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Lets jump right in, shall we?
Easy Walk Harnesses or Freedom No Pull Harnesses work by inhibiting movement and causing pain. They alter the dog’s gait which does long term damage as the outer shoulder drops, the inside gait shortens and is halted, the shoulders and chest don’t open fully and hips don’t swing naturally. And that’s without pressure. Read that again.
They are misleading tools often advertised as the most humane way to walk your dog. Harnesses are very effective in many dog sports or even recall training but it is not the most effective choice for leash walking or behaviour modification. Keep in mind, the harnesses used in work, sport or recall training are not movement inhibiting. They are comfortable to pull in and the dog moves freely!
Let's talk about the Herm Sprenger prong collar.
One of the tools I work with is the Herm Sprenger Prong Collar. Let me be clear... It is not the only tool that I use and is very rarely the first tool I recommend but it doesn't need to be vilified. The most used training collar for leash walking for my clients is the martingale used in a similar fashion to the prong collar. But let's clear the air on some things.
A prong collar is a training collar that applies an even amount of pressure with less surface area than a harness on rounded edges. This releases and is only applied when the correction is needed. It’s not a constant gait altering tool like a T-style or Y-style harness. Those also offer a larger surface area (which a dog can use as leverage to pull). A prong concentrates the communication to the neck however it does it in a way you don’t need to use a lot of force to apply and remove the pressure. This is especially necessary for people with disabilities, mobility/strength issues or injuries. The prong collar works not because it hurts but because the aid is properly delivered which creates minor discomfort while also giving a safe consequence for pulling. This isn’t to say a prong collar cannot cause pain however this would have to be done with malicious intent.
For starters, the prong collar is not meant to be left on overnight or when the dog is simply relaxing, it should only be used for training sessions. Leaving the collars on overnight is a dangerous practice.
If the prong collar isn’t sized correctly, they can and will accidently come apart. The leash pressure isn’t optimal when the collar is incorrectly sized and placed.
When a prong is fit correctly, it is snug right behind the dog’s ears and right up snug under the dog's jaw. They should NOT hang loose on the dog’s neck. Prong collars should always be used in conjunction with a second backup collar. That way, if the collar comes apart, the dog will still be on leash and not chasing the neighbor's cat.
If you want to give the prong collar a try, make sure you consult with a professional that is familiar with the tool. The right trainer will introduce the prong collar in a positive, uplifting manner while staying perceptive to the dog's mental state.
On the right dog, prong collars are a great training tool. It’s like putting power steering on your leash. They allow small people to control large dogs. They produce behavior changes at the correct level that is often less effort than what is required on a flat collar.
The impression people have when they first see a prong is “they look like some kind of a torture device.” Every single dog training tool can be abusive if used improperly. But that’s not a good enough reason to not use it in your training protocol. The absolute truth is when prong collars are used correctly, they produce far fewer injuries to our dog’s necks than flat collars or choke chain collars.
The prong collar can be a life-saving tool. There are so many dog owners that do not take their dogs for walks because their dog pulls, lunges or is reactive. And when a dog doesn’t get walked on a regular basis, it can create bad behaviors at home. These bad behaviors can spin out of control if not corrected immediately, so then the dog owner gets fed up. The dog often gets rehomed or surrendered to a shelter.
The prong collar is NOT to be used to pull or nag your dog. It should be a quick snap (leash pop) of the collar to communicate what you want from your dog. But keep in mind, NO TOOL can do the training for you. Tools are to elevate our training, not to be solely relied on. Proper conditioning and training must take place for the prong collar to be effective.
You may get evil looks from other dog owners that just don’t understand the power of the prong collar. You may have pure positive trainers tell you there are more humane ways to control your dog. It is unfortunate that some people just aren’t willing to see past that book cover, and see what the prong collar really is… a very humane dog training tool.
In fact, among veterinary chiropractors, the prong collar is often the tool of choice. Take this quote from Dr. Daniel Kamen, one of the most respected veterinary chiropractors in the industry, from his book The Well Adjusted Dog p24-27:
“The improper use of collars is the number one cause of cervical (neck) subluxations in dogs...The flat collar is the most common type, and can be dangerous if misused...It should not be used for obedience training...a frustrated owner who has difficulty controlling his pet will pull the dog in such a manner as to cause tremendous cervical muscle tightening, thus producing subluxations.”
About prong collars he writes:
“Most literature suggests that this is the most effective and least dangerous of restraining collars. The prong collar distributes pressure evenly around the neck, and requires only a small amount of force...Incidence of canine upper cervical subluxations is far less with the prong collar.”
At this point one might argue that an owner can simply switch to a harness. But, Dr. Kamen continues:
“Although harnesses are normally thought of as being easier on the neck, they can be hard on the chest and forelegs. Harnesses have little training value.”
Here are some relevant studies...
“Leash pulling is a concern for dog owners and can be detrimental to the health and welfare of dogs. Neck-collars and back-connection harnesses are popular restraint types. Harnesses have been proposed as a better and more considerate option for canine health and welfare.”
“When testing dogs with food treats, leash tension and the proportion of pulling time were significantly higher in the harness trial condition compared to the collar.”
“Our study supports the hypothesis that back-connection harnesses are associated with greater pulling on the leash. This finding is in line with the suggestion that dogs may be more comfortable when they wear a harness than a neck collar because the former enables the force exerted on the body to be more dispersed while the later causes localized pressure on the neck leading to increased discomfort.”
“In line with the previous study, we found no significant differences with respect to potential stress-related behaviors (e.g., lip-licking, panting, ears and tail position) between the collar and the harness.”
“The most prevalent musculoskeletal diseases in dogs are degenerative joint disease (DJD) and arthritis, with dysplasia, cruciate and patella issues making up over 20% of the total number. A further assumption could therefore be made that if harnesses do impact a dog’s natural gait, they may be a contributing factor in any of these conditions or could hasten the onset of any pathology that a dog may already suffer from.”
“Lafuente et al. (2018) found that both a Y-shaped (non-restrictive) and chest harness restricted shoulder extension at both walk and trot, however the non-restrictive (Y-shaped) harness actually decreased shoulder extension more than the chest harness, by an additional 2.56° reduction in extension at walk and an additional 4.82° in trot.”
“It is relatively well known that if a dog’s gait is dysfunctional or impaired compensatory mechanisms will ensue in the longer term this can lead to hypertrophy/atrophy of various muscle groups, as well as a myriad of musculoskeletal pathologies. Research by King found that incorrect biomechanics will lead to loss of joint confirmation and function, in turn leading to abnormal wear, which can cause inflammation and arthritic conditions. DJD and arthritis are the two most common musculoskeletal issues seen in dogs, and whilst conditions such as elbow and hip dysplasia have strong conformational links, they may be exacerbated by additional restrictions in gait.”
“Tendinopathy of the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, biceps and infraspinatus myopathy are some of the most frequent conditions diagnosed in performance dogs all caused by varying degrees of micro and macro trauma and repetitive strain. Forelimb gait-related issues and lameness in active dogs is commonly as a result of medial shoulder syndrome (MSS) caused by repetitive microtrauma to multiple elements of the shoulder joint leading to partial tears, dystrophic mineralization, chronic tenosynovitis, peritendinous adhesions and contractures of the affected muscle.”
“Dogs pulled harder and more steadily on the leash to reach food, but not toys when the leash was connected to the back-connection harness compared to the neck collar. Although increased pulling behavior was related to the back-connection harness, this was not accompanied by a significant increase in potential stress-related responses.”
Regardless of what you choose to walk your dog, make sure you are not making this decision driven by emotion versus education.
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