So as many of you know, Kaiya has just come home from training and is now being trained with a prong collar. I have seen some definite improvement in her behavior and could hardly believe how much easier our walk was today. However, I was instructed by the trainer to leave the collar on at all times when I am at home with her or out places. Another member informed me that this would also help her to relate the correction to what I didn't want her to do and not the correction with the collar. (Did that make sense? I may have wrote that wrong.)

While searching for info on the forum, though, I saw a few members post that it was dangerous to have the collar on while she wasn't working, and that it should be removed unless training. I am new to prong collars and just learned how to use one and fit it properly yesterday, so any advice tips or opinions on its use would be helpful. Thanks!

I've trained many dogs with a prong collar. Never left it on while the dog wasn't 'working' Now work could be taking a walk (and not ripping my bad shoulder) or it could be sitting nicely in the house while I have company.

If she's doing things around the house that require correction, I would put the prong on and leash her to me. I did that with Morgan when she was Kaiya's age. Not sure it didn't cause her separation anxiety but she learned right from wrong.

Brady doesn't leave the house unless he has one on.
I need to be in control of every situation
He is a good boy but I don't trust dogs I don't know

What I have done is~ have the prong on the pup during training sessions, the pup feels the prong.
The leash is attached to a flat collar, but the pup still feels the prong.
Then you can transition to the prong when you feel the need or in time, the dog will always feel it, but the pressure when giving a correction isn't necessarily from what they've been feeling all along. So it isn't associated to the prong. You can use two lines too. I do this now and then when walking my dogs. If I feel I need more control for whatever reason, I put some tension on the prong line.

I won't leave any collars on my dogs unless they are attached to a leash. If I only had one dog, it may be different, but still a risk, IMO.

I personally would only use it when I was actually training. Any collar that can tighten up to the point where it could injure a dog if it got caught on something seems like a hazard unless the dog is always supervised.

Some people don't leave ANY collar on their dogs unless they're taking them out in public. I do because I'm more afraid that they'll get outside somehow and not have any visible ID on them than I am of them being injured by their collars. That's one of those personal decision things that has no right or wrong answer.

How much correction do you expect she'll need around the house? If little to none, I see no reason to leave the prong collar on her. We had a citronella collar for Cassidy to train her not to charge at the cats, and that we did leave on her even when we weren't actually using it. The instructions were to have her wear it for a week or so without ever pressing the button so that corrections would just happen, and not be associated with the collar. That made it easier to transition off the collar at some point. But Kaiya's going to know that the corrections are coming from you, which is fine, so I don't see it as exactly the same thing.

The trainer instructed me to leave it on and clip a short leash to it. She showed me one that had been cut to less than a foot and to leave that hanging from the collar so that I could make corrections when needed. Her reasoning was that I never know when I might need to give a correction? The only issue I really have with her inside the home is counter surfing. Other than that, she is quick to respond with voice corrections. But other than that, walking or training sessions outside I definitely would have it on. But for things like today, just playing out in the yard, should I keep one on her just in case?

A verbal correction should be good enough for her. If you are constantly running over to her to pull the tab, she may get headshy or try to avoid you. I would only use it for training, not counter-conditioning. The counter surfing is when you need to be supervising, or have her crated. Set her up to succeed. When she does what you ask, be sure to pay her big time!

Is it true that these collars just pinch? They LOOK so vicious! But I have to admit, walking with her today on the prong was very impressive. We ran into 2 fenced dogs that barked at us, and though she reacted, it was so much easier to get her to regress and pull her attention back to me. Pulling was almost non-existant as well...

For counter surfing I tell the dog "off" and do a hip check to bump her paws off the counter - I basically just knock her out of my way. She's much better than she used to be, but she forgets sometimes and I just need to remind her that it's not allowed. I don't see any need for a prong collar under those circumstances. I agree with Jane, that rewarding her for NOT counter surfing is a good strategy too, notice and praise her for laying calmly nearby instead of mugging you for goodies.

Put it around your forearm and give a pop, not that big a deal when you add fur into the mix. The ones that are smaller gauge(medium size) are easier as there are more pressure points to balance out the correction. Not sure which one your trainer has given you to use.

Not sure, but she is wearing it here?

I cannot take my two out without prong collars on either. They are a powerhouse when going out the gate without them. They are usually pretty good with these collars on.

Around the house, they wear Martingale collars. If I need to correct them I can get ahold of these collars easily. They also wear these 24/7 for the same reason Cassidy's mom stated. Each Martingale has a tag on it with our info.

Yes, when I was first training Dalton using a Prong I was very resistant because of the LOOK of the collar. The trainer I was working with put one around my neck and let me feel how it worked. I know it sounds crazy but try it either on your own neck or around your upper arm.

Tina, IMHO the prong collar on your dog is too low. It should be placed up higher up on the neck. You will probably need to take a link or two out or go with the next size smaller links to get the correct positioning. You will get maximum effect with the collar positioned in the correct place.

The best pictures I have found for showing people how to fit a prong collar is on the Leergurg site. http://leerburg.com/fit-prong.htm

Val

Wow, thanks, Val. The trainer gave me NONE of this info! She fitted Kaiya with it, so I just assumed it was fitted properly! I haven't tried to adjust anything on it, only taken it on and off. She also didn't go into depth on how to use it or the live ring or dead ring, and just gave me 2 extra links for her growth, but didn't explain how I would be able to tell when it was "too tight". I feel like I'm using a tool I have absolutely no idea about! Ugghhh...I just keep going through disappointment after disappointment with these trainers... I think maybe I need to move up northwards!

You will see even more of a difference with the collar up where it belongs. When it is dropped down too far The dog still has most of the power and the pinch action isn't effective.

The collar should be snug enough so it stays up where it belongs.

I have to say that I see a lot of people with improperly fitted prong collars, the best one I saw was on a lab at the Vet's office with the collar hanging loosely at the base of the neck and attached to a Flexi-lead.

I have to agree. The collar looks to low on the dogs neck. Leerburg is a good site to learn how to fit and use the collar properly.
I to use it when taking my dogs out in public but it is never left on them at home. To me that is asking for trouble.

Also another question. Do you remember in this picture what she was looking at. Her tail position tells me that she was pretty darn interested in what she was looking at.

Omg! A flexi-lead? lol I just re-fit it to her using the instructions on the site. It was a whole link too loose. Now it sits snugly at the top of her neck and we tested it out. Earlier when I gave her a correction, I had to give a sharp tug, sometimes 2-3 times. This time, just a slight pull and only once. The difference in giving her commands and walking around with it on and with the leash were VERY noticeable, her attitude seemed to change as well when it was fitted properly~kinda like, I better pay attention and listen. Makes me a bit confused as to why the TRAINER didn't know this??

Lol, we were playing catch with a tennis ball. She was watching Lexi, our yorkie, go after it. This had been after about 10 throws and her only getting the ball once or twice after those 10 tries against Lexi-lol. Lexi is much more experienced in playing catch and gets a running start before you throw the ball.