Greetings all! I am back to the board after PCS'ing from Austin to West Point, NY.

Like many with younger dogs, mine was becoming a pain on walks with lunging, barking, etc. at innapropriate times. Mostly a function of being 10 months old. Anyone have a dog who acts perfectly until you are talking to someone about how well your training has been coming, and then your pup is posessed by the spirit of an insane, demonic clown?

Anyhow, after much resistance from my better half on the subject of a prong collar, I finally bought one, brought it home, put it around my thigh and told her to pull as hard as she could. When I emerged from the test unscathed, she was convinced it was worth a try.
Needless to say, the change in our dog is unbelievable. Most of you know how well the prong works, but let me say that walking and running with our dog is fun. Whenever he sees the collar come out, his tail wags, he runs to the door, and sits so it can be put on. NOT behavior of a dog who is scared of something.
If your dog is even remotely a pain in the a** while on the leash, GET A PRONG COLLAR! No puling/jerking required, the dog corrects itself. Ed is right in spades; it is power steering for dogs.
Have a great day.

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Whenever he sees the collar come out, his tail wags, he runs to the door, and sits so it can be put on. NOT behavior of a dog who is scared of something.

This is the exact same 'argument' I use! You should see my dog when she even so much as hears the prong collar jingle! I don't use it anymore, but she still comes running, tail wagging, tongue lolling, sitting and standing and sitting and standing because she can hardly contain herself! To her, it means we're going outside to train, even though I haven't put it on her in probably 6 months or more. IMO this is one of the best testimonials that it is NOT a horrible, pain and fear inducing torture device.

I'm another prong collar convert. I used to think that they were only for extremely tough, difficult dogs but have come to realize that a collar that imitates the way mama dog corrects her puppies is the only way to go for any dog. It gives a correction the dog understands, and you can't beat that or use anything that could be more humane.

I have extremely tough dogs to handle, they are Pits, I have made tremendous progress in getting them to behave but only after I went to the prong. Fortunately they continue to do well, cause other than the e-collar I'm not sure where I would go if they started to slip. My trainer also told me the prong imitates the mama dog....