Dog Health And Care

Your Dog And Training Collars – What You Should Know Before Buying

February 21st, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed

A dog training collar is a handy piece of equipment that can be used to obedience train your dog. No doubt you have heard it referred to as a slip collar, pinch collar, choke collar or possibly a choke chain but it is one and the same no matter the name. Essentially it fits around the dogs neck and is attached to a leash or lead. When the dog owner applies pressure to the leash, he or she can effectively control their pet.

Of course a training collar and lead must be used correctly if it is going to be totally effective. This article will cover 5 things you should consider when using a dog training collar. It will aid you in understanding how to use the collar safely and effectively.

1. Get the right fit of training collar - The collar must be of a size that is just right for your dog as one that is too tight will hurt the dog and be hard to get on. One that is too big will fall off and will not serve it purposes of training the dog. As a rule of thumb, the collar should fit snugly around the dogs neck with a bit of play in it.

Start by taking a measure of your dog’s neck. Then, add around 5 centimeters (2-3 inches) to that measurement. This will give some play to the collar so that it can fit comfortably over the dogs head. Generally a dog training collar will come in 5 centimeter (2 inch) increments.

2. Putting the collar on your dog correctly ” There will be detailed instructions with the collar that you purchase about placing it on your dog. Read these carefully as they will indicate what is too to tight for your dog and how you should go about putting the collar on. This could help to prevent hurting your dog if you were to fit the collar incorrectly.

3. Using the training collar properly - Above all use the collar in an informed and compassionate way. It is not a way to punish your dog but merely a way to communicate with him when he is doing wrong. You should never exert a continuous force on the lead or leash when it is attached to the collar as this could cut of air to the dog and lead to problems.

4. Consider the weight and link size of the collar. Above all the dimensions of the collar should be proportional to the size of the dog. A Great Dane will need a heavier collar with bigger links than a border Collie for instance. The packaging or documentation of many collars will list the types of dogs that are ideal for the particular training collar.

5. Ensure that the collar and lead is correctly positioned on the dogs neck. For example the lead must be positioned at the top of the neck so that the slightest pull by you will be translated to the dog. It also means that the collar will loosen as soon as you ease the pressure on the lead.

A final point is to make sure the collar and leash are constructed from robust materials. The chances are that they will be used quite often and you don’t want either of them to break at an unexpected moment. This could put you, your dog or people around you in a dangerous position.