Periodically the distinction between management and restraint is lost. Using commands and hand gestures, with harnesses or food rewards, to stimulate wanted behavior is discipline. Using choke or shock collars, electronic boundaries and related devices is for control of unwanted behaviors.

Restraint/constraint isn’t needfully a negative factor. Dogs by nature want and look for social continuity in which someone is the alpha (leader); and in any human-dog pair the person has to take that position. To relinquish your role as the leader (alpha) will mean destruction of belongings, potentially unhealthy circumstances for other pets and people, human conflict and an unstable dog. The question is how best to acquire compliance from your dog.

Choke collars were conceived to help in getting control. Dogs are like humans in that each has their own character and traits. Some are, as a result, more assertive or slower to learn. For ones that don’t react positively to a conventional leather or nylon collar, a metal choke collar can supply additional deterrence to tugging and leaping.

The potential drawback is that choke collars, when used clumsily - all too simple to do - can give you results you didn’t want and also be dangerous. Choke collars fit only one way and when suitably fitted should make allowance for a one to three fingers space between the neck and the collar - three for larger dogs, one for smaller. Ordinarily a collar two inches longer than the measurment around the neck will suffice.

Used inappropriately, by-the-way, choke collars can chafe the skin - resulting in wounds that scratching will make worse. They can also inadvertently compress the trachea. A quick jerk and then loose lead isn’t harmful, however in accordance with its purpose it does create unpleasant pressure. But for dogs that persist in trying to resist the leash this device may not be enough to do the job. Generally, it is not approved of, especially for smaller dogs.

Prong collars are not as hazardous as they appear, but - from this handler’s prospective - have almost no positive properties. The only good aspect of this devices’ design is their limited diameter - they can only close down so far. Nonetheless, a critter with such an unyielding proclivity to pull that prongs are meaningless must have more than a quick fix consisting of choking and ‘pronging’. That kind of dog most likely needs to have tenacious and persistent behavior modification training.

Halter collars, which envelop the neck and the muzzle, but don’t stop panting or prohibit drinking and eating can give further constraint. The drawback is they don’t inhibit biting if that’s an issue. If biting is not a problem an everyday tether and collar, or maybe a chest halter might be preferable.

For assistance with those dogs that carry on in barking long after the purpose of barking is gone, consider an electronic No-barking collar. Barking is an ordinary and natural response to possible menacing events and is also used to signal distress and gain attention when one becomes isolated from the communal pack. But, for reasons we don’t completely understand, some animals bark continuously or at the drop of a hat.

Electronic collars that prohibit barking come in two forms: noise stimulus and shock stimulus. Noise collars generate a brief, unpleasant sound that distracts and tends to discourage continual barking.

Shock collars generate a quick but discomforting electronic shock that can be sustained during lengthy or recurring barking. Evenhanded and objective experimentation to discover their effectiveness divulge mixed conclusions - they work with some dogs and not others. On the other hand, as with prong collars, any dog in need of one would profit if, in addition, he had precise, professional training using behavior modification methods.

Now and then quick fixes are appealing and worthwhile… until they become replacements for more constructive (both to trainer and dog) long-term management. Making the effort to understand how to access your dog’s focused attention and cooperativeness without disproportionate reliance on control equipment is better. The usual effect is happier trainers and more well adjusted dogs.

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