"Prong collar" on dogs... any opinions?

[Bottomfeeder]

So my parents came home with some hellish looking contraption to put on my dog. It looks like a chain link with these metal prongs sticking out one side of the collar, which aren't sharp but poke into the flesh on the dog's neck. Supposedly our trainer, who I think is a d-bag anyways, says it mimicks the mother's teeth, to which I replied, the dog is over a year old, why would his mother still be correcting him??? The dog is obviously in pain when my mom corrects him with him, screaming in pain and growling.

I'm seriously considering taking this thing out back and burying it...

Any opinions? I know there are a few dog experts on this site, what do you think?

Some background, my dog is a 15 month old male Italian Greyhound x Fox Terrier, and because he was a rescue he just started training when he was 11 months. So with his age at training and the mix of dog he is, I know we have a perfect storm for stubbornness, but I just don't think it's fair to do something like that...

 

[henrysusername]

dont use it

 

[takinap]

I hate them, people with big dogs at the Vet use them to keep them in order in public. I have a 85 pound pitbull and she listens to every direction i give. No need for those, I can imagine the discomfort they must feel.

 

[HPIZZLE]

they make ones with rubber prongs instead of metal ones. they work great.
the metal pronged ones though, in my opinion and barbaric, especially on a dog as small as yours.

 

[swordtales]

Some unruly beasts DO require them. Let say a wolf / breed.
Or a rehabbed fighting dog or one you have a hard time to physically control.
However, I agree they are unecessary if you teach them early.
My dog is still young and every now and again he tends to pull on the lead too much. When the "NO's !!!" don't work. On goes the choke collar for the remainder of the walk and he remembers not to pull. The next time i take him out it I won't use it. Hoping he'll remember his last outing was restricted because he pulled.
If used as a training tool it works, but not your everyday type of collar.
It could be worse, Jesus wore a crown of thorns.

 

[Cryolath]

You should never need to use one of these on the kind of dog you have. You should get another dog trainer, one who uses positive reinforcement only. The thing with dog training is you must have patience, train them for a small amount of time every day and accept the fact that you may progress slowly. You will not get instant obedience immediately, you may not get it for weeks or months depending on your dog's personality, what you are trying to train them and how good you are at communicating with your dog what you want them to do.
Using pain, aka negative reinforcement can be used in training, but an inexperienced person will use it incorrectly, and at the wrong times which will probably do more to teach your dog bad habits than train them correctly.
The dog trainer I worked with also recommended these two books: "Don't Shoot the Dog" by Karen Pryor and "The Culture Clash" by Jean Donaldson.
Hopefully you'll get to work with a better trainer, and good luck with your dog.

 

[TTTT]

My parents bought one, I threw it over the fence.

Then I bought one of these, it doesn't seem to hurt the dog and she doesn't pull much anymore.

 

[cichlid2006]

they are completely unneeded. if you are any good at training a dog nothing more severe than a choke chain is needed and even then there are altrernatives such as the halti.
my families opinion and mine is that if you do not know how to train a dog without resorting to chokes on the first instance then you should seek out a professional trainer and try that and if that is refused then you should seriously reconsider having a dog.

with the right training any dog can be handled with nothing but a leather collar and lead. the right training doesnt involve anything as harsh as those damn pinch collar contraptions contrary to what a select few will say. i can only imagine the sort mind of the person that dreamed that up.

i asked my grandads brother if they ever used a pinch collar for training show dogs or preparing for the police and they said no. they showed german shepherds at crufts and the puppies were often sought after by the local police.
they stated that they barely used choke chains and only on the most difficult of dogs.

as your dog is screaming in pain and growling then you are training the dog to become defensive and possibly outwardly aggressive to people. this will not train anything but resentment and fear. if continued this way the dog will bite and it will be put down, its a matter of when not if with the current collar.
i strongly suggest a new trainer, in fact strap that collar around his neck and when he doesnt do what he told pull harder and ask him if he is feeling any more co-operative.

treats are the way, praise based training. when he does something good reward with a treat and lots of praise. even something ordinary and simple like going to the toilet on the grass. if he does bad and you catch it then say "bad boy" or "no" in a strict rougher tone of voice and then ignore the dog. very simple but very effective. it wont take him long to figure it out when there is food involved.

ive never used anything worse than a choke chain on my german shepherd and nothing more than a leather collar on my chocolate labrador.

 

[scotty1969]

i swear by them !!!!! especialy with large dogs ( we have 5 dogs total ) and the metal ones are very blunt and dont hurt the dog they just get thier attention , kinda like swatting tha hand of a two year old child . my large dogs (chow chow and a lab) both will bring the collars to me when they want to go for a walk if it was a bad experience they would not do that , just my opinion . be it an opinion with experience to back it up . i also use chokers on our small breed dogs ( mini pin beagle) i think prong collars on small dogs is not needed as it is much easier to get their attention .

 

[ceeej31]

while it is true that they work, it is a horrible idea to use one on a dog like yours, instead try a harness, they are a lot more comfortable for the dog with almost no pressure on the neck (you can actually carry a small dog by its harness) and they also make it easier to control the dog