Harnesses don’t cause pulling
The ideas in this infographic should be a lot more prevalent than they are in dog training pages and forums.
I frequently see the use of the prong collar as the first solution offered for leash pulling, and that bothers me for a number of reasons.
One, when you rely on the collar to punish your dog for moving forward, your dog is not really learning not to pull, only to either suppress forward movement or resist a higher amount of pressure in order to access a reward. When the collar comes off, the dog is right back to pulling, as opposition to the pressure of the collar has been reinforced with forward movement. If the prong collar really was effective at ending leash pulling, we should be able to take it off when the loose leash walking behavior is learned. This is not usually the case.
Two, if your dog is pulling toward a moving stimulus, such as a person, other dog, or bike that would naturally be interesting, your dog may begin to associate moving toward that person, dog, or bike with the feeling of pain around their neck. There is no operant conditioning without classical conditioning coming along for the ride!
Three, one of the risks associated with using physical punishment in training is avoidance, a risky chance to take when the goal is good manners on the leash and off. If the ultimate goal is trusting your dog to make good choices when off leash, the prong collar can work against you.
Four, while your dog may be physically in position next to you, they may be mentally elsewhere. With no chance to explore novel sites & smells, your dog is likely to experience an increase in drive to investigate novel things. Worse, your dog may become frightened to do anything but stick next to your side.
Five, there are more efficient ways to get longer lasting results. With positive reinforcement, we start to lean away from treats and into functional, everyday life rewards such as forward movement and access to a smell. Soon, thanks to classical conditioning, the dog enjoys following the handler because of a long history of rewards and trust. With prong collars, it may seem like you are putting in more and more effort over time, and you are unable to take the collar off.
Six, they are simply not for everyone. While prong collars may have a great user experience for a select few, it’s hard to have precise timing and powers of observation unless you are a seasoned dog handler. If you have ever learned how to click-treat, you know just how hard it is to get the timing right on these little behaviors that come and go in a split second. The true Scotsman argument only applies to certain expert handlers, not civilian dog owners who are still struggling to figure out if the click comes before or after the treat.
Seven, while they may be effective in some cases, it is a tough call for qualified trainers to recommend them for behavior change. In decades past, doctors often recommended cigarettes to keep patients happy and healthy. We know now that while smoking may help some lose weight or feel better, it would go against professional guidelines for doctors to recommend smoking.
There are more comprehensive lists online about the dangers of prong collars, so please know this is not the only blog post where a crazy dog lady goes off about aversive dog handling tools. I don’t intend to shame pet parents who use this equipment on their dogs - that’s not what I’m here for. More dog owners should at least have access to informed consent so they can make appropriate decisions for their own families. If you have any questions, please reach out.
Thank you for reading, and happy training!
