# Prong Collar



## mynameisblc (May 8, 2012)

So I've been using a prong collar to teach him the "leash pressure" from Michael Ellis(if you know what I'm talking about lol). It's only been a week since I've been using a prong collar.

How long should I use it for? Am I supposed to keep pulling with steady pressure or pull and correct when my dog is pulling me.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

No steady pressure, just a quick tug and release.


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## mynameisblc (May 8, 2012)

How long should I be using it?


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

Well that depends. If you're using it for a specific purpose like walking on a loose lead, you need to be teaching a command like 'heel' or 'with me' so your dog knows what it's supposed to be doing. I still use one occasionally in certain circumstances when I want to make sure I have control, like going somewhere new with crowds or lots of strange dogs and I'm not sure what to expect. It can be useful for certain kinds of training when you need extra control. It can be a very useful tool, but not a substitute for adequate training.


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## gagsd (Apr 24, 2003)

For those not familiar with the ME concept.....


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## gagsd (Apr 24, 2003)

Not ME, and not a prong, but you may find tuis helpful. It is a good bit of reading.
LLW Introduction


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## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

Stosh said:


> Well that depends. If you're using it for a specific purpose like walking on a loose lead, you need to be teaching a command like 'heel' or 'with me' so your dog knows what it's supposed to be doing. I still use one occasionally in certain circumstances when I want to make sure I have control, like going somewhere new with crowds or lots of strange dogs and I'm not sure what to expect. It can be useful for certain kinds of training when you need extra control. It can be a very useful tool, but not a substitute for adequate training.


Ditto for us too. Our dog does not wear the prong in the house though. But she will probably wear it outside for most of her life...just in case...skateboarders, squirrels, a jogger coming out of nowhere. Initially we used it for training- down and heels and to prevent jumping. But at this point (dog 2 years old now) we really don't need to "pop" her for anything.


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## Clyde (Feb 13, 2011)

What are you trying to teach your dog with the leash pressure?

Once your dog understands leash pressure you can use it to teach a variety of things. I teach my dogs to back up in heel position so when I do left turns I tell them back and eventually they start to anticipate so they get out of my way nicely for the turn. Also have used it to teach my dogs to step left or right while maintaining heel position and to help my boy with his rear end awareness when in heel position. This is all competition heeling stuff.

If you are trying to teach just normal loose leash walking then leash pressure will not get you very far. If you use leash pressure to much your dog will not get the "loose leash" part of it and might just get used to pulling you around with a prong on (which would suck). May be you could use leash pressure to show your dog that when it is out of position the leash pressure starts until the dog is back in position and reward the dog for staying in position. But leash pressure itself is not much of a correction so I would very quickly move to pop and release style corrections once you have taught your dog what loose leash walking means.


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## mynameisblc (May 8, 2012)

I'm trying to teach it to heel using the leash pressure. I am currently looking for classes though, so I am mostly using it to correct when we go outside.


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## Clyde (Feb 13, 2011)

Do you mean competitive heeling or just everyday walking. I use leash pressure to teach certain aspects of competitive heeling basically followed the ME dvd. But I do not expect my dogs to do this outside all the time to me outside walking is just loose leash (attention on me not required) and I have a totally different word and teach it a totally different way no leash pressure involved.

Not sure what you mean by using leash pressure to correct when outside. If you use it in the wrong way it will not be as effective.


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## mynameisblc (May 8, 2012)

I am not training him that much right now, I'm waiting until I get him in classes. He just knows how to heel by my side and walk with me while focused on me(indoors only, haven't taught him outside yet). The prong collar is just to use leash pressure and pull him next to me when he starts to drift off while heeling.
I use the prong collar when we go outside also. I use it to correct him by tugging quickly when he tries to chase a bird, run up on another dog, things like that. Teaching him not to pull.


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## Clyde (Feb 13, 2011)

When he drifts off while heeling does he also lose focus? If so at this point you don't want to use the leash to get focus back you want to be more interesting or have a better reward.

If he is maintaining focus and just out of position you could use the leash pressure to teach him to get back into position but for the most part I would do a lot of rewarding proper position over to much leash stuff.


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## mynameisblc (May 8, 2012)

I reward/praise for looking at me then correct him when he looks away.
So it's watch(good), heel(good), *walking*(good)...*looks away and drifts off*, *tug*, watch(good), heel(good), *walking*... 
YES! GOOD JOB!

That's what I do haha, but I need a trainer ASAP!


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## Clyde (Feb 13, 2011)

mynameisblc said:


> I reward/praise for looking at me then correct him when he looks away.
> So it's watch(good), heel(good), *walking*(good)...*looks away and drifts off*, *tug*, watch(good), heel(good), *walking*...
> YES! GOOD JOB!
> 
> That's what I do haha, but I need a trainer ASAP!


Sounds good. The only thing is I believe your guy is pretty young still? You just don't want to be using the leash to much. I like to see the majority of the time like 90% you are rewarding him before he looks away and not to frequently letting it go to long to the point you need to correct. I like to teach a really good foundation of my dog understanding the position so I do a lot of taking steps back, left, right and tight pivots so they really understand heel and are fighting to stay in position (they have their eyes glued to me while I am doing this). If they understand the position while you are doing this then straight heeling is easy. I find they are more focused and into it if I am not always just doing straight lines because it keeps it interesting. 

I would recommend finding a club you can join versus finding a trainer. With a club you can observe lots of training styles and find what works for you. The bad thing about working with a trainer is you get stuck with their style for the classes and it may not end up being what you were looking for. I assume you are looking for a trainer to teach competition stuff not just pet obedience?


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## mynameisblc (May 8, 2012)

Clyde said:


> Sounds good. The only thing is I believe your guy is pretty young still? You just don't want to be using the leash to much. I like to see the majority of the time like 90% you are rewarding him before he looks away and not to frequently letting it go to long to the point you need to correct. I like to teach a really good foundation of my dog understanding the position so I do a lot of taking steps back, left, right and tight pivots so they really understand heel and are fighting to stay in position (they have their eyes glued to me while I am doing this). If they understand the position while you are doing this then straight heeling is easy. I find they are more focused and into it if I am not always just doing straight lines because it keeps it interesting.
> 
> I would recommend finding a club you can join versus finding a trainer. With a club you can observe lots of training styles and find what works for you. The bad thing about working with a trainer is you get stuck with their style for the classes and it may not end up being what you were looking for. I assume you are looking for a trainer to teach competition stuff not just pet obedience?


Yes. I am looking for a club.


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