Recently, many readers have asked what kind of dog collar I use. Well, the truth is I have way too many dog collars - they seem to be a gift I frequently receive (I'm not complaining), but I have a few favorites. Below you will find some of my all time favorite flat collars (meaning these are not training collars like a prong, martingale, or choke chain).
My favorite color is PINK, and when you see Milly's collar collection that is apparent. I love to match my leash to my collars, but sometimes that isn't possible.
My favorite flat collar is a Preston collar in pink and green whales with a matching leash. This collar is very well made - I've had the collar/leash set for over 3 years and it is still just as sturdy and strong as the day I bought them. Nylon collars are nice, because you can throw them in the washing machine. The leash is about 1" thick, and 6' long, which makes it ideal for daily walking and even appropriate for practicing obedience. Both collar and leash are well made and strong - I have no fears of them breaking if Milly were to pull hard on the leash. I love pink so much that I even keep a pink poop bag dispenser with pink poop bags on the end of the leash. Another favorite collar of mine that I have retired was the collar my beloved childhood dog Sweetie wore. Sweetie passed away in the fall of 2006 just a few weeks after I adopted Milly. I love to incorporate my love of animals into my home decor, and leather goods are perfect for this. I have a former horse's bridle hanging on a wooden bench, a former horse's halter hanging on my dresser mirror, and Sweetie's leather collar sits with a sterling silver bowl in my parent's dining room.
The collar is incredibly well made, and I could easily use it for many more years on another dog, but Sweetie left very big paws to fill, and Milly is a different collar size. This collar is made by Edgewood Leather - they are known for making top of the line horse bridles, and was not cheap. However, the leather work is simply stunning, and the stitching on the leather is absolutely perfect. This collar went through 7 years of wear with Sweetie and I rarely cleaned it (with saddle soap), and it is still in very good condition. The leather is still subtle, and the stitching is still completely intact. In the future, I would love to own another of these collars (and the matching leash). Sweetie's was the raised fancy stitch collar with a brass nameplate with her name and my phone number, like the one pictured. Check out the leather details - isn't it beautiful?
Edgewood Leather is one of my favorite companies, their craftsmanship is superb. I would love to have any of these collars, and a matching leash would be great, too. They really are a collar you can buy for a dog's entire leash (and then use it on your next dog)... the quality is that good. While the cost is high, my collar was nearly $50 the lifetime of use makes it a worthwhile investment. They are very strong, and appropriate for dogs of all sizes. If the reins are strong enough to hold a 1,500 pound horse from running away with a rider, you can guarantee this collar will withstand even the heaviest dog pulling on the leash. Of course, good training to stop leash pulling is ideal. Don't you just love these? The styles all mimic things seen in their horse bridles like fancy stitching (on my collar), metal work (found on the brow band of bridles), and even collars made out of reins!
I took place in one of Hopsy's blog swaps last year, and received an adorable pink argyle Old Navy collar. Milly rocks this collar when her other is in the wash. It is thinner than the Preston collar, but it is so fashionable. It is very similar to this collar. I also received a Vera Bradley collar as a gift from my dear friend Heather (it's pink, of course), and this one also gets a good bit of use. I am always getting compliments on it, too. While I love the pattern, I don't feel it is nearly as sturdy as the Preston collar, but it is a bit stronger and better made than the Old Navy collar.
I hope you enjoyed seeing some of my favorite collars. I always keep a collar on Milly when she is doing any off-leash activity outside, and try to keep one on her if she is in the yard, because all of her collars have ID tags on them (she is also micro-chipped). I do like to take the collar off whenever possible though, so she doesn't have collar neck (where the coat is damaged from too much collar wear) and broken hairs on her neck.
I wanted to share a guest blogger post written by my dear friend Rachel. She was one of my very first blog followers, and it is so much fun having a local friend with a retriever too! I've dog sat Hershey, and she is just an amazing, spunky, dog that is still in that seems like forever Labrador puppy stage! I hope you enjoy reading her post!
I was asked to guest blog and I didn’t know exactly what to write about. I have learned so much from reading all of the posts and knew that I wouldn’t be able to provide such an informative, helpful post. Instead, I am going to share with you my dog, Hershey, and what I have taken away from the blog to help with Hershey.
First, let me introduce you to my pride and joy, Hershey! Hershey will be one years old on August 20th. I first met Hershey while I was visiting my family in Idaho for Thanksgiving last year. My cousin had bought her for $50 outside of a grocery store, so we don’t know too much about her. Obviously she has some Lab in her and we are guessing she is part German Short-Haired Pointer as well. I loved her instantly and my cousin said I could have her if I wanted. After a brief discussion with Dave, I agreed to take her and arrangements were made to have her flown out to Maryland the day after we moved into our new house, December 31st, 2008. I have been working on training her since we got her and will go over our progress to date.
Luckily for us, Hershey was practically housebroken and only needed some reinforcement to end that stage of puppyhood. Additionally, she knew to sit when told. I have her now trained to sit when I snap. To train her for this, every time I told her to sit I would snap my left hand and raise it slightly. She will now sit whenever I snap; ultimately I want to get her to sit when I just raise my left hand up. Occasionally I still need to verbally tell her to sit, but I highly recommend training your dog non-verbal commands. It was very easy for me to do and she picked up on it rather quickly.
Since her previous home was in the country, she was HORRIBLE on a leash. She just didn’t get it at all. We started off with retractable leash, a body harness, and a typical lead. We found that the harness resulted in less pulling. I think Hershey felt we had more control over her (which we did) and that resulted in less pulling. Key word is less. She still pulled quite a bit. After reading Lydia’s post on training your dog to walk properly, I decided to stop using the retractable leash and the harness. I took Hershey out for a walk on the lead and when she started to pull I used the “Lose it” method. I immediately yelled “no pull!” and lightly slapped the leash on her back. This may seem extreme, but it got her attention. After doing that a few times, she stopped pulling whenever I said “no pull!” Because I believe in positive reinforcement as well, whenever she was walking next to me and not pulling I would tell her what a good girl she was being and pet her occasionally. We had a few more walks where I was constantly saying “no pull” but it eventually sank in and we can now walk without pulling. Occasionally I still need to remind her with the “no pull” command, but things are MUCH better than before. We still have the occasional pulling when she spots something to chase, but she is learning that chasing is for when she is at the park and not on the leash.
Speaking of chasing and the park, Hershey has a lot of energy. Though we have a yard and she is not crated during the day, she still needs to go to the park to run and get some energy out. Annapolis has an excellent dog park at Quiet Waters. In addition to the fenced dog park, it has a dog beach for them to swim, but the beach area is not fenced in. This park has a $5 daily admission fee or a yearly pass for $30. We go there a few times a week and love it. For the days I don’t feel like driving there, I take Hershey for a run or go to the school down the street. We are so fortunate the Annapolis is such a dog friendly town!
Chewing. Puppies love to chew. Especially Labs. From day one I knew that this may be a huge issue for us. I didn’t want to set Hershey up for failure, so I purchased a lot of toys and continue to purchase new ones frequently. I figured if she had things of her own, with a little reinforcement, she would leave our stuff alone. Though there have been some instances where she has chewed our stuff, I stand behind this method. Hershey LOVES her toys. We have an excessive amount I am sure (well over 30), but she loves them and plays with them daily. Without them I think we would have had a lot more damage done to our stuff and the house. We have not had a problem with her chewing the wrong thing in the last couple of months and I am hoping we have conquered this (knock on wood). When she did chew something she shouldn’t have, I would show it to her, lightly tap her butt and yell, “No!! Bad girl!!!” Most time she would walk/run away and then crawl over to me and want to sit in my lap and give kisses to apologize. It didn’t take her long to learn the word “bad” and I can now apply it to other situations besides chewing with no physical correction.
A few days ago I decided it was time to teach Hershey to lay down on command. My verbal command for this is “down” and I move my right hand down towards the floor. To begin the training, I did my combo command and had to physically make her lay on the floor. Once she was down I repeated “down” and praised her. After three or four times of that, she got the point and would lay down on command. I plan on working on this every evening for 30 minutes for the next few weeks until she really gets it. I eventually want her to lay down when I lower my right hand, so this will take a lot of time.
We are very fortunate that Hershey aims to please us and has trained pretty easily. She is truly a joy to be around and I can’t imagine not having her. She loves to play and be active, but yet other times she is content to cuddle up with us on the couch or bed. Since she is such a lovable, fun dog and loves to get out of the house and meet other dogs and people, we are going to join the Pets on Wheels Volunteer Program in Annapolis. After I attend orientation in September, we will visit residents in long-term care facilities or the hospital. I cannot wait to start that with her. Not only will we be giving back to the community, but I think Hershey will enjoy it as well.
I cannot end this post without mentioning the Furminator. I absolutely LOVE this grooming tool and am so grateful that Lydia posted about it. Hershey’s coat isn’t too thick and she doesn’t shed that much, but this brush has definitely helped with what she did have. She did not love being brushed at first, so we started slowly and gave lot so praise and some treats. Though she doesn’t love it yet, she will let me brush her without running away. I have passed along the Furminator tip to others as well who find it amazing. If you missed her post on it, click here. I highly recommend it as well!
I wanted to share one of my favorite photographs of Milly - there are a handful I love equally - and this is one of them! This photo was taken about a year and a half ago, and now Milly's face is almost entirely white. I love the way she is looking up at the camera in this shot, and the lighting really captures her in a beautiful way. Another one of my favorite shots of her is the picture in the header and my avatar taken at the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC, because you can see the reflection of the cherry trees in her eye.
Milly and I are currently working very hard on basic obedience in preparation for taking our Canine Good Citizen test. For a long time I have wanted Milly to pass the Canine Good Citizen test, but our training and practicing kept getting side tracked - first with my shoulder surgery, and then with the election (for those of you who don't know I work in politics) - but for the past few weeks we've really practiced almost everyday! Today and yesterday I had to take time off from our hour of practice/training, because of bad weather, but I'm hoping to do a lot tomorrow. I try to make the training/practice sessions very fun and positive for Milly. She really seems to enjoy every minute of it (that makes my job much easier)! Over the past two weeks we have worked hard on perfecting loose leash walking, down, down/stay, and long distance recalls. She is really doing great, and I'm very proud of her. Milly and I will be heading to the North East Kingdom of Vermont in about a week, and while on vacation I plan on doing a lot of off leash work with her, and hopefully by the end of nine days on a lake she will over come her fear of swimming. It's probably a stretch, but I'd like to try to take the CGC test when we get back from Vermont (the middle of August).
I will be doing the drawing for the pupcake giveaway tomorrow using a random number generator. If you haven't already entered there is still a little bit of time left. Your odds are pretty high of winning, because there will be TWO winners! :)
I would love for you to let me know things you have done that WORKED to stop pulling on walks. Please post your comments! This post is to educate you about what tools and methods are out there, but in no way endorses one over another. The importance of this post is to share with you things that may enable you to SAFELY walk your dog, because I would rather see people walking a dog SAFELY and using artificial aids, than being dragged down the street and endangering themselves, their dog, and other walkers.
I know when I adopted Milly she was a saint at the SPCA off leash, but as soon as I walked out of the building and towards my car she was pulling so hard on the leash I wondered, “What have I gotten myself into?” Milly came with free obedience classes, but the evening the classes were held on conflicted with a class I needed in order to graduate college, and I never was able to use that valuable perk of adopting locally vs. buying from a breeder (in case you are wondering, many rescues and shelters will have some sort of perks – whether it is free pet insurance for a few months or free obedience school - to encourage you to adopt). I had never adopted an adult dog before, and none of the dogs I had growing up ever pulled on their leashes, because I dedicated most of my free time during childhood to training them – I never had formal training in dog whispering, but I did manage to figure it out as I went along, and the results were pretty amazing. Sweetie was able to leap over large frightening obstacles that even an agility dog might balk at, and was trained to do things by my snaps – hand raised even an inch meant sit, hand lowered an inch was down, hand moved forward an inch was shake – she was able to read my slightest cues, and was simply a joy to own and train.
Back to Milly – boy did she pull, and pulled hard for years! In fact, she’s only now getting over it after I’ve figured out what really works. Milly is the type of dog who responds very well to positive training, but usually to “really get something” she will need one or two corrections (ever) like a quick pop on the collar. Many people will disagree with this training, but I’ve found for me, the positive with the reinforced correction really does work for her. I tried a variety of products in my effort to get her to stop pulling, and it was very frustrating having a dog behave beautifully off leash, but rip my arms out of the socket (quite literally) on leash. I finally realized no product is a substitute for good training, but some, combined with proper training can really help.
I have compiled a list of suggestions a friend of mine that posts on the Golden Retriever Forum shared with me, and added some of my own, try to present the best tips and tricks that work to prevent pulling while walking your dog(s).
Correction based method: My first suggestion is to wear your dog out before a walk – play fetch in the backyard, run around the house with them, pretty much anything you can do to get them tired, listening to you and less distracted. Then, take your dog on a walk (only walk one dog at a time for this method). Use a regular collar or a martingale for this - do not use a PRONG collar (more about prong collars later). A common mistake people make is start with a nagging light correction "no... stop," light pull on the leash, and so forth... slowly building up the correction until the LOSE IT. From the very beginning you should LOSE IT - your first correction needs to be serious enough to STOP the behavior, immediately. If you slowly build up, you're building up your dog's tolerance for corrections and essentially TRAINING him to ignore signals and corrections from you. This common mistake applies to ALL training where correction based methods are applied, not just this particular method. When I finally stopped trying to correct Milly with a take give, and applied this method the first instant she pulled, the results were amazing. The pulling did not end over night, but it went from her dragging me down the street, to a taught leash after only one correction. So no, the results were not perfect (perfect would be loose leash walking while healing) but they improved A LOT.
When applying this correction method you do not have to be mean, and I would not suggest it, because constant shouting and yanking on the lead will condition your dog to ignore you. I have no problem with you giving some slack to the leash, turning around rapidly and yanking very hard in the opposite direction while shouting, "No!" or "No Pull!" Often times this abrupt, and forceful correction will be enough to stop the pulling, and after that simply stating, "No Pull!" in a firm voice with slight tension on the leash is all your dog will need to stop pulling. This is an example of "losing it" at the first instance of pulling, and not allowing your dog to be conditioned to ignore your cues, commands, or orders. When your dog does not pull, throw him a party - feed him, kiss him, give him a treat, a belly rub, a squeaky toy, whatever he likes best in this world - let him have that thing. Really reward him for this positive behavior! Like I said already, correcting this way does work, but it isn’t going to work over night. And in case you did not know, please use a flat leash, not a Flexi or other type of retractable leash when doing any training.
For the sake of urgency, you can use a prong collar to stop pulling. Never give a hard correction like I describe above on a prong collar (unless your dog is a literal monster). Prong collars are self correcting and you need very little skill to use one. The biggest rules with using a prong are to fit it correctly and not yank hard on it. In order to properly fit a prong collar you can remove the links from the collar (I chose the photo of a prong below to show you how the links are removable). Positioning the collar is also important, you want the collar to sit high on the neck, fairly close behind the dog’s ears. Very often I see people using prong collars that are not properly fit, and this can hurt the dog, and is not very effective. If you do not know how to properly fit a prong collar ask a dog trainer, or even your veterinarian. With a well fitting prong collar the dog will condition himself not to yank hard on the leash. However, there are some dogs that seem immune to the prong - if your dog is this way do not yank harder, but instead use a different method. After buying a prong collar for Milly, and properly fitting it to her, I was overjoyed with the results. Many people think prong collars are cruel because all they see are spikes digging into a dog’s neck, but the spikes are quite dull, and set on an angle – the result is when a dog pulls on the leash the prong will gently pinch the dog’s neck. I actually put on Milly’s prong collar to see how it felt, and it does not hurt – I even harshly popped/yanked on the collar while wearing it, and that hurt a little, but not too badly… though I would not recommend snapping/yanking/jerking a prong collar on your dog, because after all, it is a self correcting aid, and harsh corrections are not necessary. I have seen dogs stop pulling wearing a Halti/Gentle Leader (I'll discuss these below) and they clearly look in pain, but I have never seen a dog in a prong collar look distressed or in pain. With a prong, a dog should never have a retractable leash on, and you should never tie a dog wearing a prong collar. A prong collar should only be on the dog when you are actively on the other end of the leash.
Choke chains are wonderful tools and a favorite tool of many trainers and handlers, but in untrained hands the results can be devastating (and severely hurt your dog).You should never use a choke without first having a genuinely good trainer's instruction on the proper use. If used incorrectly, you can ruin your dog's response to corrections, at best, and at worst, you can seriously damage your dog's neck and windpipe. It is hard, active work to use a choker correctly, but in educated hands they can be very effective. A dog should NEVER have a tight leash on a choker. It should always be loose, no matter how many corrections you have to give to keep it that way. The leash should look like a J from the collar to your hand. If it doesn't, you're not using it right/actively enough.
Haltis, Gentle Leaders, and fancy harnesses are all the rage right now. I see them all the time at the dog park, and there is an entire aisle dedicated to them at Petsmart! I have tried many of them, but I no longer use any of them. I strongly believe in the importance of being able to safely walk your dog, without having your arms ripped off - if you need one of these devices in order to walk your dog, by all means use one. While they are not a replacement for proper training, they can be a great tool in ensuring a safe and happy walk. I will not endorse the Gentle Leader/Halti, because a dog’s snout is extremely sensitive, and I often see dogs that clearly look in pain being walked wearing one of these. As far as fancy harnesses go, many train your dog to pull by putting pressure on their chest or armpit area, think this sounds counter productive? It is. This is the same reason a sled dog will pull when wearing his harness.
I will say, I had wonderful results after shoulder surgery when I tried the Sporn Harness, though now that I have really trained Milly not to pull I see this was not a replacement for good training, but instead an aid to help me walk my dog in a manner that was safe to her, other people walking on the sidewalk, and me. Looking back on it, I wish I had used the prong collar, rather than the Sporn Harness, because Milly never walked on a loose leash at my side using the Sporn, but instead a loose leash a few steps in front of me. The last image in this collection of photos is the Sporn Harness.
Now I will discuss non tool based training, or the "be a tree" method. The key to this method is to stop walking as soon as your dog starts pulling - you must not take another step until the leash is loose. You can be silent while standing like a tree, or you can say, "No!" and then praise your dog when the leash loosens with a sweet voiced, "good!" to encourage your dog. If you are patient this method can and does work. You can also do this using food as a reward for loose leash walking, but you do not have to. Another way, and my personal favorite, of using the tree method is to actually turn and walk the OTHER WAY when your dog starts pulling (as opposed to simply standing still). As soon as your dog pulls you simply turn around and start walking in the opposite direction. You must not stop walking the other way until there is a loose leash in your hand, and a dog at your side. My boyfriend actually had great results with Milly doing this, but he was very patient and really set his mind to it. Sometimes on walks he would have to turn around 20 times, but with-in a few walks Milly was not pulling on the leash.
Another method of training your dog to stop pulling is using the Clicker Method. You can train a dog to walk however you want, and some advanced freestyle performers even clicker train their dogs to walk backwards! Many trainers, handlers and dog owners use clicker training for fancy dancy prancy heelwork, or advanced obedience, but not for everyday nice walking on a loose leash. This method certainly does work for training your dog for everyday walking, though. Clicker training is a very positive way to teach your dog to associate the click of a clicker with a reward - good behavior = click/click & treat. Clicker training is frequently taught in obedience classes, as strictly positive training is en vogue right now in the dog world. You can pretty much use clicker training to teach any trick or behavior you want – from loose leash walking, to freestyle dog dancing!
Finally, if your dog pulls on his/her leash throw away your Flexi/retractable leash, donate it to a local shelter, sell it in your next yard sale, etc. Flexi leads train a dog to walk on an always taught leash with resistance, and teach your dog that he/she can keep walking forward after whatever their heart desires. If your goal is to have your dog walk on a loose lead you will never accomplish this by sending mixed messages when you occasionally (or regularly) use your retractable leash. Also, especially with a dog that pulls, a retractable leash can be very dangerous. There have been cases of people’s fingers being chopped off by these leashes – the dog takes off, person is struggling to maintain control, the cord of the retractable leash gets wrapped around the handler’s finger, and the next thing you know they are missing a finger! There have been many instances of someone walking their dog on a retractable lead, cresting a hill, and running into another dog or person - resulting in people getting tangled up. You have little control of your dog with a Flexi, Flexi’s have been known to break, the box type handle where you hold a Flexi can be very difficult to grip (especially because it is designed to hold with one hand) in an emergency, if you accidentally drop the leash, or it is jerked from your hand, the clanking of the box on the pavement or the ground often will scare your dog and it could run into traffic, etc. Simply Google ,"problems with retractable leashes," and you will probably reconsider ever using one again! I know I stopped using mine about two years ago, and I don’t think I can think of an instance where I would use it. Perhaps, I might possibly use it with an extremely well trained dog on a hike, but even that is questionable.
Finally, while not a training method, in an emergence that requires safe and controlled walking of your dog you can put your dog's collar very high, above the top of his windpipe (there's a little bump you can feel in the throat) and hold the top of the collar between the ears on the base of the dog's head. As long as the collar is up above this bump on the neck, it won't choke the dog and he's basically powerless to pull you. A friend on the Golden Retriever Forum explained how she has walked some real untrained lunatics, even aggressive dogs, through big crowds with this method. I have had to use this method with a dog I was dog sitting, while walking on a crowded street, and it really does work. It is not training, but it's a way to handle a dog that's going nutso when necessary, without harming him in any way, or harming those around you. How do you think some handlers walk five dogs they barely know through a crowded show hall? They do so with fine, thin choker collars in this position on the neck. A thin show choke collar is pictured here.
Please share any methods you have used in the comments section!
Do not forget there is still time to enter the second PUPCAKE GIVEAWAY!!! The drawing will take place on July 24th using a random number generator!! Good Luck!! :)
Edgewood Leather is one of my favorite companies, their craftsmanship is superb. I would love to have any of these collars, and a matching leash would be great, too. They really are a collar you can buy for a dog's entire leash (and then use it on your next dog)... the quality is that good. While the cost is high, my collar was nearly $50 the lifetime of use makes it a worthwhile investment. They are very strong, and appropriate for dogs of all sizes. If the reins are strong enough to hold a 1,500 pound horse from running away with a rider, you can guarantee this collar will withstand even the heaviest dog pulling on the leash. Of course, good training to stop leash pulling is ideal. Don't you just love these? The styles all mimic things seen in their horse bridles like fancy stitching (on my collar), metal work (found on the brow band of bridles), and even collars made out of reins!
