Choke and Prong Collars

Choke and prong collars cause pain, risk injury, can make behavior problems worse, and should be avoided.

There are a few types of collars you should never use on your dog, and that list includes choke and prong collars. Some dog guardians don’t understand the physical and behavioral issues these collars can create, but many outdated or aversive trainers still recommend them. If you use or are thinking of using these collars to walk or help train your dog, be warned and read on.

What are prong and choke collars?

A choke collar is a metal chain with two metal loops on each end. It is slipped over a dog’s head and is designed to continually tighten around a dog’s neck when the handler pulls or jerks back on the leash or the dog pulls ahead. This action can quickly lead to pain, injury or choking.

Prong collars, sometimes called pinch collars, function similarly to choke collars, except they contain metal spikes on the inside that dig into and ‘pinch’ a dog’s neck if he pulls on the leash. Prong collar advocates believe that the ‘pinch’ action mimics the teeth of a mother dog grabbing a puppy’s neck during a correction, but there is no scientific evidence to back up this claim, and it's unlikely that dogs make a connection between the pinch of a collar and a correction given by a mother’s mouth, especially as no canine ‘mother’ is physically present.

Both collars tighten around a dog’s neck and are designed to cause physical discomfort and pain.

How strong is a dog's neck?

Even if used without corrections, choke collars can still cause pain, discomfort, and injury to a dog’s neck, head and spinal cord.

If you feel your dog’s neck with your hands followed by your own neck, you will see how similar they are. The trachea, esophagus, thyroid gland, lymph nodes, jugular vein, muscles and spinal column are all located in similar places. A dog’s skin layer is only 3-5 cells thick, while the top layer of human skin is denser, about 10-15 cells thick. Any pressure applied to these areas can cause injury to the dog.

Choke and prong collars injury risks.

Both choke and prong collars can increase the risk of damage to a dog's thyroid gland, eyes and neck.

The thyroid gland lies at the base of the neck just below the larynx close to where any collar sits. Just one yank can cause injury to a gland that controls many of the body’s vital functions. Studies show that the gland gets severely traumatized whenever a dog pulls on the leash and becomes inflamed, so collars that are designed to apply pressure run the risk of even more damage. The dog’s body then tries to remove the inflamed and damaged thyroid cells. This process can lead to hypothyroidism, which causes loss of energy, weight gain, skin problems, hair loss, ear infections and organ failure.
Choke and prong collars can also affect other areas of your dog's body including the eyes. When pressure and force is applied to the dog’s neck via a leash and a choke collar the resulting pressure in the dog’s eyes is significantly increased. This pressure can cause serious injury to dogs already suffering thin corneas, glaucoma, or eye injuries. This doesn’t happen when dogs are walked using a body harness.
A 1992 study of 400 dogs concluded that pulling and jerking on the leash (with any collar) is harmful to a dog’s neck and throat.1 One of the clearest correlations was between cervical (neck) damages and 'jerk and pull'. 91% of the dogs who had neck injuries had also been exposed to jerking on the lead by the owner or been allowed to pull hard on the lead for long periods of time. Extremely impulsive dogs sometimes endure near strangulation, and serious injury risk, because the drive to pull forward overrides the pain of pulling. The same study was done with dogs that were wearing harnesses, which had no impact on eye pressure when force was applied.

Choke and prong collars can exacerbate behavior problems.

There are significant behavioral risks when using or training using choke and prong collars.

Dogs walked using on choke and prong collars are consistently subjected to pain and discomfort. Training dogs using pain and intimidation often increases the likelihood of stress behaviors, mistrust, and fear which creates anxiety and exacerbates aggressive behavior on walks. Dogs that are already reactive on leash can become even more reactive due to frustration from collar discomfort.
Using a choke or prong collar doesn’t teach the dog what to do; they rely instead on causing discomfort and pain. Training using choke and prong collars usually involves ‘'corrections', essentially causing the dog pain any time he pulls on the leash or misbehaves. While this type of training may stop the pulling or suppress a certain behavior at that particular moment, it does nothing to address the root cause of the dog’s issue.
Choke and prong collars run the risk of creating unintended associations. The dog might not even realize what they are doing to cause the pain from the collar ‘correction,’ and can associate that pain with something in the environment instead of the pulling. This could happen if the handler adds pressure or yanks the dog every time another dog appears. The dog wearing the choke or prong collar can begin making an association between the other dog and the pain, making the dog more likely to be fearful, defensive, or reactive.

If these collars cause pain, why does my dog still pull?

Dogs can get used to a small amount of pressure over time but cannot tell us when they are feeling uncomfortable. They will put up with near strangulation because the drive to pull forward overrides the pain. They begin to build a 'punishment callous' as they get accustomed to the pain, thus requiring the handler to apply more force on the collar. This not only increases the risk of physical injury but doesn't solve the pulling problem. Dogs can’t tell us that something hurts but the after effects can be are serious and long lasting.

Are choke and prong collars safe if used properly?

Some trainers, still believe that choke and prong collars can be ‘used correctly’ and that they are humane and effective tools. Even with mounting evidence of the physical and behavioral harm they cause, there are many people who still believe that if used correctly, these collars are humane and effective tools.

Depending on what your personal definition of humane is, it is hard to argue that a device that has the potential to cause such physical and behavioral damage is humane and safe to use.

Any device that constricts around a neck, be it the neck of a human or canine, is dangerous and has the potential to do real harm.
Try applying a small amount of pressure to your neck and experience what a dog goes through when force is applied to any collar.

What other options do I have to stop my dog pulling or lunging?

There are more effective and humane alternatives to using a choke or prong collar on your dog.

Find a positive trainer to help you teach your dog to walk on a loose leash so you don't have to rely on any equipment to stop your dog pulling or lunging towards other dogs..
Use a body harness to walk your dog, such as the Positively No-Pull Harness. It's unique design avoids the risk of physical injury to the neck or the rest of the dog's body as the harness has two points of connection that distributes weight more evenly around the body and does not tighten when a dog pulls or lunges.
If you want to teach your dog how to walk on a leash without pulling, take the Leash Skills course.

Bottom line on choke and prong collars

Choke, pinch and prong collars should be avoided in all cases. It is impossible to defend devices or training methods that have the potential to harm your dog. Even trainers and salespeople who claim that choke and prong collars can be used safely and without harm still inflict some level of pain and discomfort that cause all kinds of problems for dogs and for their guardians.

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