Happy Memorial Day!

I hope someone out there can help with our current delimma. We have a 6 month doberman named Gunner. Our first collar for him was your basic 1 inch wide nylon clip on. He was dragging us everywhere, losing all the hair on the front of his neck, and pulling so hard that his front paw nails were nubs. At 5 months of age we put him in a prong collar, attaching leash to both rings. He turned into a different dog, good manners, etc.,though still capable of pushing the limits with the prong, switch back to the other collar, maniac dog, you get the picture. Our problem is with the prong, he still can pull full force, oblivous to pain, and actually causes puncture marks in his skin, which in turn has lead to ingrown hairs. Because
of his age, I have never used just the d ring. We currently alternate back and forth between the 2 collars, using the nylon clip for his bite work, prong for everything else, But his neck just keeps losing hair, and getting puncture marks. Prong is fit properly, according to eds article.
Have thought of purchasing fur saver collar, or some others on this web site, but am open to suggestions. He has a strong prey drive and does not seem to let the prong pain slow him down when he is focused on something. What is the best collar combination for training, as well as to save his skin/hair?

thanks for reading this lengthy question

Portia

i am assuming that the situation you are describing is "going for a walk" and not actual obedience training. the dog has learned to work thru the pain/pressure of the prong.....not unusual. it sounds like the dog might benefit from some real obedience training. until he learns some self-discipline, you can expect things to continue as they are. the relationship between you and your dog is so much better after some training. he seems to be blowing you off - a lack of respect. i am not suggesting that you abuse or injure your dog, but some "corrections" are going to be necessary. he has to learn that you mean business and the pulling is unacceptable. good luck.

This is the very reason I bought Ed's basic obedience tape! It worked for my "very strong/feels no pain" Pitbull. All that he wanted to do was walk a foot or two in front of me. I was trying to heel him all the time. Make sure you put him through the learning phase though before you make those hard corrections. Your dog needs to understand what you want from him before the corrections come.
Have patience...Nick

thanks for the input. I recieved the basic dog obedience tape last week, and he is responding very nicely. Until watching the tape, I just wasn't sure how strong of a correction was appropriaate for a just turned 6 month old. Also, back to my delimma of his neck, do people out there switch around to different collars, depending upon the type of work they are doing?
Would a fur saver choke collar be the right choice to have on his neck, all the time, and then just add the prong for walks, obedience, etc. Because of his neck sores, I take the collar off in the crate and kitchen, but then if he doesn't listen, I don't have anything to grab for a correction.

Up to this point, my 4 1/2 month old GSD is worked only off lead, with motivational exercises. The only time I have him on lead and a flat leather collar, is when I do runaways (SAR) with someone else holding him. I still put on all of his collars, one at a time and together, throughout the day. I am trying to avoid him getting collar wise when the time comes to start using corrections.

Stephan-
thanks for the input. Looked at the website you suggested and the slip collars look promising. Think will give them a try.

Portia