This morning I found myself in yet another online discussion, this time in the Animal Behavior College (ABC) Alumni Facebook Group, where people were expressing strong opinions about prong collars and e-collars. I have little to say about e-collars because I've never used one nor have I had any training in how to use them. I'm not against necessary and appropriate use as long as the owners have been taught by experienced, humane trainers. I know a little more about prong collars. I've seen the good, the bad and the ugly. Lots of people who have never used them get emotional about the bad and the ugly, and refuse to believe there can be any good. The more I learn and observe, the more strongly I believe that dog training requires a big tool box. Condemning a trainer for using what may be the best tool for a given situation could be condemning a dog to not being able to remain in her home. My mantra is "Help the dog."
Let me tell you this: without a prong collar, Tristan and I would not have gone on a 45-minute walk on this beautiful day in the seaside village we are visiting. As it turned out, for 99.9% of today's walk, the collar was just resting high on his neck - a tool that was available if needed but which didn't have to be used. Because the tool was available, I felt comfortable walking him in a busy environment, where even on side roads there was a moderate likelihood of passing other dogs. He also has a harness that can be helpful, but somehow when we packed this time, that harness did not make it into his bag. So, it was either the prong or his martingale. Relying on the martingale would have set us up for failure if we hadn't been as lucky as we were today with respect to not having to pass many other dogs.I took these two pictures halfway through our walk. Do you see a dog that is "shut down" or suffering from "learned helplessness," which is what the naysayers claim happens as a result of using this type of collar? Neither do I!
I have not written much about our use of the prong collar because it is so controversial. Before I tell you how, when and why we use it, let me list for you what Tristan knows, none of which was taught using the prong collar:
- sit
- down
- stay
- back
- wait
- off
- heel
- focus
- watch
- leave it
- let's go
- place
- come
- here
- on-the-mat
- paw
- other paw
- loose-leash walking
- switch (to trade dog beds with another dog)
- back-to-bed (when I'm not ready to get up yet!)
- table (get up onto a flat surface, like the granite bench you can just see in the pictures)
- up-up (when it's OK to get up on our bed)
All of the above was taught using positive reinforcement. The on-leash behaviors and the behaviors learned in group obedience classes were taught on either a head collar (Gentle Leader or Halti) or front-pull (Easy Walk) harness. The prong collar was never used to teach or correct for any of these behaviors. When there are no distractions, Tristan can do all of these behaviors off-leash. He can hold a focus while loose-leash walking, and can hold a 2- to 3-minute stay. I'm not saying that there aren't times when it is appropriate to teach or correct these behaviors using a prong; I'm just say that's not what we do. If you have a negative opinion of these tools, it's probably based on not knowing the full range of ways they can be used. If you find only one takeaway in this post, let it be this: the prong collar and positive reinforcement are not mutually exclusive! They can be used together to increase the odds of success.
So, if Tristan's so smart and obedient, and we hardly use the prong collar, why does he wear it?
Well, all those things he knows fly out the window when he is faced with another dog on a leash. Over-arousal in the presence of leashed dogs began, for no obvious reason, when he was 18 months old. Previously he had been in group obedience classes and met many other dogs on walks with no issues. There was no fight, no attack, nothing scary that happened. The only thing that's been suggested to me that I couldn't deny is that when he initially began to be frustrated or aroused (for whatever reason) by leashed dogs and was wearing a head collar, it got worse because he had been trained not to dissipate his nervous energy through his displacement behavior of choice, which is sniffing. I do not know if that is true, but it is the only thing that has been suggested where I couldn't say, "No, nothing like that ever happened." Because he is a hound, and because most trainers teach that it's good leadership to walk your dog at your side without allowing him to sniff, a head collar was recommended and is what we used until the craziness started.
Reactivity? Craziness? What do I mean? On leash walks, what it means is that Tristan starts pulling, lunging, jumping and barking when he sees another dog on a leash - especially one coming towards us. It's not aggression; it's panic. I see smaller dogs do it all the time, and people laugh. But Tristan is 50 pounds, and if he catches me off-guard he can trip me with his leash or pull me down (which fortunately has only happened once and resulted in nothing worse than a skinned knee and a red face).
We sought training help right away, which is when we were introduced to the prong collar. Unfortunately, the trainer used old-school techniques which may have made the problem worse. We tried to continue with the prong for awhile after that, without using that trainer's more drastic techniques, but we were inconsistent in our application and Tristan seemed oblivious to it. During this same time frame, Tristan developed an unusual skin condition that was initially treated (for over a year) with steroids. Now that we understand better that his problem is anxiety, I'm guessing that the steroids didn't help his mental state.
Eventually, we converted to an Easy-Walk harness, and I attempted counter-conditioning as taught in a Reactive Dogs Facebook Group I joined. We also consulted with an Behavioural Veterinarian, who diagnosed a chemical imbalance and prescribed medication. She explained, and other experienced trainers and behavior experts have since agreed, that when Tristan is in what we call his "frenzy," reacting to another dog on leash, he is unaware that his human is present and cannot hear any commands his human might be trying to give him. It's a panic attack, and yelling words at him doesn't help.
After becoming a trainer, I was introduced to a completely different way of using the prong collar. This was not part of my ABC curriculum, but learned at the shelter where I volunteer. So, back to today's walk. The only times I applied a gentle tug to momentarily tighten the collar (followed by an immediate release) were when Tristan was already in heel position, walking on a loose leash, in the absence of other leashed dogs. I accompanied the tug with a "focus" and rewarded with a treat when he looked at me. He knew "focus" first (taught via positive reinforcement without the prong), so the objective is to teach him to look at me when he feels the collar tighten, and to create a positive association. When we see other leashed dogs, the collar gets through to him when my voice doesn't. I try to see other leashed dogs before he does. Most of the time, all I have to do is a gentle, quick tug (not a harsh "pop"), which makes him look at me, and say, "let's go!" as I make a U-turn to avoid passing the other dog. If he has seen the other dog, he might bark a little and look back over his shoulder a few times, but he willingly comes with me on a loose-leash and his body language tells me he is happy not to be passing the other dog. This is way better (and I believe less painful for him) than the frenzied behavior that would ensue if I was unable to get his attention without the prong or if I stubbornly refused to help him by making the U-turn.
Earlier this year, I was introduced to B.A.T. (behavior adjustment training) techniques. I need to learn more about it before I can explain it to you, but for Tristan and me it meant walking with an extra-long lead (12- to 15-feet), using a 3-in-1 harness, allowing loose-leash "wandering," encouraging sniffing, and playing games with tossed treats while we walked. I was doing this on a dirt road with hardly any traffic during a time of day we weren't likely to pass many other dogs. When we did pass other dogs, the later it was in the walk (i.e., after the most time sniffing and playing games), the less aroused he got. I wish I had learned about B.A.T. sooner, instead of when Tristan was approaching 11!
Even if we had remembered the harness when we packed for this weekend, though, the setting where we walk here isn't appropriate for loose-leash "wandering." The prong, a 6-foot leash and a treat bag were the best tools for today. I allowed a fair amount of sniffing, and when I was ready to move on I could say "leave it" or "let's go" and had no need to tighten the prong for compliance. When I wanted to take pictures of him on a granite bench, I said "table" and then "sit," and got both without tightening the prong. When I saw another dog and decided to make a U-turn, his attention was already on me so I did not have to tighten the prong - all I had to do was say "let's go" and change direction. But I am glad the tool was there so that if the timing was different or he saw the dog first I would have been able to use it.
Best of all: After 45 minutes, when we were almost home, he saw another dog walking at a 90-degree angle to us, across the street at a T-intersection. He barked twice and then looked at me, offered a sit and held a focus - without me doing or saying anything! He got a jackpot of treats and praise for that! If he would automatically do that every time we encountered a leashed dog, I would feel that we'd found the Holy Grail!
