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Choke Collars Don't Always
Train
The Perfect Dog
Why choke collars are not always an effective
tool.
Many people have been asking me to write about the harm caused
to dogs by a choke collar and yank training, such as the
methods used by Don
Sullivan in his "The
Perfect Dog" training system. I have written a
good bit on dog training, but I didn't yet get into
the types of injuries sustained from choke
collars. After witnessing a lady jerking her dog's
front feet off the ground in an effort to make him
sit, I thought I should do a little research.
For a long time, choke collars were referred to
as "training" or "correction" collars. From
1960-1970, the well-known dog trainer Barbara
Woodhouse made popular the "yank and stomp" dog
training system. There are some trainers who still think
of it as a harmless training tool and still use it in
their dog training courses. The problem is that choke collars
are sold everywhere. You may have seen them being sold
under a different name, like the "Command Collar" used in Don
Sullivan's "The Perfect Dog" training system. It's
getting to the point where new dog owners assume it is
what they need to teach their new dog some manners. They
proceed to use it without the benefit of professional dog
training and, in most circumstances, they use it
incorrectly.
For some reason, people think that dogs are somehow immune to
the pain of being jerked violently. Dog's are made of the same
muscles, bones, and tendons that humans are. Would you
want a collar put around your neck and be yanked hard enough to
pick your feet up off the ground? No? Do you think that it
might cause pain, bruising, or an injury?
The whiplash effect can set the stage for serious health
problems, such as disc and spinal cord disease,
neuropathy, or problems with the nervous system. On top of
that, the damage can be cumulative - the strangling effect
causes bruising and damages the skin around the
neck resulting in scar tissue. Scar tissue has no feeling,
so the dog will stop responding to light tugs and will have to
be jerked even harder in the future to get a response.
The relentless and violent use of choke chains can make
dogs afraid of hands, resentful, and aggressive. This
is the opposite result of what dog owners are
trying to accomplish with training.
Aside from the inuries caused by owners yanking on a chain, a
choke collar can be deadly when the owner is absent. Leaving a
choke collar on your dog 24/7 can be lethal. Dogs have choked
to death when the O-ring of the choke collar gets
caught on a fence, an overhanging tree branch, or in
another dog's tooth. In some cases, when owners tried to
rescue their dogs who were hanging by their
collars have been bitten by their terrified dogs.
Although they may seem simple, choke collars
are many times used incorrectly. There are just two
ways to put it around your dog's neck. The correct way is with
the moving end over the dog's neck. However, many people
use it improperly by using it under the
dog's neck. Most people have a 50/50 chance of using
them correctly. But if you put it on your dog the
wrong way it means that the chain won't
release properly and the collar remains tight,
causing the dog to be choked constantly. This causes dogs to be
anxious, rebellious and inclined to not pay attention to you.
The owners using it incorrectly nautrally yank the collar
again.
Stopping the use of a choke collar means you will
help your dog's long-term health and injuries such as sprained
necks, esophageal and tracheal damage, paralysis of limbs due
to spinal cord injuries, and in extreme cases even a crushed
trachea. Not using a choke collar will also mean
that the relationship between you and your dog will
be more humane. Your dog will be more trusting and will
respond to you because of the praise and love it receives,
rather than out of fear. For all the joy and unconditional
love a dog gives you, it's owner, is that not a fair
trade?
In conclusion, any training tool is only as good as the person
using it. Knowledge is everything when it comes to dog
training. The more you know, the more effectively you can
apply any dog training technique. Misuse of any tool can
be dangerous. Consulting a dog trainer or reading a book on dog
training (there are several good books to choose from at my
dog training book review
page) can help you better understand your dogs, their
motivation, and their behavior.
by Allen McDaniel - 11/18/2008
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Click Here to visit my Don Sullivans "The Perfect Dog" review
page.
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to visit my dog training guide review
page.
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