Would a half choke collar be cruel for a 4 and half month boxer pup. At times she walks ok and others pulls so hard she makes herself sick by choking. We are trying to train her to heel and dont know whether this would help. She wont let us put on a harness. If we get it on she refuses to walk, just lies on her back.

I don't think that you're supposed to use those collars until the puppies are at least 6 months old -- it can severely damage their windpipes.

If the half choke she uses is the nylon kind then it's no different on their windpipe than a regular nylon collar - however I KNOW they won't stop him from pulling. We use these types of collars on our dogs to keep them from slipping their collars. They can still pull like MAD when they want to.

I'd perservere with the harness. He's not letting you, as you say, which means YOU are telling him HE'S in charge by letting him have his way. That's NOT a good way to start! YIKES

Wendy

If you use a half choke it won't stop her from pulling - they get tighter than a normal collar, so would probably choke her even more. If you want her to wear a harness, you will have to make her wear it - it's not her decision! Just be careful, because they can rub sometimes. You can try another option which I have used in the past - have your dog's collar and lead on as normal, then get a separate long lead that you can loop around the front of her so that it hangs down touching her front legs - then just hold the other end of the 'loop' together with your normal lead. Because of the looped lead touching her front legs, it should stop her pulling.
Hilda

We are going to try the easy walk training harness from Petplanet and just keep at it.