I am not at all offended by a different perspective on this topic, and appreciate the chance to discuss the concerns and perhaps increase understanding.
I do not typically train with a prong collar. Almost nine years ago when my first berner was a large and strong adolescent, my trainer advocated a prong collar but I declined and kept her (the dog, not the trainer :) on a buckle collar. This worked well most of the time -- until she pulled me off my feet on ice and I was bruised from one end to the other. That was enough of that -- I could not risk having her get loose or a broken neck (mine). So I got a prong collar and tried it on my various body parts -- much to my surprise, it didn't hurt unless I gave a really vicious yank. Thus reassured, I put it on Emma and being a smart girl, it took her about five seconds to figure out that pulling was no longer a good plan. I used it for a while and then went back to a buckle collar for leash walks. Abra has not needed a prong collar and Maize has also never been in one because they did not need it -- Emma did. I have a young berner now who may well find herself in a prong collar -- for her own sake. I have done the same kind of training with her as the two who have never used a prong collar but she has a very different personality. She is a BUSY girl and forgets about that whole collar/leash thing even when she is coughing and gagging from the pressure on her trachea -- that does not seem necessary or kind. Again, this is a puppy who has been well trained with clicker and other positive reinforcement methods but she is just a lot of dog and self-control is a challenge for her right now. Any collar can hurt a dog. A prong collar, when used with kindness, has some significant advantages over buckle collars and choke collars. It alleviates the need for the owner to do any correction because the dog that pulls corrects itself. Unlike what happens when the owner is frustrated and mad and yanking on the leash when the dog is pulling on a buckle collar, the prong collar is not emotional and not connected with the owner. Typically you do not have the choking and gagging with a prong collar. When the dog is not pulling, the prong collar rests comfortably on the dog's neck with no pressure. And a prong collar is safer for the strong puller and her owner -- a loose dog can be lost or killed by a car and an owner with broken bones is not very much fun. Some dogs just like to pull or cannot control themselves quite enough to walk nicely, and all the positive reinforcement in the world is not going to fix it because the motivation to pull is stronger than the motivation offered to not pull. A prong collar simply offers a tool to shape desired behavior. I do not believe that when used properly, dogs suffer with prong collars -- and I have seen a lot of people use them on very happy dogs. Again, I do not routinely use prong collars and would not put one on a small puppy and would try other methods first but with all that said, I also know that they are not a painful, cruel torture device when used properly. Just yesterday I spoke with a woman who won't take her berner to very many places because she says that the dog is too strong and can pull her over. To me, this is a perfect situation for a prong collar -- the dog will have a more interesting and active life because the control the owner can obtain with a prong collar will allow her to feel safe walking the dog. I am not a fan of cruel training methods at all -- quite the opposite in fact. But I do not see a prong collar as inherently cruel. Used incorrectly of course it will hurt but the same can and should be said for all types of collars. And I do not think it is very kind to have a pulling, strangled dog either! Mary-Ann Bowman Utah Emma, CDX, DD, retired CH Abra CDX, TD, OA, OAJ, DD, CGC Miss Maize, TD, CD, OA, OAJ, CGC, Therapy Dog :) Halo deVil, TD -- The Wild Thing
