Where Should You Attach A Leash To A Choke Chain Style Collar?

Where Should You Attach A Leash To A Choke Chain Style Collar? Choke chain collars often get a bad rap as people use them incorrectly. The purpose of a choke chain has always been misunderstood. It has nothing to do with human inputs but rather teaching the animal to give itself its own release.

People have since the beginning of time used pain or punishment to accomplish their supposed goal of training animals and people but far too many people fail to understand that or educate themselves on the psychology and use of a choke chain collar or pain and punishment techniques.

If and when used correctly, the choke chain is an effective teaching tool that removes the restraint mentality and brings in the pressure and release approach that does not hurt your dog. Happy Tails wants to educate dog owners on how to use a choke chain the correct way so that both dogs and their owners can feel good about the training process and the use of choke chain-style collars.

The whole purpose of having a collar on a dog or any animal is to let them know that they are with you and that you are in charge. When this is achieved you have harmony and where there is Harmony there is teamwork. At this point, you are the alfa leader. This is not achieved by force but by harmony.

The Choke Collar and the Prong Collar

Some people would argue that the choke collar and the prong collar should never be used. The truth is that these two collars are excellent tools for effective training when they are used in the correct way. The dog should pull into the collar and then release. It is teaching the release where the dog is completely trained over time.

People who are against these training instruments are against them because of the brutality of the use in dogfighting and training dogs for fighting. No being should be used for fighting and these tools are used by people that absolutely have no idea about what a relationship is with an animal or a person.

Also, with all of the damaged people who are operating in lower consciousness, there are a lot of cases of animal abuse recorded with dogs who are left outside or left in cages with these kinds of collars permanently in use on the animals. Again, it cannot be emphasized enough that these collars are training tools to develop a relationship of harmony.

The choke collar is a series of links that connect to each other and tighten up when the dog pulls on the collar. The prong collar is similar, except that it has several long prongs that face inward on the dog’s neck. These are for stronger dogs that have the sled dog mentality or even the sled dog gene.

When the dog pulls on the prong collar, the prongs create a slight pinch that should result in an immediate release from the dog if done correctly. The dog must learn to give itself the release.

How Should You Place A Prong Collar On A Dog

These collars are incorrectly used to “reward” the dog with negative reinforcement for a behavior you want to stop. Typically they are used for dogs that try to pull free when you are walking or dogs that like to walk their owners rather than walk with their owners. If you know how to use a prong or choke collar, you can effectively train your dog to walk with you, sit when told, and stay when told. It all starts by standing with your dog and letting your dog find you.

It all comes naturally to the dog once it learns how to give itself its own release. This is imperative.

To start, you introduce the collar to the dog. Let the dog smell it and explore it. Then put the collar on. Next, stand in place and let the dog move about until it runs into the collar through the leash. This will happen repeatedly until your dog looks at you and says “come on move with me” Your job is to wait for the dog to pay its first attention to you. At that moment “GOOD DOG” praise how you bring it.

Patience, Patience, Patience

These moments may require more time in order to train your dog to pay attention to you and only you while you stand first then walk and sit in your chair. Every time your dog tries to pull hard against the leash, just maintain your stance. You have done nothing at this point but maintain your stance. The dog activates the collar and utilizes the pinching mechanism and you just wait and hold your position until the dog looks to you and gives itself the release by moving to you.

NEVER pull back hard. Remember it is the dog that is pulling. Do not move until the dog has stopped and comes back to you. Use praise, pets, and holistic healthy treats to encourage the dog to obey so that you can use the collar less and less. It takes a lot of patience, and some breeds of dogs learn faster than others.

Eventually, when your dog walks alongside you and does not lunge forward or lunge against the collar you can swap the collar out for a regular choke chain.

How to Place a Choke or Prong Collar on a Dog

A choke collar is pretty simple. If you get the correct fit, you can pull the collar up and over the dog’s ears and let it sit behind the lower jaw and just behind the dog’s ears. It should NOT hang loosely around the dog’s mid to lower neck!

When either collar is properly placed and worn correctly, your dog’s throat and windpipe will not be harmed because you are not pulling on the leash at all. The dog is doing the pulling and the pinching effect occurs only on the loose scruff of the skin located behind the ears and behind the lower jaw. Proper fitting and use are key to protecting the physical well-being of your dog when you use either of these collars for training.

Where These Collars Should Sit on Your Dog’s Neck

Because these are training collars and not regular collars, they are meant to sit up a little higher than most. If the collar you use is not sitting behind the dog’s ears and lower jaw and on top of the scruff of the neck, the collar is too loose.

A choke or prong collar that is too loose will not be effective and can cause harm. Since that is not your intention, fit the collar so that it sits exactly where it should and does not slide backward or hang loosely on the dog’s chest.

Standard collars and training harnesses are allowed to sit lower because they are not irritating to your dog. The harness may be used for training once your dog understands that it has to obey leash and hand commands. A regular collar is used all the rest of the time that these training collars are not in use.

To make sure you have the correct size choke or prong collar, measure up around the dog’s head, behind the ears, and just behind the lower jaw. There should only be 1-2 chain links’ room for your fingers once these collars are on your dog. It should be able to move only slightly without slipping off. If it seems too loose, you can remove a link and hook the remaining links back together. Otherwise, buy a smaller collar.

What to Do If the Dog’s Collar Keeps Loosening

Even the best initial fittings of choke and prong collars don’t always lead to a perfect fit. If the collar you fitted seems to be loosening often and dropping to a level on your dog’s neck where the collar shouldn’t be, remove a link and reconnect the remaining links. With a prong collar, this is easy enough to do.

The prong links pop apart and slide back together similarly to that old kids’ game “Monkeys in a Barrel”. You can unhook the prongs from one end of a link and then unhook the U-loop of that same prong link from the link above it. Re-hook the remaining links together.

The choke chain is different. You will need to thread another loop link through the chain’s round-end link. Turn this link such that it cannot pass back through the round-end loop. It should hold. If it doesn’t, buy a smaller choke chain.

How Tight Should a Choke or Prong Collar Be?

A prong collar, because of its prongs, should initially be flipped inside out so that the prongs face outward until after you put the collar on the dog. It too should go on the same way you put on a choke collar and sit exactly where you would place a choke collar. Once the prong collar is on the dog, flip it over so that the prongs are facing inward on the dog’s scruffy neck fur.

Keep in mind that these chains are not meant to inflict pain. They should never be on your dog longer than the training time you use them for. Ergo, they should only be tight enough to lightly pinch when you reflexively and lightly jerk the leash.

If you’re not sure, place your fingers under the collar once it’s on your dog. You should be able to slip two fingers side by side under the collar without much struggle. The collar should not be looser or tighter than the “two fingers” rule.

It ends up being counterproductive if it’s too loose and too painful if too tight, which really doesn’t help in the training process if your dog can’t tell the difference between short pinches and never-ending pain.

Where Should You Attach A Leash to A Choke Chain Style Collar?

As you prepare to use a choke or prong collar to train your dog, you might be wondering, “Where should you attach a leash to a choke chain style collar?” This is a valid question since these collars are not like the regular woven collars you normally use on your dog. With a prong collar, there’s only one obvious loop for attaching the leash clip, and that loop should always be at the top of the dog’s head.

With a standard choke chain, you have two options for attaching a leash. the first is the end of the choke chain that hangs down past the rest of the collar. You really only want to use this end once your dog has learned most of the obedience commands you have given him or her but he/she still needs further training.

The other spot is a secondary ring that should be facing toward the side or the top of the head of your dog, depending on where you are with your dog’s training. These rings should never be on the front of the dog’s neck, or down by the dog’s chest! Adjust the collar if the rings for the leash are not where they should be.

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How to Make a Choke Chain Collar

If you’re the artsy-crafty type, you can actually make your own choke chain collar. Knowing the materials and knowing how to use the collar you make helps alleviate some discomfort owners have about using these training tools. Additionally, you can use animal-friendly and all-natural materials to make a choke chain collar and leash combo tool.

Paracord has recently become very popular. People are making belts and bracelets from paracord, with the ultimate intent of unwinding the paracord to use as a lifesaving device in emergencies. Once you learn how to braid and knot paracord, you can make an open-ended loop of braided paracord to fit around your dog’s neck.

Use two D-ring metal loops on the ends of the collar loop to secure the paracord braid. Then use a small bit of heavy-duty metal chain looped through the D-rings and connect the ends of the bit of chain with metal o-rings.

A leash clips onto the two o-rings that hold the paracord and chain choke collar together. Some people find that this type of homemade collar is safer because only a limited amount of chain touches the dog and the collar can be worn like a regular collar.

If you are the super earth-friendly, holistic type, buy paracord made from hemp. It can be dyed any color you want or left natural. It will not irritate the dog’s skin and may even be soothing while training your dog.

Understanding That Your Dog Needs to Be Trained, and Use of These Collars Can Be Effective

All dogs need training. You should never feel squeamish about the training process, or your dog will never learn to obey. Cesar Milan emphasizes this fact in reminding dog owners that they have to show who’s the “alpha dog” or “pack leader”. These training collars, when used correctly, quickly show your dog who’s boss. Then you will have a loving, loyal, and obedient friend for years to come.