What Are Dog Prong Collars?

There are many different types of dog training collars available.  For every type of dog training collar available, you will find people who do or don't use them or who agree or disagree with the use in the first place.  The purpose of this blog is just to make you more familiar with what a dog prong collar is and how it is typically used.  

Prong collars are dog collars that typically have a chain similar to the martingale chain as its base.  A martingale chain is a collar that has two loops.  One loop is a smaller loop used as a control loop that will tighten the second loop or the larger loop.  This helps to prevent the dog from slipping out of the collar and at the same time allows for a limited constriction on the dog's neck with an evenly applied pressure.  To make it a prong collar, in addition to the martingale style chain, the collar will have a series of chain links with blunted open ends that turn toward the dog's neck.  The combination of the martingale style collar which limits the constriction with the angle of the prongs will prevent the dog from being pinched by the prongs.  The main purpose of these collars is to prevent the dog from pulling by applying a pressure to the dog's neck at various points.  

If you decide to use a prong collar as a training tool, here are some important tips to keep in mind.  Many trainers will not begin with using the prong collar right away and if they do it is usually when the dog is around the twelve month old mark.  It is critical that the collar is fitted properly for the size of your dog.  When the collar is on your dogs neck it should sit up high on the dog's neck just behind their ears.  The collar should be snug so the prongs cannot move around to the  front of the dog's neck where they may cause unwanted pinching on your dog's trachea.  You can tell if the collar is on correctly by putting two fingers between the collar and the dog's neck.  If you can turn your two fingers sideways, then the collar is not too tight.  Also, you need to carefully follow the directions for placing the collar on your dog's neck by unhooking one of the links and then hooking the link back together once around your dog's neck.  The prong training collar should be removed when you are not training your dog.  You should not try to just slide the prong collar over your dog's head to put it on and take it off.  It is also important to note that many trainers believe that the prong collars should be used as a training tool when you are training the dog one on one rather than in group settings as it is believed by some that group training with the prong collar may cause aggressive behaviors in some dogs with long term training and use.  

Although the prong collars may look medieval and scary, if used properly with the right amount of training yourself, they can be a very effective training tool.  It is even suggested that the prong collars are often better training collars than the choke collars which are said to put more pressure and cause more damage to the dog's trachea in the long run.  

As with any dog training tool, you need to do your research.  You need to research not only the best training tool for you and your dog but also to make sure that whatever training tool you do use, is being used correctly to prevent poor outcomes or injury to your dogs.  This blog is very short and there is much more information out there as far as training with a prong collar.  As always, at baddogsupplies.com, we carry prong collars as well as many other valuable training tools for your dogs.  If you have any questions or concerns then please let us know so that we can help in any way possible.  Thank you for stopping by.