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Why I dont like dog collars

Senin, 11 April 2016

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Gag, choke, cough, tongue hanging out, eyes bulging, no control.....these are a few things that can happen when leashing your dog to a regular buckle dog collar, martingale dog collar, choke chain, prong/pinch collar.  You get the idea.  Dexter The Dog has been collarless since 2012 and I have not attached a leash to a collar to him since 2010.

Easy Walk Harness, easy to use with clothing.
As a professional dog behavior consultant, it was pretty easy to teach Dexter The Dog how to walk politely on a leash.  But that didnt change the fact that in the learning stages & even around some distractions, he may pull at the leash for a moment.  And each of those moments I felt sure was causing damage and pain to his body such as his neck, eyes & spine.  Obviously electric shock collars are not an option (click for reasons why).  I began to exclusively leash Dexter to a dog harness at a very early age.

Over the past few years, I have urged my dog training students to switch off of dog collars and transition to dog harnesses.  I have started to do some research and have found a variety of sources that confirm my suspicions of the harm a dog collar can do to a dog and the dogs anatomy. 





According to Dr. Peter Dobias, DVM, some of these issues can include Hypothyroidism, ear issues, eye issues, excessive paw licking, foreleg lameness & neck injuries including whiplash.  A study by Amy M. Pauli, DVM, Ellison Bentley, DVM, Diplomate ACVO, Kathryn A. Diehl, DVM, MS, Diplomate ACVO and Paul E. Miller, DVM, MS, Diplomate ACVO confirm that "Intraocular pressure increased significantly from baseline when pressure was applied via a collar but not via a harness."  Animal chiropractors like Dr. Sherry Fries are against using collars and a leash combos.  “I implore people to use harnesses as opposed to any collar,” she says.

So what kind of options do I prefer?  Harnesses and headcollars are my personal preference.  More specifically I like front clipping harness to help teach a dog not to pull on his leash.  The Easy Walk Harness, Freedom No Pull Dog Harness and Ruffwear Front Rang are three that I have personally used and recommended.  The Walk In Sync Harness looks interesting too, but I have not tried this one yet.  For headcollars my go to is The Gentle Leader & runner-up Halti Headcollar.

That said, they need to be used as directed to keep your dog safe.  A headcollar that is tight & if you allow your dog to keep pulling & it keeps his head at an unusual angel is not safe.  A front clipping harness that is tight & again pulled to the side is not the correct way to use the tool.  So, please work with a qualified professional dog behavior consultant to learn how to correctly & safely use these dog training tools.

So, I hope you reconsider using your dogs collar as a way to control him.  There are much easier & safer ways to teach your dog how to walk nicely on a leash without pulling.


Check Dexter out here for a demo! 



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How To Train a Dog That Doesnt Like Food or Toys

Kamis, 11 Februari 2016

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Training a Dog That Doesnt Like Food or Toys can be very frustrating at times, especially if you want to use positive reinforcement training. If you are set on using reward based training, check out my post Motivating a Non-Treat or Toy Motivated Dog

There are some dogs that just dont respond to food or toy based training. Such as the dogs mentioned in the comments of the post linked above.

Youre here because your dog doesnt like either food or toys. In fact, you have a hard time seeing anything your dog does like! You see reward based training everywhere, and every time you ask What do I do if my dog doesnt like food or toys you either get no answer, or you get answers just to get you to go away and ask somebody else.

My answer is, try a different Method! Its Okay if you dont train using food or toys.

Now, lets go over the other methods available to you.

How To Train a Dog That Doesnt Like Food or Toys : Praise and Correction


In this method, you dont use food or toys. You simply use petting and praise as a reward for doing the right thing. You always have these with you and its really easy to do! Dog doesnt like food? No problem!

To teach your dog what you want, you first show them what you want by getting them to do the behavior a few times. (Im not going to go into detail on how to do this, the link to the system below will show you exactly how to implement this training method. It works very well and is very fast.) Once you know the dog knows what you want, then you add in corrections when they dont do it on the first time you say.

If you would like more information on this system, check out the website to watch videos, read testimonials, and read more about it. See the website Here

I have this system myself and have used it on many dogs. Ive gotten very good results every time, and it does happen as fast as they say it does.

Get the Large Dog System here.


How To Train a Dog That Doesnt Like Food or Toys : Remote Collar Training


Our next method available to us if you have a dog that doesnt like food or toys, is Remote Collar Training. When used correctly, these do not hurt the dog and should not be used to hurt your dog. If youre hurting your dog or you see someone else using one of these and they are hurting their dog, you are Using It Wrong!

Remote collars can be an extremely useful tool in training, if you choose this method, please go to someone who knows how to properly use one and can teach you how. The best people Ive found that use Remote collar training is Sit Means Sit dog training. This company does amazing things, and no Im not affiliated with them in any way. I do not get paid to recommend them. Ive seen their You Tube Channel and have really liked what Ive seen. I highly recommend watching as many of their videos as you can so you can get an idea of whats possible with them. They have trainers all over the place, so be sure to see if there is one close by to you.

Here is a video of one of their off leash classes, it might give you an idea of what you can expect.



Sit Means Sit Dog training will let you use food or toys if you want to or if your dog responds to them, but they are not required.


How To Train a Dog That Doesnt Like Food or Toys : Natural Training


Natural training is using communication your dog understands and use on themselves. No corrective collars, no food or toys. I have honestly not experimented a lot with this type of training but would like to learn more on it. I found this nice website that is all about it, you can see it at Pam Shaw Canine Consultant. He has a DVD available and I think Im going to order it myself and see what its all about.

I am sure there is more available on the internet about him and on Natural Dog Training. Do a search for it and see what you can find.

To sum this all up, if you have a Dog That Doesnt Like Food or Toys then throw out the reward based training and try something else! It is Okay! Dont let others make you feel bad because you dont use food or toys with your dog. The important thing is finding something that Works!

I would also like to point out, all of these methods are great even if your dog does like food or toys, but maybe you would like to try a different method.

Food or Toys are great to use during training if your dog finds them rewarding! However, dont get frustrated if your dog has no interest in either. There are plenty of other methods out there that dont use food or toys. I hope I helped you find some that will work for you.

Happy Training!

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Image Credits:
Dobie Pic: Pato_Garza @ Flickr


Amy @ Talented K9
talentedk9@yahoo.com
www.talentedk9.com


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