavior issue.
I know, I know what you'rethinking.
You've seen on the internetabout all kinds of quick
remedies to all kinds of dogbehavior problems, including
(03:04):
aggression and reactivity andleash control.
The truth is, if there was aquick and good remedy to these
things, I wouldn't have a job.
I would love that.
By the way, I would absolutelylove if behaviors were not
required and aggression andreactivity was not an issue with
dogs, because I really lovedogs, because it's always a fear
(03:27):
issue.
I always feel sorry for the dog.
I think so many peoplemisunderstand them.
The fact is there are no quicklittle answers.
It just is not realistic.
You have noticed that most ofthese solutions are and I love
this in quotes until now, or notknown until now or unknown
(03:49):
until now kind of solutions.
Lucky for you, you are nowgoing to find out what they are
for only $49.99, et cetera, etcetera, et cetera.
Again, unfortunately, in thereal world, problematic dog
behaviors are rarely that simpleto address, if ever.
Now onto the real world of dogbehavior.
(04:09):
I'm going to review and gradethe eight most common types of
dog collars and comment on howeffective and Humane they are in
my opinion, and I'll providethe pros and cons of each.
I'll start with the leasteffective, number eight and work
toward an end with the mosteffective.
It's going to be a countdown.
(04:29):
One of the key variables in myreview is how humane these
collars are.
Punishing types of collars losepoints fast With scott.
Let me just tell you thatplease remember, there are an
infinite number of dog collartypes.
I'm going to review the mostcommon types of colors common
(04:51):
eight times.
All right, let's start withnumber eight and you could
probably guess what this one is.
Shot collar yeah, you can onlyimagine how much I love those.
That's why it's ranked numbereight.
Shot collars are also referredto and I love this as e collars.
Doesn't that sound so much morebenign?
Yeah, electronic collars inorder to hide the fact that they
(05:14):
shock and hurt dogs.
E collar just sounds lessbrutal, doesn't it?
This kind of collar has so manyproblems that I could quite
literally write a book aboutthem.
Here are some of the big issues.
Here are some key points.
They frequently cause new andmore serious behavior issues in
the long run, such as aggressionor increased aggression.
(05:38):
We cover this in quite a lot ofdetail in other episodes.
Next, they are dependent on thedog owner to have perfect
timing when shocking the dog,which is almost impossible for
the average dog owner.
Next thing dogs almost alwaysdesensitize to them, so stronger
and stronger levels of shockare required, which only makes
(06:02):
things worse, as you can guess,and they only treat the symptom,
that being aggression orreactivity, and almost always
make the core issue Worse.
And the core issue, as we knowif you've been listening to this
podcast series, is fear.
Finally, and this is thebiggest one just sums it all up,
they are inhumane.
My grade, they get a big F, bigFox, don't love them.
(06:25):
Number seven, which is onlySlightly better than a shock
collar, and really just for onereason I'll tell you that in a
second and that's the prongcollar.
These are collars that haveprongs on the inside that
essentially stab, or they dostab, the dog's neck when the
dog pools about.
The only thing prong collarshave over shot collars is they
(06:47):
don't have any Timing componentin their use from the dog owner
or the handler.
The problems with this type ofcollar are almost exactly the
same as with shot collars wetalked about earlier.
Here the main takeaways theycan cause new and more serious
behavior issues.
Dogs acclimate to them also, sostronger and stronger levels of
(07:08):
prong penetration or jerkingthe leash is required.
In other words, they hurt thedog just like shot collar, in
different way and they too areof course, inhumane.
I give them an F plus.
I give it an F plus onlybecause it very slightly is
better than a Shot collarbecause that timing component,
(07:30):
but not much.
Number six, coming in at numbersix, is the choke collar.
These collars are normally madeout of chain We've all seen
these and constrict when the dogpools.
There's no electricity, there'sno prongs, just a chain that
tightens Unlimited, in anunlimited way, so they can
really choke a dog out.
They essentially choke the dogwith no limits, is what I'm
(07:52):
trying to say.
While not as bad as shockerprong collars, for sure, they
are still painful and can bedamaging to the dogs trachea.
The issues with this type ofcollar are here are the core
features.
They also cause new and moreserious behavior issues because
it's punishment based and, justlike with shock and prong
(08:12):
collars, dogs almost alwaysDesensitized to them.
So stronger and stronger levelsof choking are required,
possibly harming a dog and againspecifically the trachea.
They are inhumane, but not asmuch as shock and prong collars
are, that's for sure.
I give them a D a dog.
Number five is a tie, and that'sbetween two types of body
(08:37):
harnesses A top-attached bodyharness, where the leash is
attached to the top of the dog,and then a front attach, where
the leash is attached in thedog's fore chest, which is just
underneath the dog's head in thefront.
These are harnesses that wraparound the dog's body at
multiple points in the chest andfront of the dog, similar to
(08:58):
harnesses and this is a good wayto explain them.
It's similar to harnesses usedin dog sledding.
The leash is either attached tothe front of the harness, as we
mentioned, at the dog's forechest that's the front attach
type or on the top of the dogthe top attach type.
Some do both.
These are especially ineffectivefor large dogs.
(09:18):
Boy, that is the truth, and theway I like to tell this to
clients is you don't ever see abody harness on a horse.
Okay, you just have to havesome head control.
There's just no way you controla horse with a body harness
kind of arrangement.
It's always got to have somehead control, and the larger the
(09:39):
dog is, the more necessary.
Some type of head control isthe front attached body harness
type.
Always and I mean always, likea hundred percent of the time
gets pulled to this side of thedog, which cancels the
advertised method of action.
So the thought on these frontattached harnesses is well, I'm
(10:00):
going to attach the leash to thedog's fore chest that's the
area right underneath the dog'sneck and when he pulls it'll
pull the dog around either rightor left, and that will be
annoying, and so the dog won'tpull anymore.
Well, that sounds great intheory, but what happens in 100%
of the cases is this bodyharness shifts to the right or
(10:24):
to the left, so you have almostzero left and right pulling to
the dog when the dog pulls.
So it just doesn't work andwhat ends up happening is the
whole body harness is just a bigmess.
It's all shifted to the rightof the dog or to the left.
It's all bunched up.
It's just a big mess.
Head and neck control areessential concepts when
(10:46):
controlling a dog and thesetypes of harnesses just don't
provide it.
They aren't all bad, butthere's a lot not to like about
them.
Let me give you some key points.
They do little to help tocontrol the dog, especially
larger dogs, as we mentioned.
Despite what you may hear, dogscan and do escape from these
(11:06):
really important point.
In many cases they increasepulling for a number of reasons.
Think about it.
There's a reason that dog sledsuse harnesses.
They work great for pulling andfinally, they are this is
important at least humane.
(11:26):
They are at least humane.
I'm giving them a C.
Charlie, gonna give them a C.
Number three head halter.
If you've never used one before, you've probably seen them out
in public.
People walk in their dogs.
Many people think they'remuzzles, but they aren't.
They act very much like ahorse's halter, but don't
confuse that with a horse's bitbridle, a halter.
(11:48):
They work by attaching theleash around the dog's muzzle
gently.
They pull the dogs headsideways when the dog pulls and
this is very annoying to the dogand, as a result, can be an
effective tool to gain control.
So it's kind of hard tovisualize if you've never seen
one, but it's a strapessentially that goes around the
(12:10):
dog's muzzle, loosely fitted,and the leash attaches to the
bottom right underneath theirbottom jaw, and so when the dog
pulls it pulls their head aroundor pulls their jaw around, and
that's annoying to the dog andso they stop pulling.
These do not slip off.
They're pretty good aboutstaying in position and all that
(12:31):
stuff.
As opposed to the body harness.
A popular brand of these is theGentle Leader, although I
highly prefer the Coastal Walkand Train version Coastal Walk
and Train.
I do not own stock in thatcompany or anything like that.
I've just used a thousand ofthese things and that's the one
I think works the best for anumber of reasons.
(12:51):
Here are some of the attributesof this kind of collar.
So here we have some importantaspects here.
Dogs almost immediately stoppulling when using these.
They're very effective andright away.
There is an acclimation period,however, for the dog and owner.
Many dogs don't care for thesetoo much, but most do pretty
well.
They acclimate fairly quickly,but there is a period.
(13:12):
They can and do come off thedog not real commonly,
especially with the better ones,but they can come off, so keep
that in mind.
They are humane, especially theone that I recommend.
Not 100% of dogs will toleratethem, but most do.
Proper adjustment can be tricky, that is so true.
(13:33):
There's a collar adjustment onthem and then there's an
adjustment for the muzzle andthey both gotta be pretty good,
done pretty well, especially theone around the muzzle.
And here's an important pointWhile they stop pooling when
they are discontinued, and inother words, when you go back to
a regular collar, dogs almostalways start pooling again.
(13:56):
It's a great tool as long asyou have the tool on, but it's
not really a training tool.
I've really seen this over andover and over again.
They give the dog under a lotof control, but only when the
dog is using the head halter orhead collar.
There are some tools out there.
One is called the Clipper Leashthat will help transition off
(14:20):
the head halter onto a regularneck collar.
I'm giving these a B plus, aBravo plus.
I recommend these all the timeto clients, especially for older
clients or those clients withphysical limitations.
This is a real game changer forthat population.
You have a larger dog who hassome migration and reactivity
(14:43):
issues.
We've gotta get some leashcontrol.
These really work great forthat.
That's one of my key targetsfor these kind of collars.
Number two coming in at numbertwo, the Martin Gale collar.
This is actually a combinationor hybrid collar.
It's a standard old school flatcollar but also includes some
(15:04):
humane components of a chokecollar.
So it's a flat collar and achoke collar combined.
They're essentially just astandard collar that has a
limited amount of tighteningwhen the dog pulls.
So what's touching the dog'sneck is just a standard collar
cotton or nylon or leather.
(15:24):
So that's all that's touchingthe dog's neck.
The front of the neck, the back, has a secondary loop that
cinches it up a little bit, upto a point and exaggerates the
tension.
And let's talk about some ofthe features of this Martin Gale
collar here.
The primary advantages thelimited and gentle tightening
can act as a reminder to the dognot to pull.
(15:46):
It exaggerates the pressure onthe dog's neck, as we just
mentioned.
Next point they are humane ifproperly adjusted.
That's the thing.
They're really very humane, butthey're really always humane in
my opinion.
But they're more humane ifthey're adjusted properly.
That's really key.
Dogs that have small headsrelative to their neck size
(16:08):
light greyhounds can sometimesback out of collars.
Now there's if they becomepanicky or reactive, they may
move backwards away from theowner or the handler and the
collar comes over the dog's head.
This is not good, especially ifyou have a human, aggressive
dog.
This helps prevent that fromhappening.
It's very effective and a lotof people think and I guess it's
(16:31):
true is that is the genesis ofthese collars is for dogs like
this.
If I'm working with asignificantly human aggressive
dog.
I frequently use or evenmandate these just to ensure the
dog can't get out of theircollar.
And lastly, as we've beenmentioning on some of the other
leashes, this one is nodifferent in that proper
(16:53):
adjustment can be tricky.
I find that most of thesecollars are improperly adjusted
by owners and just almost 100%of them are improperly adjusted.
Either they're way too looseand have limited effect, or
they're too tight and choke thedog too much.
I'm going to give these an Aminus, an Apple minus.
(17:13):
I recommend these all the timeto clients.
Now we're coming into the homestretch.
Thanks for hanging in here.
Number one, the winner standardflat collar, just the old school
flat collar.
Just wraps around the dog'sneck, it's wide and it clasps in
the back.
It's my favorite type of collar.
(17:35):
It's funny I've worked with alot of dogs over many years and
it's funny that I keep comingback to this type of collar and
so many clients come in with allkinds of.
You can't even imagine Allkinds of collars looking for
that quick fix, of which thereis none.
And we've talked about itbefore and they want to believe
(17:59):
there's some magic collar after.
But there's not and they'realmost disappointed, as you
probably are right now, want tosay, hey, the standard flat
collar is the way to go.
But once I show them the propertechnique with the flat collar
and all the behavioral benefitsin other words, it doesn't make
the dog more fearful they becomebelievers.
(18:22):
In just about 100% of myclients this is simply just an
old school flat collar that I'mtalking about, made out of nylon
, cotton or leather, essentiallythe same type of collar that
we've been using on dogs forhundreds of years.
I recommend a flat collar with abelt buckle type of class like
would be on, like on a man'sbelt buckle, with the little pin
(18:45):
that goes through the holes,because they are easily
adjustable, super easilyadjustable, and they don't ever
slip Really a key point there.
You are probably asking so whatmakes this kind of collar so
great?
It's not the collar.
Well, it kind of is the collardone, hurt the dog, but it's the
handler, the person managingthe leash, that makes the
(19:06):
difference.
Proper technique and trainingare the key, and really, when I
say proper technique andtraining are the key, I mean for
the dog and the owner.
The best parts about this typeof collar are that they can
provide both permanent solutionsthere's no issue with.
When we stop using it, the dogstarts pulling again.
(19:27):
If we train to this collar,it's humane and it's permanent
what you've trained, nothing'sgoing to stop happening.
And also, as I just mentioned,they are humane.
They are 100% humane.
I love them for that reason.
The other collars we've beentalking about they can't claim
this.
They can't claim those twothings.
(19:50):
You may also ask why more peopledon't recommend flat collars
for pulling problems.
Well, for one there's nothingto sell right, and the other is
patience is the problem?
Not patience from the dog, ofcourse, but from the dog owner.
And here's why I prefer thiskind of collar.
Here are the main benefits.
Hang in there with me.
They are absolutely humane.
(20:10):
You know that's a big thingwith me.
They provide good control whenproper technique is used
consistently by the handler.
More on that in a bit.
I'm going to give you some helpon that in just a second.
Easy to put on and take offit's a big thing.
It's so nice, easy on, easy off, grooming that kind of thing,
so nice.
They can remain on the dog allthe time.
(20:30):
They can remain on the dog allthe time with the dog's tags.
There's no acclimation periodfor dog or the dog owner.
With this kind of collar, evenpuppies can tolerate this pretty
quickly the first time theyeven have one put on their neck,
and it can provide a permanentsolution to pooling when proper
and humane dog training methodsare used, and they are super
(20:53):
easy to adjust as well as takeon and on.
I'm giving these a grade of Aplus, apple plus.
I highly recommend thesedeclines.
There is no magic dog collarthat will give you a humane,
instant and automatic controlover your aggressive or reactive
dog.
Believe me when I say this.
I've worked with a lot of dogsand dog owners over the years
(21:17):
and I've seen all the leashesand collars that are on this
planet.
I think there's no magic here.
I wish there was, but there'snot.
It just takes some work to getgood control of your dog on the
leash.
I want to encourage you to workon this with your aggressive or
reactive dog.
To that end, I've included alink in the show notes in the
(21:37):
description for the podcastepisode that will take you to a
free video on proper leashtechnique with all sizes of dogs
.
There are a number of tips andtechniques that will help you
get your dog under control onthe leash using one of the
humane collars we've talkedabout in this episode.
This video is not very long andit goes over exactly what I
(22:05):
teach my clients Now in person.
I'm doing more detail, ofcourse, than customizing it, but
it's essentially what I'mteaching my clients prior to
when they start working onbehavior modification exercises
for their dog.
Thanks for tuning into DogAggression Answers Podcast For
(22:27):
more tips and insights, like thecollars we've talked about
today.
Head over to USADogBehaviorcom,who is sponsoring this podcast,
where we have a lot of trainingcontent for you.
Most of it's free too, by theway.
And don't forget to subscribeto this podcast so you don't
miss any future episodes onhandling dog aggression and
(22:48):
reactivity.
If you like this informationthat's been helpful, please
leave me a review.
That always helps get morepeople listening to these and
get more eyes on the podcast.
And just to remind you again,because I love to hear from you,
you can leave me a voicemailmessage by going to
USADogBehaviorcom and clickingon the podcast tab.
You'll see a button up there inthe right hand side that'll let
(23:10):
you do that.
Leave your comments, questionsor ideas for future episodes.
Until next time, work on thoselease skills with your dog.
Stay tuned.
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