Different Collars

Author: Denise Partlow

Instagram: @modernk9 Carolinas

Flat collar: this is the collar you typically see on a dog that is good for holding an ID tag. In my opinion, this collar should only be attached to a leash if the dog has advanced obedience, no reactivity issues or if you are just working indoors. These collars can sit low on the dog’s neck which applies an immense amount of pressure if the dog pulls and because of where it sits, the owner has less physical control over the dog, so they are not a good option to attach to a leash until the dog is trained. However, I have trained many dogs on a flat collar-but all the training started in the home first so we were able to avoid building bad habits.

Martingale-this is a limited slip collar, very similar to a slip lead-when the dog pulls, it tightens but it’s a limited amount meaning it will not tighten all the way around your dog’s neck. This can be great for a dog that slips out of their collar or you need a way to communicate better with your dog through pressure. Having a way to speak to your dog through the leash is imperative.

Slip collar or Slip lead-these are very similar to Martingales but some of them will tighten all the way and some of them will have an additional button or stopper so that you can adjust how tight it goes. The tightening applies pressure to a dog’s neck, but the dog must be taught how to “turn off” the pressure. This makes it a great tool for communication but the handler must be taught how to use it in this way.

Prong collar-unfortunately this tool looks the scariest. A well made prong should have machine rounded tips so that they are not pointy but smooth. These prongs are evenly placed around a dog’s neck to help provide that physical communication just like a slip lead but for some dogs a slip lead may not be clear enough, meaning they ignore the pressure either because they have been desensitized to it from severe pulling-or because it is a dog with a really large thick or muscular neck. Prong collars are also Martingale style so it does not tighten all the way but it does apply pressure more evenly around the neck which allows the handler to apply minimal amount of pressure.