I have a prong collar for my dog, because he tugs quite a lot. What should i use instead?

>>>Response From KP

Hi Michelle!
Try an "Easy-Walk" or a "Sense-ation" front leash-attachment harness. You can find them online. They’re much more humane. Thanks for your question!
KP

I have bichon frise and a bichon/pekinese and have a hard time finding a harness to go around their little bodies to attach the leash to - instead of the collar. They get excited at the sight of squirrels in particular and tug at the leash so hard sometimes that I'm afraid it'll snap their little neck. Can you recommend something reliable - and comfortable for my babies?
Thanks!
Raffaella

>>>Response From KP

Hi Raffaella!
Thanks for your question. Have you tried an Easy-Walk or a Sense-ation front leash-attachment harness? You can find these online, and they work very well to stop pulling. Also, a good training technique is to plant your feet when your dogs pull and not move forward at all until they slack up. They will soon learn that they get to move forward as long as they don’t pull, but when they pull, they get nowhere!
KP

I absolutely HATE it when my mom does that to my dog. Of course my mom never listens when I tell her the right way to take care of him... whenever he has an accident, she grabs him and presses his face to the floor. And guess what? He's so terrified that he has no idea what's going on and he does it again! All you really have to do is call him to the site of the accident, point to it, and say, "No (insert pets name here,)that's bad. Don't do it again!" calmly. My pup's only had a few accidents since! And yes, they were accidents. ^_^

Hi KP, I am writing from Brisbane Australia and would be interested if PETA has any affiliations here as I am interested in knowledge about any vets that use holistic/homopathic/naturapathic treatments. Also do you have advise on feeding for health?

>>>Response From KP

Hi Sandra,
We have a PETA Asia-Pacific office, but it doesn't really deal with holistic veterinary issues. I'm sure if you go online, you can find oodles of information and an Australian holistic veterinary network.
KP

I know what you mean, Karen. I run into that issue a lot. It ranges from people who don't spay/neuter their dogs, to backyard breeding, to inhumane training methods, to people who are planning to dock their dog's tale, etc. I try not to act completly outraged and explain my beliefs in a calm manner. Sometimes people realize that they don't know much and they soak up your info like a sponge, other times there are people who are totally confident in what they are doing. The putting the dog or cats face in the feces or pee if they have had an accident is very common - my Grandma believes in that. As a little kid I already told her: "How would you like if someone did that to you?" The trick to potty training is to catch the dog (cats are a bit different) doing it, then you voice a firm "NO", and take the dog outside where he/she is supposed to do his/her business... you have no idea how often I have explained this to people at the dog park.
Also, if you do use a prong collar, please take it off at the dog park and at home - it is only meant to be a training aid. Many people leave it on their dog at the dog park, just like a regular collar, but they don't realize that the dogs can hurt themselves or other dogs with it.

Karen, thank you for posting this dilemma! Unfortunately I do not have THE answer, but I do try to get the owner to see the side of the dog...
Most of the time I get stared at like I suddenly started speaking gibberish but every now and then you see a little light switch on inside their mind.
That is a GOOD day!!
Loved reading your blogs, up to the dirty dog today :-)

I too like so many animal lovers have come across the people who think these forms of "training" are either appropriate or funny of all things. The only way I have ever been able to get across to these people unfortunately is flat out rudeness. Just because someone has a dog doesn't make them an animal lover and in order to be taken seriously I have to play mind games of who has a stronger will. If that fails, then I will buy them the more humane training tools or leave them with Peta stories and literature.

I live in Italy where, fortunately, electric collars, ear cropping, tail docking and cutting vocal chords are all against the law. (Only since recently, but better than nothing). Crates are legal but should not be. Usually people crate dogs when they leave them alone at home. There is a simple but lengthy way of avoiding misbehaviour when you leave your dog at home alone (which you should do as rarely as possible, if you have problems at work get a dog sitter to spend at least an hour with your dog while you're out).
My step by step method: when your pup is about 4/5 months old, take him to his bed (NOT crate) stroke him and talk to him gently. ALWAYS finish with the same words (that he will learn to understand within a few weeks) like "I'll be back soon" or whatever you choose as long as it's ALWAYS THE SAME. Then leave the house for five minutes. Make sure he has lots of toys to chew, spread garlic paste or chilli pepper paste on things you don't want destroyed like the chairs, carpet edges, shoes etc. the room should be spacious and also have plenty of natural light, possibly a window or glass doors he can look out of to distract himself, and clean fresh water.When you get home greet him with affection and kind words but without going crazy, it's not such a big deal being left alone. After about a week of this 'excercise' he should be quite calm about being left for 5 minutes. If he is, then lengthen your outing to 10 minutes, using exactly the same procedure. When he's happy with this, increase your absence to 15 minutes and so on until you reach the maximum time which should NEVER be more than six hours a day. If you follow this step by step procedure you will find that your dog will be - certainly not happy - but perfectly tollerant of your absence.
By the way, if you know that you have to leave your dog at home for more than 6 hours a day you shouldn't get one, if you already have, get a reliable dog sitter to take hime out for half an hour and spend an hour with him, at home, stroking,caressing him and talking to him. Dogs feel reassured by a calm and gentle voice.

I adopted a rescue Puggle -
she is so obsessed with "hunting" and its extremely upsetting I don't know what to do. She is extremely strong and pulls and bays at squirrels, frogs, deer, etc.. At night when it's harder to see she has eaten two toads when I wasn't able to restrain her in time. I don't want her to kill animals and I don't want her to have housetraining problems because she is so fixated on hunting. Is there a kind, effective way to train her ? I am desperate!

I also hate prong and shock collars! I work in a veterinary hospital and have seen the injuries that can occur from these devices. I personally like a Gentle leader or Halti head collar for dogs that pull. I currently am not into going to dog parks since my dogs just got fleas from being there.

Hi Faith!
Please tell us more about the injuries you've seen--you have firsthand knowledge. I'm glad you're against those horrible collars too. I think the Halti is OK, but it looks like it could put a major strain on a dog's neck. Also, dogs seem to hate them, whereas the Easy-Walk and the Sense-ation are immediately acceptable and comfortable to dogs.
About the fleas, I'm not crazy about Advantage or Frontline (topical flea treatments) because they're so strong, but if it would keep you going to the dog park, I'm sure your dogs would be in favor of it. ;-)
KP

We have a wonderful rescue boxer. His ears were cropped and tail docked when we adopted him. So, I spend a good amount of time at our dog park explaining the docking and cropping. I wanted everyone to consider the person with the dog may not be responsible for the past surgery.

to chris cifelli:
I also have a rescued beagle mix, she was bred specifically to hunt small animals. I've always given her opportunities to express this natural behavior without hurting anyone--so she gets to track people she knows and likes, as well as other dogs and even cats on occasion. It's as simple as asking people to take a few minutes and a short walk to leave a trail she can follow.
And it's never too late to socialize her with small animals. Closely supervised visits with friends who have cats, ferrets, bunnies, etc. (as long as those animals aren't traumatized at the mere thought of having a dog in their home)can very quickly show a dog that those animals also have a right to exist in peace. If you don't have any friends who have those types of companions, it won't be hard to find a local pet supply store that sells small animals (of course you won't want to shop at places that sell animals--you can actually walk in and give your puggle the chance to get accustomed to the smell and activity of these animals, then politely let the store manager know that you were planning on shopping there but decided not to because you are opposed to buying and selling animals for any reason).
If your dog is older, this process will certainly take more time and patience than it would if she is still relatively young, but it's never too late. In the meanwhile, take a flashlight along on your evening walks so that you can prevent any more toads from meeting the same fate. If you see her going for one, you can simply step in between them--make a human shield and bring her attention back to you, then walk away. By the way, I think it's really admirable that you don't want your little one to hurt any animals. If you persevere, you might even wind up with a hunting dog who uses her powers for good, rather than evil--my angel never hurts small/baby animals she comes across outside. Instead she remains nearby, never touches them, and does whatever she has to do to alert me to their presence so they can be helped, if necessary. It's a wonderful thing.

Prong collars are NOT cruel at all. A dog on a flat buckle leash will pull to the point of bruises and dislocated vertebrae. On a prong, the dog will NEVER pull that hard, and the pressure is evenly distributed around the dog's neck. Put one around your arm and pull, you'll see that it is difficult if not impossible to create injuries with a prong collar.