The Top 10 Reasons Why Using a Choke or Prong is a Bad Idea.
By Angelica Steinker, M.Ed. C.C.B.C.

1.  Choke chains can collapse your dog's trachea.  This is both dangerous, and creates expensive vet bills.

2.  The purpose of using a choke chain is to choke your dog and that is not a dog friendly way of training.  We teach our clients force free and fun training methods that do not hurt the dog.

3.  Yanking on a dog's choke chain looks ugly and makes people think you are not being nice to your dog.

4.  Yanking on your dog's leash causes your dog to associate that pain with you.  This decreases your bond with your dog.  Courteous Canine, Inc. training emphasizes INCREASING your bond with your dog.

5.  Yanking on your dog's leash can also be associated with other things that the owner is not intending such as other dogs or people.  In some cases, this can cause other unintended associated, such as dog or people aggression.

6.  Pulling on a dog's leash to force your dog to comply with your verbal cues teaches your dog that he ONLY complies when he is given a verbal cue and when the leash is yanked.  This does not help you train your dog for off leash behaviors.  By not using leash yanking, you are training your dog to a higher level.

7.  Improper use of choke chains can lead to blood vessel injury in the eyes or even pop dog's eyeballs out of their heads.  This best protection against such injuries is to never allow your dog to wear a choke chain.

8.  Thousands of dogs have died as the result of wearing a choke chains.  Unsupervised a dog can easily get the choke chain caught on a nail or other object and accidentally hang themselves.  Choke chains are sold all over the world and no warning label is included that this may happen.  Please do not use choke chains.

9.  Prong collars look mean.  Prong collars operate on the principle of pressure pushing the prongs into your dog's neck.  Humans would not be willing to wear a prong collar, so please do not put one on your dog.

10.  There are wonderful alternatives available it is simply not necessary to use a prong or choke chain.  Gentle leaders, martingale collars and harnesses offer great alternatives.  Ask your instructor about all the great alternatives that set your dog up for success today!

Angelica Steinker, M.Ed. is a motivational trainer and owner of Courteous Canine, Inc., a dog training school that specializes in dog behavior, problem solving, clicker training, and agility.  Angelica has a Master's degree in counseling from George Mason University and actively uses behavior and learning theories in her work with dogs and their owners.