How to Fit a Prong Collar

How to Fit a Prong Collar

I train dogs with prong collars. There are very few dogs that I would not train with a prong collar. I recommend them to new dog owners, new trainers and people who own dogs with behavioral problems. While some think a prong looks nasty the fact is they are far more humane than a normal choke collar.

The biggest problem with prong collars is that new dog owners don’t know how to put them on, how to size them or how to have their dog wear them. This article will address these issues.

Normal choke collars need to be ordered by length (i.e. 22 inches long etc.) Prong collars are ordered by size (small, medium, large or extra large). They all come in a standard length which is adjusted to fit the neck of the dog by removing or adding links to the collar.

Prong collars are meant to be put on and taken off before and after daily training sessions. Unlike a choke collar that is often left on the dog all the time (in some cases this can be a dangerous practice).

A common problem new trainers have is they don’t remove enough links to get the correct snug fit. When that happens the collar hangs down on the dogs neck which results in the collar not working the way that it was designed.

Some people mistakenly try and put a prong collar on their dog by slipping it over the dogs head and then moving it down on the neck. That’s wrong. Prong collars are designed to be put on and taken off by unhooking links and actually unsnapping the collar from around the neck.

The right way to unhook a collar is to pinch one of the links and pull it apart. Taking the collar off is always easier than putting it back on.