I know there are many threads on properly fitting the prong collar on a dog. I've read Ed's article and much of what's here in this forum. I'm just looking for confirmation that I'm doing it right. It seems properly fitting the collar is very important, so I want to double check.

I've gotten the small prong collar for Suzzie. We use it only for our morning's walk where I feel it's more important to give her exercise and I'm on a limited time table. I feel a little guilty for "cheating" and using this tool rather than being patient and waiting until I train her on a leash properly without the prong. So, I still work with her without the prong on our evening walk when I can take more time and not feel pressured to "get it done". Anyway, this is not what this thread is about.

A week or two ago I measured her neck at 11 1/2"; today I just measured it at 13 1/2" (yesterday she weighed in at 22 pounds). She obviously growing and needs to be re-measured frequently to make sure the collar isn't too tight. Right now my collar has 5 links in it and is actually only 12". So it would seem that maybe I have it too tight; but maybe she's not really 13 1/2" and I didn't measure right? Each link is about 1". Should I add another link? Seems like that would make the collar sit even lower on her neck. Here's a picture I took this morning of her with it on:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3546/3550768997_e450cb4861.jpg

Compared to Ed's picture with the doberman, seems like I've got the collar too low. It's really hard to tell though with all her fluff.

Does it start out higher and slip as she wears it?
If so, it's not tight enough. It should not slip down as you walk her...
And yes, it looks a little low...

I can't tell from the pic; is that an adjustable prong?

It used to slip a little over the course of the walk; now less so. I was trying to pay attention to that today and I don't think it slipped much at all. I need to re-measure her to make sure the 13 1/2" is correct. It certainly seems possible she could have added a couple inches in a couple weeks at her present growth rate. I hate to take another link out. For starters, it already seems like the collar is shorter than what I measured her neck. Second, then we'd only have 4 links in it.

I guess I was just hoping someone would come along and say, "You're doing it right, Doug". Having my suspicion that it's low confirmed, I'm not sure what to do about it. I'm tempted to do nothing. I know she's going to grow more and it's likely that if I leave the 5 links in it'll fit better in another week or so.

Because of her longer fur, I wouldn't expect a properly fit collar to rotate on her neck at all. Seems like getting it as hight on the neck as I can coupled with it not slipping is a good guide. It seems like if it's too tight it'd constantly be giving her a correction of sorts and either: 1) take the drive out of her; 2) desensitize her to it.

What you want to avoid is her learning to pull through the prong. This can happen if it's positioned too low; the dog's neck is more muscular the lower you go, and prong becomes much less effective.

If she's not pulling now, then I woul leave it the way you have it. As she grows it'll fit properly...

Great advice! She has been pulling through the prong and it must have been because it was too loose. Here's another pic from this morning's walk:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2425/3551573964_36a5e797d8.jpg

It was hard to take this photo while we were walking! However, it shows she's pulling ever so slightly. At the least she's walking right at the forward edge of where the leash will reach. As we're walking I can feel the leash tighten up and then slack a little as we step along. So the tension isn't much, but it's there.

Maybe I do need to tighten it up another link so she won't learn to pull through the prong. However, with only 4 links left in the collar is that enough to still do it's job?

Probably 4 prongs fitted correctly will do the trick.
If it's fitted right, she won't pull through it...

Or, you can invest in the quick-release prong which is much easier to get a proper fit...you attach via a spring-loaded clamp that attaches to chain- lets you adjust in about 1/2" increments...(the chrome design is the one I'm talking about)

http://leerburg.com/prong.htm#ssquickprong

Doug,
Have you tried the prong on yourself yet? Someplace tender like maybe your upper thigh. Try it, give it a pull or two.
Then you'll understand why a tighter fit doesn't translate to, as you questioned, a constant correction.

The collar doesn't correct by gouging, it corrects by pinching.
The term prong describes what the collar looks like.
The term I use is pinch, it describes how the collar functions.

Four links is starting to get shy, but if four links will fit about half way around her neck, it should be fine. But the prongs need to be fully spread to work properly, meaning the collar has to be reasonably tight.

If my dog isn't learning, I'm doing something wrong.
Randy

I have tried the prong on on my arm. Since you mention it, I thought I'd do it again and post some pics for fun. Here's the prong collar fit on my forearm:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2011/3551006697_ab19032594_m.jpg

This doesn't hurt me at all and I can sit here and type with it on and hardly notice it (though it may be sliding down my forearm a tad). To your point randy, this seems pretty tight to me visually but I don't really notice it much at all.

Here's a pic of the prong collar on my forearm and me pulling on it to simulate a correction or what a dog might do pulling on the leash:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3619/3551019959_14f244154c.jpg

With a constant pull needed to get the photo, this hurts pretty good. If it was a quick pop, I doubt there'd be any lasting feeling at all. You can see in the photo it's what I would describe has "pulling" the skin in between the prongs. That's what's making the distinct white line between the prongs. Maybe "pinching" is the right word. There's some definite "poking" going on, though looking at the pictures, I don't think the prongs are much deeper into my arm. Again, to your point randy, what's actually happening here is kind of hard to describe.

randy, any chance you could post a pic of a properly fit prong collar on the dog in your sig?

No chance of showing how the collar fits on Cassie. I don't even know if I actually have a dog under all her fur!

To the point of fit though. Tight may be the wrong word, snug could be a better word perhaps. You don't really want the collar poking into the skin as much as riding on top of the skin. And just as one needs to spread their fingers to pinch someone, so too the 'fingers' of the collar need to be spread as well as be loose enough to work.
Try making the fit on you arm so the prongs sit just proud on your skin. That should be just about the tightness the collar should fit on the dog, proud but firmly on top of the skin with no digging in.

On my dog I guage it by how taut the looping chain is, before I attach the leash I want it just tight enough that there is no slack, it's just snug.


If my dog isn't learning, I'm doing something wrong.
Randy

 Quote: randy allen

No chance of showing how the collar fits on Cassie. I don't even know if I actually have a dog under all her fur!

I tried finding one of Teagan wearing her prong - same thing, all they show is a bunch of fur from which the leash extends.