This is a question that was asked on another board. I told the person asking that I would post it over here since most everyone here knows their stuff. I also directed her to http://www.leerburg.com/fit-prong.htm and to the Prong Collars Revisited page that I posted a while back.

I also explained that on no form of physical correction should be used until he has learned what is expected of him when each command is given.

Here's her original post:

"I was wondering if anyone had any opinions or (better yet) articles on prong collars?
We have friends with a recently adopted 6 month old APBT pup who have been convinced that they need to get him a prong collar (by someone whose "expertise" I question). The pup has no real training "issues" with the exception that he is 6 months old and has only had a month and a half of "at home" obedience training due to the fact that he's a rescue. (he's not destructive, aggressive,etc.)
I guess I'm just looking for any pros or cons that any of you can supply. Thanks a ton in advance!
~Chris"

Hi,
First of all, Prong Collars are far better than the standard choke chains.....(choke chains can do damage to the dog's neck)
Now, IMO I would only have the six month old Pup wear the Prong Collar (making sure it fits correctly, snug high up on the dog's neck). I personally would not use any corrections on a Pup of this age, but I would teach the basic obedience commands through Drive and positive motivation, like food or a toy.
It's also a good idea to have the Pup wear different collars and have them mean nothing to the Dog........some people make the mistake of only putting on a certain collar a few minutes before doing obedience and then taking the certain collar off right after obedience is done.......this is a mistake. We want to be able to put collars on and take them off and have them mean nothing to the Dog.

John, I understand what your saying, but the other side of that coin is that I want my dog to identify what he's doing by what collar he's wearing. He knows when his nylon collar is on, it's SAR. When his wide leather collar is on, it's schutzhund. He also wears a fursaver and a pinch at different times throughout the day for the reasons you gave. I've never made a correction with either, up to this point, but there there if/when needed.

I understand what your saying also Bob, but that's why we give commands. If you put your nylon collar on and took him to the Schutzhund field, your dog is going to bite.

Bob, I have not done any SAR, so what your saying would be a good system. So when your dog is wearing his nylon collar he knows that there will not be any biting.

I not really dissagreaing, just showing another point of view. When I was showing my brothers Kerry Blue in the breed ring, my brother was showing him in obedience. The dog finished his CH and CD in the same week, both undefeated, with a High in Trial to boot. He never tried to "move out" with his training collar, but "strutted his stuff" as soon as the show lead was put on.
For the same reason, My dog, even at 7 months old, without commands, won't pull in his nylon collar, but with his leather collar, will jerk my arm off as soon as I put it on. ONLY with a command, will he settle down.
I'm not dissagreaing, but just showing another side. Both yours and my ideas have merit.

Lots of good points, guys.

I'm with you in that choke chains are more dangerous than prongs. I do NOT recommend them to people ever. Hopefully she has/will visit over here and read what everyone has to say. I gave her the link to the board's main page.