October 7th, 2008
By Eric Letendre
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From The Desk Of
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Turn up the speakers on your computer, click the play button and listen to my message about choke collars…
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Eric Letendre is a professional dog trainer from the United States and has been training dogs for over 20 years, teaching regular, average, every-day owners all over the world how to get the training results they want as fast as possible. Eric is also the author of numerous reports, the E-Book “101 Ways to Improve Your Dog’s Behavior,” “The Amazing Dog Training Man Book,” and produced and stars in his DVD “Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer.”
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Eric Letendre is a professional dog trainer from the United States. For more than 20 years, he has been developing dog training techniques that have worked for dog owners all over the world. Eric operates from a home office or a laptop while traveling and draws on his experience and passion for dog training to show others how to develop a dog that is truly “Man’s Best Friend”.
Eric is the author of numerous reports, the E-Book “101 Ways to Hack Your Dog’s Behavior,” “The Amazing Dog Training Man Book,” and produced and stars in his DVD “Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer.”
As a professional dog trainer, I have never used a choke collar. I do agree with you on many issues as I have never applied physical punishment while training. A nice littes submission role has proven well for me.
I agree about the choke collars. My son once told me of a man who snapped the choke collar so hard that it actually broke the dogs neck and killed the dog. I do have a one year old Rottweiler that is very hard to walk do to her massive size and weight. I use a prong collar or she pulls me all over the neighborhood. I would never use a choke collar though and people have to understand that there is a big difference between the two. I used to believe that the prong collars were cruel until I understood this difference.
I use a check chain on my dog, mostly because he is very, very big, and he is a very strong puller. I also have a martingale, a gentle leader, and his regular collar. The Martingale only worked for a short while, and the gentle leader hasn’t been working at all. I am ALWAYS extremely careful when I use the chain on him, and its only when I have to take him out to public places where there are a lot of people. For walks I do not use the chain because he does not pull as there is no one around so he walks just fine. I always make sure that it releases after he pulls (it does, every time), he NEVER gets choked, every few steps, if he continues to pull I have him sit and I put the chain back where it’s supposed to be on his neck and then we start again. He has already been through training classes, and the last things we are working on are how to get him to walk calmly with people around, and to stop jumping. I know there are plenty of people who do not use the choke chain right, but I know I’m not one of them, and I’ll continue to use it until I don’t need it anymore, as I don’t see it as a permanent need.
I agree, i have used it sucessfully before, but then when i tried it with a difficult dog i had a lot of trouble, so i think maybe if you try and dont succeed just go to a Halti (used in australia) or nose collar, much nicer. I reccommend the Halti to all my friends that have difficult dogs to walk, and they have all called me and thanked me. Some disagreed and flat refused until one day under some circumstance they tired one and got results.
Choke collars, prong collars, and e-collars can all be highly effective training tools, but they are easy to misuse or abuse. It always comes back to one thing, the competence of the trainer. If the trainer is incompetent, the only question is the cost of failure to the dog. First, do no harm. Some people are simply unable to maintain the level of focus, attentiveness, emotional control, patience, and consistency it takes to train a dog. They may be fine folks in other respects, but dog training is just something they are not mentally or emotionally equipped to do. The advantage of positive reinforcement techniques over the various control collars is that when the incompetent trainer finally throws in the towel and gives up, he only leaves behind a dog that is untrained, not one that has been physically injured or made vicious.
I totally agree with you regarding your analysis of the choke chain. It begs the question – why does the AKC seem to be a proponent of chokers AND why are they allowed to be used during the Canine Good Citizen test (whereas a harness is not?) I contend that there is a psychological mindset when a dog is wearing a choker or any tool where they receive corrections so the dog has a conditioned response then. I’ve never gotten a satisfactory answer from the AKC re this. Thanks for sending this postcard!
ps – 99% of people use the choke chain incorrectly!
RE: Wanda Woodworth, M.A.,
I agree, I was shown how to use it correctly with my first dog, then when i didnt use it for a while, i had trouble mastering it again. I guess if you dont use it correctly you could either do damage or just confuse the dog
I agree they should be taken off the market because some people don’t even know how to use them.
I agree about choke collars. Many good points made in these comments. I’m a professional dog walker, and I can tell you that I spend about 50% of my time training dogs and teaching them how to walk well on a leash. With me, people get a dog trainer at a dog walker’s prices. I haven’t fully mastered it yet, every dog and every situation is different, but I’ve read A LOT of books, been to training classes, seminars, worked with a variety of local dog trainers in sync with my clients and have six years of hands on experience. You have to just keep trying different techniques until you get it right. I’m convinced that THE hardest thing to teach any dog is how to walk politely on-leash. With that said, half my clients are on the Gentle Leader and I’ve seen amzing results. I have NEVER yet seen ANY dog learn how to walk well on a choke collar. I prefer head collars and for certain dogs, prong collars with rubber nubs on the prongs – both MUCH more humane than choke collars. Another option is the martingales, which I’ve seen limited success with. It’s of paramount importance to me that the dogs be wearing some type of collar that will tighten to some degree or stay snug, because I have seen SO many dogs get spooked and slip out of traditional collars -which is a safety disaster. There goes the dog down the street, and you’ve got his collar AND NAME TAGS in your hand – NOT GOOD. The biggest issue I have with chain choke collars is that they are NEVER sold with instructions and the average dog owner who buys one has NO CLUE how to properly put it on (MAKE THE LETTER “P”) and then further, absolutely NO IDEA how to properly use it. The result is always a dog that STILL can’t walk well, is straining even MORE than before because resisitance solicits MORE resistance, and quite possibly a dog who is damaging it’s own trachea, all on top of an even more frustrated owner who is CONVINCED that their dog will “never learn” how to walk nicely. IF someone is going to employ this tool, it should ONLY be under the guidance of a professional dog trainer and should be used carefully and with oodles of positive training techniques applied. Better yet, just don’t use them.
Choke and prong collars are so old fashioned. Many improvements have been made to harnesses both head and body. Much research and study has been done. And most dogs if taught correctly and early enough can be taught to walk on a loose regular leash and collar.
Exactly, I was guided under a professional trainer, and I am extremely careful every single time whether the training is with me or not, so I feel no need to stop using it. I don’t listen anymore when people try to tell me I am cruel (not you guys, people out in public where I live), because half the time the people who’s mouthes are flapping are people who don’t even own a dog, or, had someone else train is so they have absolutely no experience. I fully understand that yes, these things can be very dangerous, but I know what I’m doing and stand by it. Once my dog stops pulling my arms out of my sockets out in public, I will definetly get rid of the chain for good.
trainer** pardon me, not training.
I have found that my male GSD would not concentrate nor tolerate a Halti type collar and used to fight against it. A choke collar was used but I also found that a really hard correction was needed for him which I was not comfortable with as I knew this would cause potential damage. I started using a prong collar and boy what a turnaround!! My boy seems to be less focussed on receiving a correction and responds better to correcting himself with the prong collar. I am now a fan of the prong collar but it needs to be demonstrated properly so that it is not misused.
Choke and E- Collars are forbidden here In Norway, and thank God for that! There are so many other way`s to make your dog behave.
That’s very interesting Aina. Thanks for sharing that with us. Is aggression a big problem with dogs in Norway? Here in the States aggressive behavior is a HUGE problem and it is a direct result of the harsh training methods that are very popular here. 4.6 million reported dog bites every year. Thankfully we have trainers here like Dr. Ian Dunbar, Jean Donaldson and yours truly who are promoting more positive techniques. Unfortunately there are still some trainers on TV that use choke collars and still “hang” the dog in the name of rehabilitation.
Hello.I have a americanstaffordshire terrier that pulls hard when we go for walks.I have tryed everything n the market to get her to stop pulling,but nothing works.I work a lot around our property,and unfortunatly cannot have her off lead as she gets on a scent of something and wont come back when called,thats why she is on the choke collar,but even that doesnt work.I am scared i will damage her neck one day.
I think using a choke collar is like disciplining children with sticks, it is wrong and to violent , and the dog will only get that doing something wrong means pain and that could backfire , he could bite the owner if he steps out of line. Dogs know and remember everything,
Any equipment is as good or as bad as the person using it. Gentle leaders can break necks, buckle collars can cause damage to the trachea, chain collars can choke, etc. etc. I use any and every kind of training equipment depending on the dog’s temperament. With education, comes a good trainer. Each piece of equipment has it’s good and bad points. If they are used PROPERLY, chain collars are very humane. And it is not that hard to learn how to use one properly. I’ve taught hundreds of people (maybe thousands) how to use them properly and they have all had good results. People aren’t as dumb as you think.
I had been using a choke collar on my dalmation/greyhound mix., 75 lbs. I was frustrated as all she did was pull and I had no controll of her. I finaly found my sporn collar I had used for a former dog, St Bernard/collie mix, about 85 lbs.. What a difference. From the time I put the sporn collar on her the walk turned from a chore to pleasure. The choke collar is in the trash now….
P.S. Congrats on your marrage, June 28th was 38 years for my wife and myself, and July 28 was my birthday. I have to ask, your birthday isn’t Sept 15th, the same as my wife’s is it. Thanx for all of the ideas and training tips you have provided to me. Bill Baker
I use a choke collar, but I’ve neutralised the choke effect somehow. I’ve measured my dog’s neck, and put a link on the chain to prevent the collar going tighter than that.
It works, the dog doesn’t usually pull, and I’m careful not to pull him either. I watch him if he needs to stop, not to jostle him. And I call him, if we need to start walking again.
The only occasion when he pulls really hard is when he sees food. There is no controlling him then but brace myself to prevent him gobbling refuse. And sometimes he pulls me off my feet anyway. I’ve just learned to watch, and anticipate.
If there is another dog, bizarrely, I can control him by voice, and there is no pulling. It’s only when there is food that he’s not himself (or completely himself, depnds on the point of view)
ANY equipment has it up side and it’s down side. Different situations require different equipment. Choke collars can choke, head halters can snap necks, buckle collars can cause throat damage, and the list goes on. The key factor here is if the equipment is being used PROPERLY, none of these things occur. The most important thing about dog training is making sure the OTHER end of the leash is educated!
what is your opinion on using electric choke collar