Go Hunt Everywhere

There are four basic types of collars for your dog.  Depending on your dog and what you are trying to accomplish, you need to select the right collar for the job.  Flat, pinch, shock, or choke is the choice, and a little information will go a long way.

I read in a dog training book that "...a horse's brain is in his mouth - that's why you use a bit.  A dog's brain is in his neck..." (Best Way to Train Your Gun Dog, by Bill Tarrant). The collar you use needs to be appropriate to the dog and the training that's going on.  Consider how easy (or not) your dog is to train.  For most dogs, a flat collar is fine for most training.  For more headstrong dogs, a collar with more bite may be needed to get your point across.  For increased range, a shock collar works well.

Flat collars are thost that we use most often for our dogs.  From a training perspective, they work fine, particularly for dogs that aren't all that headstrong.  My dogs wear blaze orage ones to help me catch a glimpse of them in the field.  They are good for day-to-day reinforcement of training.

Pinch (or prong) collars are often used in training because they work very much like Mom's teeth before pups are weaned.  If you watch a litter, Mom will nip at the scruff of puppies' necks when the misbehave; not to hurt them, but to let them know through momentary discomfort that they need to make a change.  A properly-fit pinch collar is a very effective training tool.

Shock collars often get a bad name, but they have their place.  The problem most people have with shock collars have everything to do with the person using it, and little to nothing to do with the collar itself.  Shock collars are good for reinforcing commands in the field that were already trained in a controlled environment.  When your dog won't stop chasing that missed bird, you need some sort of "handle" to get her attention again.  Give the "Here" command and hit the button.

In my opinion, choke collars are a bad idea for most people.  The dangers of injuring your dog far outweigh its usefulness.  The only people I think should use choke collars are very experienced trainers or handlers because they have the knowledge and skill to use them safely.

A pinch collar looks ominous, but it isn't.  The prongs on it pinch up a bit of the dog's skin when the collar tightens.  It can be amazing how quickly a headstrong dog becomes compliant once the pinch collar is on.

The correct placement for a pinch collar is up high on Fido's neck, just behind the ears.  Slip the loose link-end through the ring, then double back and clip it closed.  Always make sure the pinching links are not across your dog's voicebox or windpipe in order to prevent injury.  The two rings in the middle of the non-pinching chain length should be together.  It gives you the option of clipping your lead to one ring or both.  Clipping it to both allows a tug on the lead to pinch without changing the size of the collar.  If you clip it to only one, the collar will cinch up a little when you or your dog tug it, providing a little more pinch.

One last warning:  NEVER leave a pinch, choke, or shock collar on yor dog when she will be unattended.  The collar can get hung up on something and injure yor dog very seriously.  ALWAYS remove the pinch, choke or shock collar if you will be away.