| My Rottie boy was on a prong collar for about 2 weeks during his first round of obedience class, and again for the first 3 classes in this second round (different trainer for second round). He was 'weaned' off the prong with a variety of different methods, the most effective being a training exercise with the prong, and doing immediately after with the regular choke collar. I am now going from the metal choke collar to a flat collar with a choke chain built into it. A correction with the new collar is effective, and he's beginning to figure out that the tone of my voice alone will let him know if he's not doing what I want him to....he gets a low voice for a warning, and a high pitched 'happy voice' when he's rewarded (along with lots of scritching behind his ears!).
The first class we went to the trainer gave me a HUGE prong collar for him (well, he IS a Rottie was his reasoning...!!) and he BROKE that one! His new one is much smaller (I think it was labeled a 'Fine' link collar, and I fitted it with 'Comfort Tips (little black rubber nubbies that go over the end of the prongs), and he now knows that when any collar goes on him along with his leash, it's time to behave and learn, and of course, have fun! Just a collar on him means we're going out in the yard for playtime :D ...and he knows quite well what that is!
I have a tough time at the beginning of my walks as well as he wants to sniff everything, and I usually allow him a few minutes to get accustomed to the surroundings (even though we walk the same trail every day!) and get his pent up energy in check...
Good luck - it WILL get better - trust me! I thought I was nuts when I adopted my Rottie boy last year - he had very little obedience training and he was 18 months old, and 85 lbs of energy! He was enrolled in classes about a month after we adopted him, and we worked with him about every other day, for about 10-15 minutes a day, always ending on a positive note and before he got bored...any excursion out of the house while on a leash is an opportunity to keep training your dog!  |