Is he ready for CGC if he pulls with flat collar on?

I think my boy Max is pretty ready for the Canine Good Citizen test. My only concern is that he tends to pull when we walk if he is wearing a flat collar (which I understand he must wear for the test). If he wears his prong collar he does a very nice 'walk easy', with very little need for correction.

I am afraid that even if I have him do a formal 'heel', he will not be sound with distractions at this point.

Should we wait and take test at later time after more training?

What does this mean for my long term training of him? How do I get him to walk easy without prong collar?

[Teena]

What is a fur saver? I looked at prong collars with my husband, he says the prongs look cruel & refuses to have anything to do with them. He doesn't like the fact the prongs poke into Axel's neck, i'm not so sure i like that idea either. We tried putting the prongs over our arms & giving gental squeeze, it left marks where the prongs met the skin.

[Teena]

Do you have a camera Working dogz? Pictures of the things were describing would be nice :) hint hint :D

[ May 31, 2001: Message edited by: Teena ]

[laurlitt]

A fur saver collar is similar to the choke collar, except each link is much bigger than a choke's link and oblong in shape. This bigger size and shape is designed so that it doesn't wear away the fur off the dog's neck. Fur savers are used frequently in Schutzhund. I believe both pronged and regular chokes are not allowed. Fur savers have the advantage of being used like a flat collar.

check out this site for a picture of a fur saver http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...cfm?pCatId=357

Teena, try the pronged collar on your thigh... it really doesn't hurt but rather pinch!

[Teena]

On my thigh, my legs never see daylight! :p LOL *Note to self, don't post late at night when you are sleepy.*
Anyway would i see get the real feel of it through my jeans?

[SelkeysCompanion]

The prong is not cruel,I`ve noticed that sometimes they are used in training right from the get go,instead of a last resort.I wish I had started with one earlier(some dogs were born pullers)-actualy the choke is cruel if used hard can damage the neck&vocal cords,read this somewhere, sorry don`t have a link.It only pinches if he/she pulls-it`s better than always yanking or walking a dog hanging himself-the prongs are not sharp and the fur on the neck doesn`t get worn away.Aso I have noticed that the standerd'choke'is being slowly replaced-the name sais it all.

[Teena]

I have yet to see those tips for the prongs sold in a store. Do you order yours online? I think that might be a solution both hubby & i could live with.
Also the prong collars come in Med & large prongs. Which size do you use?

[RottnKid1]

A choke chain is also admissable for CGC testing.

[laurlitt]

Teena

If your jeans are not too thick you'd probably get a good understanding of how it works...

but if you get a chance try it on your bare leg (of course if you're doing this in the pet store I wouldn't recommend taking off your pants in public :D )

[laurlitt]

Teena,
The prong comes in small, medium, and large prongs. I use the medium and that's probably appropriate for most Rotts. The largest prong is suppose to be for dogs with a longer coat (like GSD's) who need the prongs to reach thru the coat.

I thought it was not permissable to give corrections or use treats during the CGC test. Why, then allow the choke collar? Is it allowed but not permissible to correct with it?

Am I correct in thinking I cannot use (or correct with) prong collar, and if I did use choke collar I could not deliver any corrections?

By the way, I tried walking in a busy area with prong on but with leash on flat collar. He did pretty well, but I had to stop often to make him stop pulling. I only used the prong when there were other dogs nearby ordistractions like bicycles coming near, for which I wanted to be sure I had good control. He did very well!

[luvarott]

If you still need to "give corrections", no matter what the collar you are using, the dog is NOT trained yet ie.not ready for a CGC, which is a fairly basic/minimal requirements kind of test. Keep working on that basic obedience/be consistent/make sure you are rewarding good behavior at least twice as much as you are correcting for mistakes and the CGC will be yours soon!!