Choke leads

[tw1nn1ejo]

Heya! Just wondering if anyone here has used a choke lead with with there dog and if it worked well?
When we got our dog she was quite strong and pulled so we bought a choke lead and it's worked wonders! Now she isn't strong, will only pull occasionaly if excited and using the choke lead she will now come to heel so we can go on the roadds with out a lead. Here's a quick poll, would be great if you could do it!
Thanks!
xxx

 

[Dougie]

i have used on ein the past, on brok but found it useless...except for getting him to concentrate at the start of training sessions. i much prefer his currebt harness for walking him in

 

[Tinkerbee]

Have used one and put that it didnt work because she only stopped pulling when wearing it and i dont like using it all the time.

 

[rrose]

we used one for a day and we didnt like it so we stoped using it.

 

[GinaB]

My dog is always on a choke chain. She walks like an angel, it's never tight around her neck at all. Has more respect for it. I walk gundogs on a choke lead (the old rope sort you see at game fairs) I find them a fantastic training device. I hate dog halters, I find if your dog pulls they still don't listen to these, it makes them walk with the head to the side and the halters that go around their chest just as bad. Yes, good control but I've seen too many dogs walking more on their hindlegs due to them.

 

[ciderminx]

Check chains are great when used correctly. I have one, but only really use it with a show lead. Check chains should remain loose on the dogs neck until you check the dog using a short sharp check before letting the chain go loose again.
I hate it when i see dogs gasping for breath and coughing because the owners don't know how to use them properly.
Check chains are no more severe than a flat collar when used properly.

 

[prose]

I find that they're not needed any longer, not with sensation headcollars and harnesses that work just as well but are more humane and prevent tracheal damage.

I've used both varieties on 100lb Pit Bulls (I'm in the US) with great success.

 

[Onyxia]

Like most things I think they have their place if used corectly as a training aid.
Not a massive fan of them (although they did get good results for pulls like a tank Great Dane) their are other things that can be used.
Needless to say NOT as a replacement for good training!

 

[Tia]

I don't use one, but then my dogs rarely go on leads anyway; when they do though they are very well behaved on them so we have no need of a choke chain. I do however believe that using a choke chain for a dog who pulls is perfectly acceptable when used correctly - much better than dragging on a leather collar for the whole walk. Teach the dog to walk properly on a lead and once learned they never seem to forget.

 

[piaffe]

i think they have thier place; as long as they put on properly.
I don't use one personally (not anymore) i use a halti on my dog as it suits him well.

 

[tw1nn1ejo]

i use mine correctly don't worry guys!

. now it's always loose but it was never tight. when she did pull we'd give her one tug to make her understand that she musn't do that and now she's brill!

 

[connemaras]

never owned one and dont inteand on owning on, i dont agree with them at all, its faulse training and there are many ways to teach your dog to stop pulling ect...
xxx

 

[Onyxia]

[ QUOTE ]
i dont agree with them at all, its faulse training and there are many ways to teach your dog to stop pulling ect...
xxx

[/ QUOTE ]
But there are also many,many ways to train a horse without gadgets- sometimes they are handy!
I think they do have their place,but should only be used as a short term training aid not a long term solution and NOT in place of proper training.

 

[Oneofthepack]

Choke chains are SO dangerous. As soon as the dog pulls and the chain tightens round it's throat you're causing damage to the delicate windpipe and blood vessels. The choke chain is only for 'checking' as another replier mentioned and even then it has to be done so carefully that it's more the noise than the tightening that stops the dog pulling. It should NEVER be used to hold or control a dog. Really good intensive training is the best answer.

For anyone who still thinks it's a good idea please try it yourselves before you inflict it on your dog!

 

[Tia]

[ QUOTE ]
For anyone who still thinks it's a good idea please try it yourselves before you inflict it on your dog!

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh dear I must be in one of those moods today.......

Can I ask a question to which I am interested in the reply - Do you go around testing bits in your mouth too?

 

[piaffe]

[ QUOTE ]
Choke chains are SO dangerous. As soon as the dog pulls and the chain tightens round it's throat you're causing damage to the delicate windpipe and blood vessels.

[/ QUOTE ]

What rubbish! The only way the chain will tighten around the dogs neck is if it has been put on upsode down.

if its put on the right way it loosens itself as soon as the pressure is relieved.

 

[Dougie]

tia: thats the reason we love you! lol

 

[ciderminx]

THANK GOD!!! well said Piaffe. Finally sense, i'll say again, CHECK chains are no more severe than a flat collar when used correctly.

And.......dare i say it......things like haltis and harnesses are short term solutions (personally i cant stand them)....if you cant control your dog without these 'aids' then you cant control your dog at all and need a training class.

I had a person turn up to our training class with a springer in a halti, told me the dog doesnt walk to heal with out it. After pointing him in the right direction and advising him if the best way to train the dog, the dog was walking to heal (minus the halti) within 10 minutes.

Sorry, rant over

 

[jo1]

I must admit that when I first got my 2 st bernards they were in choke chains - however now they are in haltis with the chain just as a collar with me as there is no way I could hold 20 stone of dog!!!!!! My OH uses the chain without the halti but only because when my 2 girls want to go, they will go and nothing can keep them back. We only got them 1 year ago and they had never been introduced to other dogs. They had been treated badly and so for our own safety and that of the dogs my OH continues to use the choke chain.

 

[Oaksflight]

We use one. It is only now that my collie has matured and now heels, and is VERY well mannered. Before he would just pull and pull, and would wheeze. He understood perfectly well... but he's a border collie so naturally excitement got the better of him. It's taken a while, but it's done good. Tried a halty, was useless.

 

[Oneofthepack]

What rubbish! The only way the chain will tighten around the dogs neck is if it has been put on upsode down.

if its put on the right way it loosens itself as soon as the pressure is relieved.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's very true, but if the dog keeps pulling the CHOKE chain stays tight, that's why they're called CHOKE chains

 

[Oneofthepack]

QUOTE Before he would just pull and pull, and would wheeze. He understood perfectly well... but he's a border collie so naturally excitement got the better of him.

This illustrates what I said in my last post.......the dog wheezed, which indicates a shortening of breath at the very least, but he kept pulling, the chain made no difference and it was only as the dog got older that he stopped pulling.

And to answer tiaribbons question (!) Does a bit hurt a horse? If the answer is yes probably, then yes, I do think people should know how it feels before forcing an animal to wear one. Why shouldn't we try something that might hurt an animal on a human first so we know how much it hurts. My brother trains extremely valuable gun dogs and had occasion to use an electric collar briefly for a particular problem but he tried it on himself first to make sure it was set at a strength that was just enough to control but not to hurt.

Not sure why everyone is so upset with me for sticking up for dogs with sore necks!

 

[piaffe]

[ QUOTE ]
That's very true, but if the dog keeps pulling the CHOKE chain stays tight, that's why they're called CHOKE chains


[/ QUOTE ]

Funnily enough I was going to ask why they were being reffered to as choke chains; i have never heard of them called that before, only CHECK chains.

Perhaps they were remaned by people who could not use them properly??

 

[Dougie]

cidermix, i use a harness on my vizsla, not because he is uncontrolable but the fact that when walking a vizlsa and dalmation i like know i have control...he snaps flat collars!!

 

[piaffe]

i use a halti on my basset because the kids like to take him and it helps them out a bit should he decide to pull

 

[Oaksflight]

Oh please, he knew perfectly well how to stop it, and if it hurt him so much he would've. He would stop pulling, he only ever pulled so badly when we got near the fields and forest to go for a run.

 

[prose]

Well, I've never heard the expression "check chain"; only ever know them as a choke collar.

I actually didn't think they were still legal in the UK -- or am I getting them confused with prong collars (which I think are horrible things)?

 

[Oneofthepack]

http://www.dog-school.co.uk

Anyone who still has an issue with my concern about owners who use CHOKE or CHECK chains (doesn't really matter what you call them, they still choke dogs!) or would like advice from someone who REALLY knows what she's talking about please go to this link and read what a well renowned professional dog trainer has to say on the subject of CHOKE CHAINS. In fact if anyone puts the words 'choke chain dog training uk' in a search engine they will come up with a long list of sites that ALL say what a bad idea they are and even the few that say they are OKish when used correctly still maintain that proper training is the key, which is exactly what I said before everyone jumped on me!

 

[Oneofthepack]

[ QUOTE ]
Oh please, he knew perfectly well how to stop it, and if it hurt him so much he would've. He would stop pulling, he only ever pulled so badly when we got near the fields and forest to go for a run.

[/ QUOTE ]

So you've never seen a lurcher run through a barbed wire fence after a rabbit then? They know it's gonna hurt and they know it hurt the last time but they still do it over and over.

Do you think your collie's worried about damaging his soft tissue or causing himself partial paralysis when he's pulling to get to the woods?

 

[tw1nn1ejo]

the reason why its called a choke chain is because when they pull it will tighten around there necks and thats the whole point! i dont think peopl would make them if it was dangerous for the dogs!