I am training one of my dogs at the moment and need advice on a collar, i am using a choker, but i hate them, he is losing lots of hair on his neck.
What collar should i use? none of the ones in pets at home are strong enough.

what breed is your dog and how old is it.
ive always found that using a choker is a good way to teach dogs i think that when you go to the pet shop ask about what sort of collar would be usefull.
or you could refer to a book on training dogs n see what sort of collar is used

try a gentle leader or a half check collar i have a gentle leader for Ollie and i used it for about 3 months and dont use it anymore

a brill headcollar is the "gentlecontroller", different to the halti/GL, my dogs dont seem to mind it at all

We never use the term "Choker" or "Choke chains" because that gives completely the wrong impression of how they should be used. Their purpose is not to "choke" the dog, but to control or "check" the head by bringing the chain right up under the chin and behind the ears. There is an old dog-training saying - "if you control the head, you control the whole dog."
We train all our Siberians and have trained our Akita to show using check chains and they can all be walked on the thinnest show chains without pulling at all. The Sibes are also trained to pull in harness and learn quickly that the type of collar they are wearing determined what is expected of them.
If you can't get on with a check chain, the best head collar we have found (particularly useful with untrained and uncontrollable rescue dogs) is called a Loupi - I don't know if they are still available but it migt be worth a look.
Mick

I'm surprised this thread is discussing the use of 'gadgetry' without considering why this dog is pulling???  It takes two to pull you know?  What breed is he?  How old is he?  Have you tried a more hands off approach such as clicker training - rewarding for a slack lead and stopping for a pull?  Do you take the same route every walk?  Is he anticipating the route?  What is he pulling towards?  Does he win?  Does he get to what he is pulling towards?  So many considerations! 
I have a friend who is working very patiently with her lab that pull's - It all begins in the house when he hears his lead!  If he 'act's up' it gets put away until he can settle, she uses a clicker on walks with quick changes of direction when pulling occours, this can lead to a long walk, but will be worth it in the long run!
Sarah
PS A 'check' chain is a 'choke' chain if used incorrectly!
Oh and PPS  I would never take advice from a 'pet store assistant' on appropriate training aids (or anything else for that matter ;))

I have used full check and half check chains quite sucessfully in the past. I started using the half check because they look less offensive while out walking in town.

Again i have Akitas and they can pull most people off their feet without much trouble so any training i do with older dogs is started with the full check and progress down to the half. All of my pups are trained using a half check collar.

If you intend to continue using the full check please ensure you have it on the right way around so as not to choke the dog! You probably know this but anyone who doesnt who is reading needs to know! And as Mick has said, keep the chain under the chin and behind the ears so as not to rub the windpipe.

I dont like the head collars myself, cant get them on right despite my dogs all being very patient and waiting while the imbecile gets it right!

Whichever you decide on, and dont just take our word for it, but them all and see which you prefer if need be! i wish you luck with your training.
GM

The training method i am using is to stop when pulling and to reward by walking on when collar is loose, he is a ddb and very strong, i am only 5 foot nothing so i have to get this under control. No i don't let him win when he is trying to get to a lamp post, and no we do not always go in the same direction for a walk. I would consider keeping a choker if it would not be pulling his fur out, he is starting to show balding. He is slowly clicking on but it's the fur thing that really bothers me. I have used this method of training with both my other dogs and they clicked on a lot quicker than he has.

I used to use check chains but to be absolutely honest, it can hurt the dog and if used "robustly" as many will, (and as i used to do to my shame) can cause real damage to nerves, neck, even the eyes :(

I tend to recommend a stop pull harness suchas the one from Kumfi, for getting from A to B. This is very important as we can't trainall the time and if  the dog pulls sometimes, it will get mixed messages and training will not be consistent.

I've also had verygood results with clicker training and always insisting on a loose lead before being let off etc - in fact this last proved a great help.
Kay Lawrence (Laurence?) has written a good book on loose lead training, details should be on her website, i think it's www.learningaboutdogs.com

Lindsay
X

Hi Claudia, we had the same issue with our dog. The method you are using does work but it takes lots of patience and consistency. You dont say whether you are the sole walker of your dog or if others walk him- if one person allows him to pull it can set back the training a long way. If you do a search on pulling you will find plenty techniques, but bear in mind they all need consistent application for a good while before you decide it dosent work. How long have you been at it?

Sorry forgot to say, in our experience the first five minutes set the tone of the whole walk. Do not let him tug you out the door!

Hey Claudia, are you able to let your dog off the lead? If so, i'd suggest taking him in the car for a nice off lead walk where he can enjoy lots of freedom and sniffing. Then you could either put him back on his lead and practise walking nicely for an appropriate length of time  (you know your dog's attention span best!) with whatever method you're happiest with, or drive him back home and then try your training wherever you do at the moment. Mine often tug a fair bit on the way to the woods/fields etc if I walk them there, but on the way back I can get more or less perfect heeling!

Even if you're not able to let him off his lead, perhaps you could try a flexi lead to give him a bit of pull free freedom? At the moment I'm trying to teach my 6 month old not to pull, and I've found she works better completely off lead. I take her to the field and let her have a sniff and a wander, then get her attention and ask her to 'close' by patting my leg and walking away. She then runs up to my left side (the only side she's treated from  ;-) ) and we walk a couple of meters , do a few turns and stops (with automatic sits) with a varying degree of treating along the way. At the moment I do this maybe 2 or 3 times when we're out (without the other dog to distract her!) for a minute or 2, with each set interupted by a run around or game with a ball or just walk a bit further on the walk. She's getting the idea, although she'll get bored if I do it for too long, so I try and keep it light hearted and interesting.

HTH  :-)

p.s. they key to getting dogs not to pull is to never let them pull, but this is easier said than done and I certainly didn't manage it! I'd be interested to know if other people out there taught their dogs to heel before putting a lead on. This would make the most sense, and I wish I'd thought of it 4 months ago! I remember a time when she was more or less glued to my legs.. I should have used that time more to my advantage!!  :-D

Hi
I had mega problems with a pulling pointer....thought I had tried all the 'standard' solutions that people advocate and was on the verge of despair.  Then a friend watched me walking him and told me to 'shut up'......actually, it wasn't THAT polite, but her theory was that the poor dog had switched off totally as he was being confused by all the 'noise' I was proliferating - the 'what a good puppy', 'heel', stay close', 'no', 'this way', 'leave' etc etc. :-) So, what I did was to shut up totally....this was harder said than done, but a good square of Thorntons toffee in the gob works wonders!!!!  I still deployed the same tactics - namely, walking forwards with a loose lead and about turning when he went to pull, frequently changing direction, going off at tangents, circling around parked cars etc etc, BUT NOT SAYING A SINGLE WORD!  He soon realised that he had to actually watch me to anticipate what was going to happen next.  It's not perfect yet, and tends to be location specific, but it's a damned sight better than it was and is what has worked best for my dog so far!

By the way, if you go to the web site you've been referred to for Kay L, you will see that they are running two one day training courses called 'Walk with Me' at Moreton Morrell agricultural college in Warwickshire. They should be good....I've been on the inaugural gundog training course that her colleague, Helen Phillips, ran and can highly recommend the approach.  (People travelled from as far afield as Hampshire for that.)

Good luck.

PS.  Don't forget your body language!  If your dog gets to the end of the lead, 'invite' him back to your area by turning your body 180 degrees to the left, don't drag him back to you, wait, and wait again until his attention is on you before walking forwards again.

Hi, Gunner - what web site is that please? Our Luke is very happy on a Walkezee harness, but still would pull if allowed. I stop and he now, after many months of walking round in circles, trots round me on his own! :D :D :D. He only does this en route to the park, on the way back he walks quite well on the whole - but we would still like to improve his heel work! A day course in Warwickshire would be "doable" from here. Thanks.
Cathy.

Hi
I was referring to the www.learningaboutdogs.com website that Lindsay mentioned above.  (Sorry not sure how to do links on here!)
J

Thanks. Having now had a look, it seems to be more for trainers that for "mere" owners. However, it might still be worth considering.

Hi
I think you will find that it is for us 'mere' owners....at least, I have enrolled and not had anyone question my qualifications, which, by the way, are non-existant other than being a mere dog owner! :-) I can see how you could well interpret it as being for trainers though as they start the intro with the word 'teach'.  Go for it!    

The stopping and walking backward thing does work, but as others have said, it takes an awful lot of time, patience and consistency. I want to be able to take Sparky whenever I can, I like to have time on my own with him without having to focus on the pup, but I don't always have time for stopping and starting. I have a halti, but we still have to do the stop-start thing with that on the main road, which is the hardest thing for Sparky as he hates the traffic so much. He has it to perfection now - I stop, he almost raises his eyebrows as if to say "Oh not again, mother" and comes in a circle to a heel, then sits down and waits to go again. We just don't seem to progress from there. I've started counting the steps to see how far we get without stopping, and we have managed about 30 on the busy street. My New Year's Resolution is to get to the shops at the bottom of the road without stopping once, so perhaps a stop pull type harness might be worth trying.

PS. I also agree with Lorelei about the first five minutes. It can be very frustrating though -  it took me 40 minutes to set off on my walk this afternoon because my two were so excitable. I had to keep coming back in, taking my shoes and coat off, etc. I've given up wondering what the neighbours think!