Collar talk.

Dog collars have been around since the dog was first domesticated. Ancient Egyptians put collars on their dogs -- or at least the wealthy folks did. Dog collars in olden days served two important purposes: to protect the dog's neck during fights or hunting, and to mark the dog with the name of its owner. The Dog Collar Museum in Leeds has many examples of the sort of neck wear that adorned dogs in the old days. 

If you read my previous post about leashes, I bet you can guess what my favorite kind of collar is. Yep, that's right -- a basic leather one with a sturdy buckle. 

A classic good look for any dog, in my opinion, and suitable for walking, training, or just holding name and license tags. One of the nice things about a flat leather collar is that you can rivet a name plate onto the collar itself, and avoid all that tag-jingling noise. 

A flat nylon color is fine, too. They come in all colors, with a wide variety of decorations to suit the owner's personality and taste. I prefer metal buckles to the plastic clip kind, because plastic can break. I have no objection to nylon collars. 

There are plenty of other styles on the market, and plenty of other ways to secure your dog to a leash. Let's look at a few:

MARTINGALE

This is a Martingale collar. The large loop goes around the dog's neck, and the smaller loop is attached to the leash, where it tightens the collar on the neck when pulled. These are very popular with the greyhound rescue people. Apparently greyhounds (along with other sight hounds) have heads that are smaller than their necks and there's a concern that they can back out of a standard collar. Martingale collars must fit correctly, so that the ends of the collar meet without choking the dog or being loose enough to allow an escape. I've seen some of these made from fancy brocade materials that were quite regal looking. I wouldn't use one for training, but for general walking, this kind of collar would be fine. I bet I could find one in leather, so that's a plus. 

CHAIN COLLAR

When I was growing up, just about every dog I knew was wearing one of these. It's called a "choke chain" but I've also heard them called a "slip collar". This kind of collar went along with a style of training that advised you to correct your dog's bad behavior by jerking on the leash, which would then administer a strangling sensation to the dog. Some trainers even recommended that you pull the leash straight up, taking the dog onto his hind legs and holding him there for a second -- literally hanging him-- before releasing him and hoping that he'd remember the unfortunate lesson he'd just learned. What a dark, dark time that was. Ugh. 

There is another school of training that uses this collar where the leash is "popped" -- given a short, sharp tug-- which takes up the slack in the collar, making a zipping sound that is meant to gain the dog's attention but not choke on the neck. It takes careful fitting and a precise hand to administer this sort of correction. Not for the casual dog owner, I don't think. 

This type of collar also has to be put on the dog correctly. If it's done right, the collar will tighten and loosen with the tension on the leash. If it's put on backwards, the collar will tighten but not loosen as readily. I see these incorrectly on dogs all the time. Does it really matter that much? you ask.  Well, it's about as uncomfortable for the dog as having your shoes always on the wrong feet would be for you. 

These aren't necessary for training, are often used incorrectly, and aren't suitable for walking, daily wear, or any other use. Don't buy one. They are an outdated relic of a bygone era.

PRONG COLLAR

The fearsome-looking prong collar is another device that can work well in the hands of a professional trainer. It is best used for short periods to manage behavioral issues until they can be eliminated through training. 

It looks terribly bitey, doesn't it? And it is. When a mother dog corrects her puppy, or a pack leader corrects a member of the pack, they nip at the neck of the subordinate dog to say "Quit it." Cesar Milan ("The Dog Whisperer") does this with his dogs when he pokes them in the neck to correct them.  Like the chain collar, the prong collar is meant to be "popped" by the leash to give the dog a correction he will instinctively understand. 

I see these used mostly by people who own big, strong dogs that were never adequately trained and now overpower their owner. One of my clients said, "This collar is like power steering for my dog!" And yes, while wearing this collar, the dog that used to drag her down the street was more controllable. The problem? She assumed the prong collar fixed the problem,  and didn't use its effectiveness to re-train her dog. Eventually the dog's neck toughened up, it ignored the collar, and the pulling was as bad as it ever was. 

This is a training collar. It is meant to give you an advantage over a powerful dog while you train it to behave correctly so that the collar will no longer be necessary. It's not meant for daily wear. 

Also, I hate these things because those prongs pop apart for no reason at random moments, and then the dog is loose. No fun. 

If you're working with a trainer that advises you to buy one of these and will show you its correct use, that's fine. Other than that, I'd advise against this collar.

HALTER

Gentle Leader, Halti, whatever the name -- head halters are an idea that makes good sense to me, since I am used to using them on horses. I got one for Josie when she was young, and she still wears it for at least part of all her walks.  The idea here is that the dog goes where the nose goes; if you control the head, the body will follow. It's a different feel than walking with a standard collar, because instead of quick checks on the leash to correct the dog, you use more of a steady pull to bring the head around. The nice thing is, properly done, it brings the dog's head around to look at you -- which is where his attention should be in the first place, during training. 

They do have to be fitted correctly, and some dogs just won't abide having them on and freak out, but if you introduce it at an early age with lots of treats and gentleness, halters can be a nice way to handle exuberant dogs. 

I hate to see a dog wearing one that's all pulled around on his face while he walks sideways, struggling. This device is an aid for training, not a replacement for it! You still need to train your dog, but a halter can make it a bit easier. And see in the picture there, what the halter is clipped to? That's right -- a standard flat buckle collar. Josie often wears her halter for the beginning of walks when she is fresh and frolicsome, but coming home from the park, panting from a good game of fetch, I'll move the leash clip to her regular collar and she does just fine. 

HARNESS

Ahh, the harness.  For some breeds, the harness makes good sense: bulldogs and pugs, for example, often have short, thick necks that are wider than their heads, and collars just slip off. For dogs who have learned the clever trick of slipping out of their collars and running away, a harness can also prevent an escape. And harnesses are comfortable for dogs who have sustained neck injuries in the past. Some of the smaller breeds like Yorkies and Chihuahuas have fragile necks and are better served with a harness to keep them under control.

Unfortunately, most people buy harnesses because their dog pulls with his regular collar, makes choking, gasping noises, and looks uncomfortable. Instead of working on their dog's problem -- lack of training -- they buy a harness, which takes care of that unattractive wheezing and also makes it much more comfortable for the dog to continue in his bad behavior.  Thanks, kind owner!  thinks Bowser. Now I can really put my chest and shoulders into it! 

In response to this problem, harness companies have now moved the leash clip ring from between the dog's shoulders to the front of the chest, a solution that looks inelegant at best and has questionable value when used to train pulling behavior out of a dog.

WHAT THE HECK?

What is this? I don't even... That poor dog. Apparently this is meant to curtail forward motion by forcing his hind end under him? I could see friction burns happening on the inner hind legs from that thin rope. If this is meant as an aid in teaching the dog to sit, then it's marketed to morons. Teaching a dog to sit is the easiest, most basic thing imaginable and most dogs learn it in less than five minutes. And if this thing is meant to stop pulling by taking the dog off balance and dumping him on his butt, then I maintain it's nothing more than bullying. It teaches the dog nothing except that you can hurt him at any time, and I guarantee you the end result of that is an emotionally disturbed dog that will bite out of frustration and fear.

IN CONCLUSION

Basic collars were standard dog wear for centuries, with harnesses for dogs who actually had the job of beast of burden -- like Josie here, bringing home a 6-pack of hard cider in her cart.

It's only in the last couple of decades that things have changed and we've started to see more and more elaborate devices on the market. I maintain that if you have a dog that is hard to control, the solution is training, not gimmicks. Your money is much more wisely spent on an hour or two with a professional trainer who can show you how to work with your dog towards better behavior. Training takes time, but it's time spent communicating with your dog and developing a relationship -- and isn't that why you got him in the first place?