The Right Collar For Your Puppy

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One of the first thing you will need to buy after you obtain your puppy is a collar. This may seem like a simple purchase but it is not. The wrong collar can have an adverse effect on your puppy's behavior and make future puppy training difficult.

Understanding The "Softness" In Your Puppy

Your puppy is a 'soft' baby animal. When I say 'soft' I mean in body and mind. A 'soft' puppy is a gentile puppy. A 'soft' puppy is also sensitive to discipline.

Please, prick up your ears and take careful note. A good dog is one that continues to be sensitive to discipline throughout its entire life. This means when you become upset with your puppy, for whatever reason, and you verbally reprimand her, she will care about your mood and respond favorably to your requests. However, if your puppy becomes 'hard', then it will simply turn its noise up at you and pay you no attention. Most puppies care about the moods/feelings of their new owners. But this sensitivity can be hardened in a surprising short period of time is your fit your puppy with a corrective type training collar.

A corrective type collar is any collar that gets tight when you pull on it. The most popular form of corrective collar is a choke-chain, however, there are a number of slip-knot based collars available on the market today. The problem with these corrective type collars is that they slowly desensitize your puppy to pain and discomfort. Over a period of time what starts of as a small yank on the collar turns into a raging tug of war! Your pulling one way while your puppy is pulling in another, all the while the corrective collar is making your puppy resistant to discipline. In the end you have a puppy that seems to be made of steal. No matter what you do or say you will have a hard time training your puppy, because your puppy will have become hard/stubborn. You can avoid this by simply buying your puppy a regular flat collar, shown at the top of this page. This is the most basic and humane kind of collar that you can purchase.

The Following Collars Are Those That We Think You Should Avoid.

The Choke Chain, pictured left, is a common dog training collar that can be used effectively. However, we feel that this is the kind of dog training tool that will slowly acclimatize your dog to painful corrections. If you can avoid the use of these collars, please do. Remember, it is important to keep your puppy "soft" and sensitive so that it will respond favorable to mild, verbal corrections.

The Pinch Collar is another popular dog training tool that people often use to manage wayward dogs. We think the look of this collar speaks for itself. If you must resort to this collar because you have an extremely powerful adult dog, we understand. However, if you are training a puppy there is no acceptable reason why should have a pinch-collar on a baby animal. These collars often harden dogs, making them more difficult to handle in the long run.

Pinch Collars are also known to damage dogs if they are used incorrectly, the photo shown here, to the right, is of a dog that sustained substantial injuries because it was obliged to wear with a Pinch Collar; note the multitude of puncture wounds around the dogs neck. No dog should be forced to endure this kind of abuse, even if the abuse was unintentional. As a dog owner you should be aware of the potential risks that are presented with any training tool you use with your dog. Pinch Collars should never be used in the hands of a non-professional dog owner. The risk is simply too great. (The photo shown to the right was taken from The International Association Of Positive Dog Trainers website).

The Shock Collar, often called the "e-collar" is an extremely controversial dog training tool that is praised and condemned by professional dog trainers. The truth is that Shock Collars, when used correctly, deliver a sensation that does not feel like a shock at all. Rather, they give a mild, touch like, sensation that fools a dog into thinking that the owner is closer then they actually are. This way when a dog is misbehaving at a distance the owner can send a physical sensation that reminds the dog to mind its manners.

Many dog trainers who advocate against the use of this tool have no legitimate experience training a dog with one. This is obvious because many trainers fear this device because they believe it is painful. However, if they had experience using these collars they would understand that pain has nothing to do with the proper use of a shock collar.

This said, it is also true that all shock collars come with an intensity switch. While it is possible to deliver a "touch like" sensation, it is also possible to zap a dog right off of its feet! Yeeeouch! When used correctly the shock collar is not an easy tool to use. There is a lengthy training procedure that must be used to condition a dog to respond to the mildest shock the collar can deliver. Sadly, people often resort to shock collars because they are desperate and want their dog problems to end. When this is the case people often use "electrocution settings" because these settings will stop a dog dead in its tracks.

At the end of the day you need to rest your head knowing that you are living your life with integrity. If you are causing pain to your dog, deep down, although you may not want to admit it with words, you know what you are doing. However, if you sincerely believe that you are training your dog with kindness and understanding, then by all means, continue using the tools that you feel comfortable with. However, if you feel that your dog is stubborn the reason for his stubbornness may have everything to do with his tolerance for pain and punishment. If this is the case, chances are that your dog developed this tolerance as the direct result of the training tools you have been using.

Our advice is simple; use a Flat Collar and stick with it.