Comments on: Service dogs and pinch collars: help or hindrance?

By: Marcie

Marcie — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 23:35:56 +0000

Yes, it sounds like a great option. I am going to get one for Whistle. Thanks for the recommendation everyone!

By: Dena Feller

Dena Feller — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 21:58:20 +0000

Marcie- the Triple Crown Collar is the same one I posted on calling it the “Everlasting” collar. I really love mine, and Gary is right- it really does not look like a prong at all. Bailey responds to it as well as her regular prong, even though it is made of plastic. She has a thick ruff of hair around her collar area. The wonderful thing about it is that while it works well with thick hair, it works equally well on dogs with flat coats too. It may even work better…since I have never had a flat coated dog, I can’t tell you about that.

By: Gary Johnson

Gary Johnson — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 05:29:28 +0000

http://www.triplecrowndogs.com/product/1583/StarMark-Collar.html

It works exactly like a prong collar, but doesn’t raise questions from the public due to it’s softer appearance and non shiny color.

By: Marcie

Marcie — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 00:07:40 +0000

Thanks for your comment. Can you tell us more about how you use the Triple Crown collar?

By: Gary Johnson

Gary Johnson — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 23:43:51 +0000

A less obtrusive, but equally effective solution is a Triple Crown collar.

By: Marcie

Marcie — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 17:52:32 +0000

Thanks for your comments Dena, I completely agree. It is a great tool for handlers IF it is used correctly. I have limited balance and upper body strength and it enables me to handle Whistle much more effectively. I have found it to be an indispensable tool over the years with all three of my assistance dogs.

By: Dena Feller

Dena Feller — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 17:14:56 +0000

I too, have used a prong collar with my girl, Bailey. She is an almost 80 pound German Shepherd. I get a TON of questions about whether she is “mean” or not, and if she is a “police dog”, but have found that the easiest way to control her AND my anxiety issues- (try going into Wal-mart with a Service Dog, a 6 year old, and a 9 year old and you too will understand!). If you use the collar in the correct manner it is a TOOL, nothing else. Though recently I have been using an Everlasting collar by a company called StarMark. It is basically a plastic prong collar and it works well even with a thicker coat- like Bailey has. Prong collars are NOT abusive if they are used CORRECTLY. And they provide a degree of control to those of us that (as I do) feel anxiety in an unfamiliar situation. Thanks for bringing this up!

By: Sue

Sue — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 01:37:45 +0000

I use a prong collar in public just-in-case. Sometimes a circumstance will arise that is totally unfamiliar to the dog. Mine had never seen a rabbit. I got a good jerk up my arm the first time. Now he wears the prong collar even out walking. He actually likes it. I buy 5/8 inch ribbon that has some substance, ie grograin. I weave the ribbon in and out the chain. I can change them easily for holidays or seasons. I let the ribbon dangle somewhat. Everyone thinks they are so cute and overlook the prong part.

By: Laurel

Laurel — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 22:06:31 +0000

Ah, prong collars. My girl has one, and she’s only 65 lbs (a very strong 65 lbs). It’s the only way I can get her to listen relatively quickly (although a good “No” is proving useful as of late). She sniffs, she scavenges, and greets people-what a guide dog! My greatest hope is that one day, all service dogs can just wear half-check collars all the time. But until then, I’ll have to check out those prong collar covers–do they also make them for slip collars? My baby wears both (the only prong I can operate had to be the one that comes apart easily!), which is doubly unnerving to the public.

By: Melissa Wallace

Melissa Wallace — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 00:22:58 +0000

I use a micro-prong sometimes for my SD. He is also a trained tracking dog, so I want him to pull in certain harnesses. We also do obedience, so he has beautiful heeling. BUT, he pulls fiercely when he knows we are not training or showing for obedience. The micro-prong brings an instant response from aggressive pulling to quiet walking when I cannot devote all of my attention to him, like navigating stores and airports. Once he calms down, I can remove it if I want because he knows how he is supposed to act. He is still young (2 Years), but little dogs have delicate tracheas, so I would rather have a micro-prong on him than do leash corrections or let him pull and hack.