Best dog training collars!
Jeanne Perciaccanto
A common question is what is the best dog training collar I should use for my dog?
What is it you want the collar to accomplish for you?
Need to:
- stop jumping
- pulling on leash
- stealing items off the counter
- "listen to me"
- come back when I call them
Most collar questions come about after a series of attempts to get the proper or required response to stop the dog from repeating the same unwanted behaviors, "I just can't get them to stop, (fill in the blank)."
The other side of the coin may be, you have seen someone walking their dog very politely at the park wearing a specific collar and the logical conclusion is, the collar is making the dog walk so nicely!
Enter any pet store and there are whole sections of various types and designs of collars.
One type will go around the neck, another the face and still yet the body and each designed in its own way to help dogs be controlled in some fashion and make handling the dog easier for the owners.
Most people go through a process of elimination when trying to find the right solution. Try this collar with no results, go onto the next until the final goal is achieved. You may start with a harness because it appears to be the most comfortable for the dog to wear, only to find that it actually makes pulling more comfortable for the dog.
You may have tried a buckle collar only to have the dog choking itself, so the harness seemed plausible to stop the choking but find it didn't do anything for the pulling!
Next you might try an anti-pull harness and stop the pulling but not succeed at preventing jumping.
You move up the ladder from one level of corrective device to the next becoming more frustrated at the results and fearing you will be perceived by the public as being a harsh pet owner for using a collar others may vilify.
You ask friends what did they use and how did it work out for their dog?
You ask the pet store employees to recommend what would be the best for your problem?
You ask you Vet, groomer and anyone you see walking a dog calmly for suggestions to your problem.
Finally you have reached the last resort and ask a trainer.
All the gears come screeching to an abrupt halt when the trainers tells you, "No collar trains or teaches a dog to do anything!"
Wait! What?
If collars trained the dog, we could just put them into a nice collar, stick the leash in their mouths and say, "go train yourself!"
Collars have their function in creating thought and giving dogs a guideline to assess their own behaviors and actions. Collars help a dog find and create a point of understanding based on and compared to what they are doing in that moment.
The balance of learning happens with the dogs' understanding of the boundaries produced by the collar, combined with the owners acceptance or reward in a precise moment of time. Dog pulls, then stops pulling, "Good Dog!" The dogs actions and the result of those actions is based in a thought process, "I did this and that happened!" Thought is where training takes place. As action happens, you mark that action you want with something to indicate, "YES!", right choice.
While the collar facilitates the dogs knowledge of their own actions, marking the proper thought will get them to repeat that action. Dog pulls, collar offers an understanding of what pulling offers, dog stops pulling and owner offers and understanding of what happens when not pulling.
Another way to think of this is as a gas peddle. The peddle is used to make the car move but only when someone presses down on it. How fast of slow the car moves depends on how the gas peddle is used.
Collars = thought = action + owner = reward = learning!
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