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Old July 7th, 2010, 11:54 PM
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luckypenny luckypenny is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: St. Philippe-de-Laprairie, Qc
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stinkycat View Post
But as a trainer I've seen too many dogs have prong collars and have become aggressive and have negative associations with them. If you pull back if the dog is pulling at a kid, that pinch could send a wrong message association pain=child and can become aggressive to avoid having that negative feeling.
Exactly...people don't realize that they may be creating a whole new, more serious issue. Same thing can apply to head halters as well though...I've seen people yank their dogs wearing these too .

When my dogs used to pull, or sometimes still do, I try to determine what exactly is causing it. Is it just a restless sort of I-gotta-get-nowhere-fast, or caused by anxiety. Are they lunging after a little critter (bird, mouse, etc), or are they lunging out of fear/warning? It's important to address the issues that underlie pulling and lunging. Either the dog wasn't taught to walk properly on a loose leash, needs more practice/training with focusing on me, needs to be desensitized to objects it fears, and/or needs to be taught a new, opposing behavior.

Find the most gentlest method to begin with to avoid creating even worse issues and remember...collars, harnesses, head halters, etc. are all tools. They don't train dogs, we do.
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