Pinch collar

[dmoore2145]

Our lab is ten weeks old and she is getting strong and wants to pull me all over our property.
When is the right time to start using a prong (pinch) collar?
Is she still too young?

[lou3]

Ten weeks is definately far too young. six months MINIMUM before you start using anything like that, i personally wouldnt use one til at least nine months.
If you train your dog properly there shouldnt be any need for one at all. labradors are easily trained if you spend the time, but it does take a lot of time. Its worth it in the end though because an untrained or badly trained labrador is just an antisocial nightmare but a well trained one can be a fabulous dog.
Lou

[erdog3]

Don't know what this collar really is, but it sounds awful, I would never never use anything on my dogs that can inflict any sort of pain for training purposes.
At 10 weeks your pup is hardly out of the nest, anything you do at this age will mar or make your dog for life.
Why dont you try a halti lead, they are very effective and painless.
sue

[GretaJack]

You can still over power your lab at 10 weeks old. You need to exert your authority and correct this problem. Show her that you are stronger than her. Do not let her pull on a leash. If she pulls, pop the leash back. Also, to teach a young lab to heal is actually very easy. A piece of cheese or a hot dog works the best for me. Hold it down in front of their muzzle and let them nibble. Walk around telling her to heel as she nibbles. Tell her she is a good girl. After she has done this a few times start standing more upright still showing her the treat. This will cause her to look up at you. tell her to heel and a ever couple of steps let her nibble. Eventually you should be able to keep just a handful of kibble and give her a treat every 10-20 steps. She will then know that when she is walking on a leash she should be next to you if she wants to get a treat, not walking in front of you.

[carriecrowe]

I agree with Gretajack (well all accept the giving treats).. My 10 mo old rottie can pull me anywhere, and all i have to do is pop the leash and tell her NO, and when she comes to my side i tell her she is a good girl and rub her down all over (that is my kind of praising).. I dont offer my dogs to many treats because i dont want them to expect them and when they dont get one, they start ignoring the command. I'm the type that likes the hands on praising rather than "bribing" them with a treat of some sort.

Just to add, i'd NEVER under any circumstances use a pinch color. If you have to use any sort of color like that use a choke chain (BUT USE WITH CAUTION). I think Pinch colors are wrong. I know their purpose, BUT if you spend time and TRAIN your dog, you shouldnt have to use either of those two colors. Show your dog YOU are the alpha and they will respect you for that..

[ March 16, 2004, 11:12 AM: Message edited by: carriecrowe ]

[mojo]

carriecrowe im interested, why would you use a choke collar instead of a pinch collar i can remember someone on this forum that made a post saying that they found out about some study that took place in some other country where they took two groups of dogs and made one group use a pinch collar and the other group use the choke collar. they said that the group who used the choke collar had a higher percentage of back problems than the other group.
also both collars are bad for your dog if used incorrectly but i believe that the pinch is more effective than the choke and if you think that the pinch is to "inhumane" they also have rubber tips that you can put on the edges
ellierat, try using a halty on an fully grown untrained rottie then tell me you would never a pinch collar to train a dog. i hate when people talk bad about something and they dont even know what it is.
back to the question, i dont recommend the use of a pinch collar or choke collar unless your dog can overpower you at the time of training.if it can overpower you then train it and then stop using the collar .its not for looks. alot of people in my area think it just makes their dogs look tuff. they dont even bother training the dog they just let it pull against the collar for no reason.
i've never used one befor a year old.a couple months younger shouldnt be to bad if your haveing to many problems walking your dog.

[dog freak]

Don't use it yet untill about one year, and it's not that awful it actualy helps! [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ March 16, 2004, 01:50 PM: Message edited by: dog freak ]

[carriecrowe]

This is just my personal opinion.. I do know about pinch colors. BUT i have First hand seen results of the choke chain and NONE of those dogs had any sort of "effects" from the choke chains.

Even on a full grown rottie that would take off leaving you in the dust CAN be broke without using a pinch OR choke color (i've seen it done before)

and i NEVER said pinch colors are inhumane, i said you shouldnt need to use either choke OR pinch color IF your dog is properly trained. Out of all the dogs i have owned i have never had to use either of those two colors. I had a Lab pup about 4 yrs ago and he was hyper(pulling me around and such). I owned him for about 6 mos and by the time i got done, he wasnt pulling at all and i used nothing but commands, training, and REGULAR colors.

[erdog3]

Mojo, read the question properly, we are talking about a 10 week old lab, not a full grown rotti.
I suggested the halti as being a very gentle leading method for such a young pup!!!!!
No need to get defensive and picky.

sue.

[GretaJack]

I have used both of these collars on my dogs. I train in obedience, I do not think my dogs are unruly. These collars are tools. They help you achieve a goal with your dog. They are not to be used as a form of punishment. And as stated, the pinch collar has no place on a 10 week old pup. I have seen plenty of dogs that have earn title after title wearing chokes or prongs. I agree with ellierat a halti or gentle leader could be the best solution.