Your Choices of Dog Training Collars

Sometimes your dog needs to be reminded who’s the boss between you two and often times the best way is to get him some training. Apart from looking for a professional trainer for your dog (if you do not have the patience or time to attend to him), among the very first things that you should do is to look for a decent dog training collar.

The classifications of training collars depend largely on the types of uses a collar has.

There are a number of choices when it comes to training callers. There are the fancy collars which are specifically for decoration and style, there are a lot more that have specific uses. They are the following:

Choke Training Collars

Choke collars or slip collars are formed into loops that can be attached to the neck of the dog. The name of the collar is quite deceiving as it cannot cause choking unless the leash is pulled too hard. However, since the collar has no limit as to adjustment, it also has no limit as to how far it could tighten around the dog’s neck.

This should be worn high above the neck, behind the ears. Choke collars, while still popular, are now rarely used for dog training due to the lack of mechanism that stops the collar from constricting. This type is quite controversial as it is unsafe to leave the collar on if the dog is not supervised.

Prong Training Collar

Also popular for its name pinch collar, is characterized by chains with open ends that are turned towards the dog’s neck. Thus, when the collar is tightened the dog feels the spikes on the loose skin of his neck. Unlike choke training collars, prong collars have limited adjustment which also limits the amount of pinching the spikes could give the dog. Because of the spreading effect of the blunted spikes it is difficult to puncture the skin of the dog.

However, many owners still prefer to cover the tips of the spikes with rubber. This should be worn in the same way the choke collar is worn. There are cases when the dogs could slip out of the prong. This is why many owners use a second collar, usually a flat buckle collar.

Martingale Training Collars

Normally used for Sighthounds which have relatively smaller heads than necks, martingale collars are special types of dog collars that ensure security and comfort at the same time. This collar makes use of two loops- the large loop which is attached around the dog’s neck and the smaller loop on which the D ring is attached to. If tension is applied on the leash, the loops would naturally constrict to prevent the dog from getting off the collar.

Electronic Training Collars

Popular with its names shock collars and remote collars, this kind delivers electrical impulses or a spray of citrus smell whenever the dog misbehaves. For proponents this collar helps break unwanted behaviors easily especially if the owner does not have sufficient time for training. Also it makes handling the dog a lot easier.

Dog training collars are undeniable among the most effective tools in shaping the behavior of the dogs to ones that are desired by the owner.

These could limit their natural inclinations to run (and not really escape), to wander, to bark at strangers and to attack people or dogs in protection of themselves or their masters.