Question about walking g with prong collar

[marine2010]

Currently looking at getting a Sprenger prong collar for 6 month old english mastiff.

I have had other large breeds and wolf mixes. Just lost my 9 year old pyrenees to cancer and have a 7 year old female pyrenees. Never had issue getting them trained to where I can walk without lesh with a good recall by an older age (never had a prong collar or ecollar).

That said, this guy is nearly the size of what my male pyrenees was and his energy level is much higher for the size. If I am walking him by myself he does very well with keeping at my side and not pulling, if I bring my pyrenees, wife or any of the kids he becomes a pain. This is where I belive if I can properly use a prong collar to help with training it would be beneficial.

While I am still doing my research on the dog and don't of the collar, my biggest question is that of how to react and what others do if say your using it on a walk and another dog tries to attack.

I ask this as a few weeks ago we were attacked by a dog and while trying to keep myself between the two dogs I was forceful with keeping my dog at distance. I haven't read or seen anything on how to handle these situations while using the collar.

Hopefully that makes sense with my question.

 

[jovan09]

@marine2010 I had a trainer come out to work with my dog and I as she had some pretty bad dog reactivity. The trainer introduced us to the prong collar and honestly we swear by it. My dog is such a puller, always has been. And she walks much better on the prong. We used a halti previously, which she absolutely hates. She doesnt seem to mind the prong. We got some rubber caps to put over the prongs to make it a little less harsh, i imagine that helps some.

So far no one has said anything negative to us about using a prong. We spoke to another trainer about an different dog we going to adopt and they swore by prong collars too.

Regarding dog attacks, get dog attack spray or even a can of pet corrector to use on the attacking dog. It doesn’t matter what collar you have during an altercation so long as you can control your dog safely.

Also, keep in mind that your dog may eventually become dog reactive if they have been attacked by a dog.

 

[marine2010]

@jovan09 Appreciate your info.

I usually carry an equalizer when not in my neighborhood. I'm not to worried him being reactive. By nature, english mastiff try to put themselves between their owner and whatever them deem a potential threat. He does this very well for being so young still. Once he matures more and isn't a clumsy for his size it will be interesting. There are times he doesn't realize he's over 100 and nearly knocks my wife over when putting him between her and the scarry trashcans or barking dogs in a fence.

 

[willie33]

@marine2010 Same here. I live in a sparsely populated area, and is low crime, so two legged problems are rare, but otherwise we have large populations of wild boar/ hogs, coyotes, occasional mountain lion (rare though and avoid people), and the most worrisome is being in common area for rabies epidemic during warmer months. A stone throw away is also an exotic feline sanctuary which has had their share of problems and manhunts issued for tigers, lions and other big cats desensitized from fearing humans. No way am I going to rusk my dogs life or health, so. I stay prepared to deal with wherever we are, even picking up groceries. Regardless, even if in the city, my medical service dog is a part of my family and I am not going to allow him injury in the slightest. Regardless of his size (220 lbs), and being in great shape, he would sadly not get an opportunity to find out if his breed is truly King or not. I trust my life to my big boy, and in more ways than one; he watches my back and in turn I watch his.

 

[christianmormon]

@marine2010 You dog is only 6 months old. He's still a baby and personally, I wouldn't put a dog that young on a prong collar. Definitely work with a trainer moving forward. As far as dealing with a dog on a prong with off leash dogs running up to you, I don't think it really matters. Last time it happened to me, the dog wasn't aggressive, so I just jogged away with my dog and made it a silly game. You kind of just need to make the best decision in the moment depending on a lot of different factors. I agree with the other person about getting dog spray or pet corrector.

 

[marine2010]

@christianmormon Appreciate your insight. There is a Golden Retriever with aggression issues that every so often decides he wants to attack a person or animal. My male pyenese tore him up before passing.

As for my puppy, I am doing my research and learning about tools that I haven't used before I commit to them. Like I said in my original post, I've had no issues training my two pyrenees and my wolf hybrids. This guy is just a more of a handful for my wife and kids and I want to make sure everything goes as smooth as possible. To many owners don't research stuff

 

[instaprayjennifer]

@marine2010 That golden is going to freak when your dog is full grown. Is the owner decent enough to work with you on desensitizing their dog to yours?

 

[marine2010]

@instaprayjennifer Far from it. The husband (deployed to hostile place in army) called cops on me about their dog getting out invisible fence and attacking my dogs about 10 houses up the road. All on security camera. Took the cops telling them that I had multiple recordings of the dog attacking delivery drivers and then my dogs twice before they acknowledge their dog needs more work.

That's a extremely short version of it. The Dog is just a pain but our kids play together daily and we baby sit their kids. Horrible situation.

Hence when dog attacked while I was up the road. I kept one hand on dogs collar which has a handle and then kept the other at a distance.

I just have never used a prong collar so I am trying to understand how others would handle the situation so you don't hurt your dog.

My dog didn't attack back he sat there. But when he's 200+ and if senses owner being threatened...

 

[moocow789]

@marine2010 I don't think a prong collar for your dog is the answer for the situation you described when being attacked by another dog. I've been in that situation and a strong sit, down, stay and/or heel are better tools. If your dog reacted violently to the other dog then that's a different situation.

I was attacked by a AmStaff while working my dog in his heel while he was wearing a prong collar and I did not use the tool in that moment. My dog has a strong stay so I used that instead. His heel was already pretty good and the prong was being used because he was going through an adolescent phase which meant he wanted to pull a lot. Of course my dog wanted to react to the other dog and protect me but he trusted me from all the training we've done. I kept the attacking dog away from my dog, a boxer, at all costs. I was very lucky to be carrying a slip leash because the other dog didn't have a collar. I've carried a slip leash with me ever since.

 

[treks]

@marine2010 Dog spray to get the dog away before it even gets close. You can also usually stomp your feet or bluff charge the other dog when it’s coming at you. The best option is to be able to put your dog in a sit/down and approach the aggressive dog to grab them and return them to an owner. Your dogs should never interact if you can help it.

If it happens so quickly you can’t react, then drop your dog’s leash and grab the other dog. Collars have nothing to do with it.

 

[foreverandaday]

@marine2010 If another dog is attacking you in a walk, your collar has nothing to do with the situation. I don’t know how it would even come up.

Generally, I don’t discuss my training methods with anyone who is asking for any reason other than actually wanting to know how to use a tool.

 

[jeff0803]

@marine2010 Carry some repellant spray. I carry it in their treat/poo bag thingy. There are a lot of off leash dogs here in my complex and they're not great with recall. Every dog but one is just a goofy pup who wants friends. I won't spray those dogs. No, it isn't a great situation for me and my dogs, but I'm working with a trainer on a management protocol and it helps.

There is one dog here who is aggressive. I mean, this dog is nasty and not controlled. He's the reason I carry spray. If that dog comes up, all bets are off. The prong collar doesn't matter. All that matters is getting the attacker away from me and my dog and keeping us safe. If our safety means spraying that dog, then I will. Also, we have coyotes. I'll spray them too. They like to dumpster dive at night.

 

[thoushaltnorkill]

@marine2010 Prong can cause the other dog to break a tooth, and will not be an appropriate tool if you have to hold or drag away your dog. I would be extra careful with problematic uncontrolled encounters when my dog is in the prong.