I am the average gal that listens to good advice (in this case, use a backup collar) for the most part. But I have experienced some situations where I got a little lax about that backup safety part.

Let me tell you. The times when you get lax, because of serious stuff happening to you, are the exact times when your prong collar will fly apart. This summer my younger brother suffered a major stroke while we were all on vacation in the northeast.

Dealing with this injury involved many vehicle stops at many gas stations in many areas that weren't in our neighborhood. On two different occasions, occurring at gas stations right next to the interstate highway, that prong collar flew apart. That collar flew apart even though the people that were walking the dog loved him very much and would probably protect him with their own lives.

I don't think I need to convince you that when your own brother's life is hanging in the balance, you don't always pay 100% attention to whether or not your hyperactive dog's prong collar is connected properly to the leash and/or to a backup.
Fortunately for me, I had been a Leerburg devotee before the tragedy, so I could use my voice and body to easily regain control of my dog. The same dog that was under-exercised because of our tragedy and exhilarated to be off-leash right next to major roads and also to the interstate.

If I could help in any way, I think it's to remind people to use multiple layers of security in their lives, so that if one or two fail, you still have a great chance of nothing bad happening to your family.
I think if you insist on safety, every time, you have that one extra layer of security against massive destruction of something important in your life, like what happened to me.

Good for you and thank you for the reminder.

Best wishes to you and your family in this diffucult time.

Thoughts and prayers going out for you all.

I use the quick release prongs because my fingers aren't as nimble as they were 10 or 20 years ago. I do know I lose some correction power with that and that also they are notorious for failing. I do use a back up because of that.

What an excellent reminder.

I hope your brother is recovering well.