Choke chains replaced by half choke chain??

Lemlin

I was rushing through Newry yesterday and stopped to buy a choke chain for my dog. I want to take her collar off her and only put it on her sometimes as it is marking the hair around her neck and I feel she looks better without it. She also often pulls at it with her back leg too and it looks terrible because it looks like she has fleas or something when she's scratching it (she's been fully frontlined so doesn't have fleas btw!).

Therefore I was getting a choke chain for walking her as I've tried her on a friend's and she seems to like it more than the collar as I can just take it off her when I let her off the lead.

Anyway, I hadn't time to speak to the girl in the shop but she said that choke chains have now been replaced by a new thing called a half choke. Does anyone know what this is?

I bought the choke as it was only £2.59 but just wondering if anyone knew.

ofthebeststuff

Yeep. Choke chains have been proven to cause severe damage to dogs and are no longer recommended. Here are a few links:

http://www.apdt.co.uk/pdfs/Choke_Chain_leaflet.pdf

http://www.positivedogs.co.uk/Choke%20Chains!.htm

"Half choke chains" cause a bit less damage because they limit themselves and don't tighten all the way. They are still not good for dogs because they rely on "checking" or yanking the lead, and that action by itself causes harm to the dog's neck and spine.

Some people like "head halters"--I don't think the psychology/physiology behind these are correct, and they are unnecessary...and also dangerous if used in conjunction with a jerk or "check" as that will whip the dog's whole head back.

Some people advocate for "prong" collars, there's a thread on this a bit lower down. Opinion is deeply divided on these. Again, dangerous if they are used with a "check" technique..if used correctly the only pressure should come from the dog. I don't think they are as bad as they are made out to be, and I think they are much better than "checking" a dog, but they should not be a first choice and certainly shouldn't be worn all the time.

I think body halters and regular flat collars are the best bet.

You may find people get really passionate about this--tempers and opinions run high, so brace yourself!

Skillie

read the prong collar thread about positive punishment methods of controlling your dog. seems your dog doesn't need this though no? just you don't like the normal collars?

Ulanzi

Out of interest, the one consistent problem that I have with my lovely fella is that he is just terrible on the lead. I have put so much time into this but there is no real improvement. It has been months. We adopted him so it's kind of an ingrained habit that's hard to shift. He can walk really nicely beside me without pulling (This is down to all the training I have been putting in), but only when we're going in the opposite direction to where he wants to go (ie the beach for example) but once we go in the direction he wants he just gets so excited that it's not actually pleasant to walk him. I don't let him walk ahead of me but it takes a massive amount of effort on my part.

A halti is the only thing that helps. I don't like using it but I have to walk him down with a halti and then I just walk him back with the regular lead and collar once he's less excited and heading home. He is small but sturdy and very strong. He has tonnes of energy and he gets a minimum of an hour of vigorous exercise every day.

He needs his walk, so I can't just turn around and walk home every time he pulls on the lead. A body harness makes him worse. He has been quite easy to train in every other aspect. This is defeating me though. Any advice? (I won't use a choke chain and I really would prefer not to use the halti)

Lemlin

Skillie wrote: »

read the prong collar thread about positive punishment methods of controlling your dog. seems your dog doesn't need this though no? just you don't like the normal collars?

My dog doesn't like the normal collar. What I've been doing is putting the collar on her each time we go for a walk but using a choke chain is alot easier.

She's doesn't pull alot so its not really to stop her pulling. Also, she's off her lead most of the time. It's only around traffic that I really put her on the lead.

The choke chain is just something I can slip onto and off her easily.

Blueprint

You can just use a slip lead too, which I use in the summer, as it's nice and light. I can't use an ordinary flat collar on my guy, as his neck is as big as his head and he can just slip out backwards unless I make it so tight it's half choking him. So I use a slip lead and a half check, which is a bit on the big side and just stops his head from slipping out without choking him in the process.

Skillie

maybe if you got a nylon slip colar and knotted it to prevent the choke action or an actual choke and put a stop in place that would allow you to slip it on and off quicky but prevent again the application of pressure on the dogs throat.

the nylon collars our dogs wear have quick release buckles you could just take it off and leave it hooked to the lead when you want to leave her off and its quick to put on when needed

kildara

Lemlin wrote: »

I was rushing through Newry yesterday and stopped to buy a choke chain for my dog. I want to take her collar off her and only put it on her sometimes as it is marking the hair around her neck and I feel she looks better without it. She also often pulls at it with her back leg too and it looks terrible because it looks like she has fleas or something when she's scratching it (she's been fully frontlined so doesn't have fleas btw!).

Therefore I was getting a choke chain for walking her as I've tried her on a friend's and she seems to like it more than the collar as I can just take it off her when I let her off the lead.

Anyway, I hadn't time to speak to the girl in the shop but she said that choke chains have now been replaced by a new thing called a half choke. Does anyone know what this is?

I bought the choke as it was only £2.59 but just wondering if anyone knew.

Google "Martingale collar" and you will see what this half choke chain is. It basically limits the amount of choking applied when the dog pulls on the lead.
It is pretty much the same as a standard collar so you wont be able to slip it off as easy as you would the full choke collar. If it is purely for the ease of taking it off you might as wel stick the full choke chain you are using.

kildara

Skillie wrote: »

maybe if you got a nylon slip colar and knotted it to prevent the choke action or an actual choke and put a stop in place that would allow you to slip it on and off quicky but prevent again the application of pressure on the dogs throat.

the nylon collars our dogs wear have quick release buckles you could just take it off and leave it hooked to the lead when you want to leave her off and its quick to put on when needed

Skillie - be very careful with those plastic buckle collars - particularly with your big lad. They are well known to come apart when an excessive force is applied, just when you dont want them to - if the dog see's something nice on the other side of a busy road. You can get a safety "thing" (dunno what they are called!) but its a thin, strong piece of nylon or such that is much bigger than the dogs neck and it will hold if the plastic buckle breaks.

laceyl

Lemlin, if your dog doesnt like things around his neck, have you tried a harness? My dog hates anything attached to his collar, so got him a harness to walk on and he love it.

Got him one that goes over his head and then just one buckle at his side, so that theres none of this trying to get paws into various holes business! its on and off so quickly and it wont do him any damage like a choke chain might.

star-pants

+1 for harnesses - also it gives you more control I find and less hurt on the dog

teckster

We use this sort of collar http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/dogs/dog_collars_dog_leads/collars/single_color/131216

It is very easy to put on, you just slip it over the dog's head, it is always comfortable yet safe provided it is fitted correctly.

Lemlin

laceyl wrote: »

Lemlin, if your dog doesnt like things around his neck, have you tried a harness? My dog hates anything attached to his collar, so got him a harness to walk on and he love it.

Got him one that goes over his head and then just one buckle at his side, so that theres none of this trying to get paws into various holes business! its on and off so quickly and it wont do him any damage like a choke chain might.

Haven't tried a harness at all. I might look into one. That said, I prefer the choke chain because it is leaving nothing on her when she wants to swim etc. I let her swim alot and the collars tend to get wet and stay damp for a good while even after she herself has dried. I'd imagine a harness would be the same.

laceyl

Just take it off going in swimming, it would be too heavy on them anyway swimming. As i said it only takes a second, unclick buckle and lift off, easy peasy! Its called a sensible harness btw.

Lemlin

laceyl wrote: »

Just take it off going in swimming, it would be too heavy on them anyway swimming. As i said it only takes a second, unclick buckle and lift off, easy peasy! Its called a sensible harness btw.

Any pics of this?

star-pants

This is what google told me is a Sensible Harness


site here

We have one like this for our pup and a different one for our bitch, I find them so much better as they just choke themselves pulling on the collar.

Skillie

kildara wrote: »

Skillie - be very careful with those plastic buckle collars - particularly with your big lad. They are well known to come apart when an excessive force is applied, just when you dont want them to - if the dog see's something nice on the other side of a busy road. You can get a safety "thing" (dunno what they are called!) but its a thin, strong piece of nylon or such that is much bigger than the dogs neck and it will hold if the plastic buckle breaks.

ta we use a harness when walking as we find it the best all rounder for our needs, collar just has his nametag and number

Sigma Force

If possible do try getting the dog used to a regular collar, even a light weight leather one. Even if you don't use the collar to attach the lead, so many dogs go missing and not all people know about microchips so having a collar and an id tag on the dog is very important.

A harness might work as well, if you teach the dog the 'sit' command she should sit quietly while you take the harness off, they soon get used to the new routine.

Phasing out the half choke chain and replacing with a sensible harness could be an idea.