How to properly use a choke collar

I was curious to see if anyone here on the forum has had experience and success with using a choke chain train a dog? And if so could you summarize the correct way on using this method effectively.

I always use a choke chain on my harder to handle dogs. Just like Chance my new boy he is horrible on the lead when on a collar you put him on a choke chain he leads beautifully. Noting real special about my use for it. I make sure that the choke chain ia behind the ears not down on the neck helping better with control.



I keep the lead tight enough just to keep the collar up on the neck but let the dog do their thing and when they do something wrong i i do a light jerk and say "hey" or really any command word hubby uses "heal". Then the more they do it after a i get a litter harder with the jerks you'll know your boundary on jerking on your dog . I can't really explain things well so I'll try and get a video working with Akiliya shes horrible on the lead at home. Funny thing is shes great in public lol.

the thing i see MOST common, as far as mistakes go, is:
be certain to put it on your dog so that it 'looks' like the letter "p" and NOT a small "q".
there IS a right and a wrong way to put on a choke.
i personally have gotten much better results with a pinch, tho, inparticular if your dogs have that real drive.
my dogs "get into the zone" focused on something and then they're trying to take off like a bullet trying to head towards said 'target', resulting in the choker doing just that 'choking' them. the pinch does not cut off air supply, but rather 'pinches' them just a little and they then 'back off', so to speak.
the choke is a GREAT teaching device, as far as teaching them basic commands, but to walk, especially if you have excitable dogs, i'd personally recommend a pinch. it "looks" "mean" but it really isn't.
if using a choke, as mentioned, if you're getting resistance from your dogs, put the choke up right behind their ears (it's the most vulnerable part on their necks and therefore typically yields the best results) and pull up gently on it, then dictate your command.(sit, stay, etc.)
just be consistent with your commands and positive with your reinforcement. i trained rotts for 15 years with a choke, but to walk them, again, i found the pinch much more effective.
good luck!

Like both people mentioned, behind the ears! I make sure to put the loop under their jaw and you want the chain to come out towards the top the loop of the chain, not the bottom and then just hold your leash tight. Sorry I can't explain it better but it works great! All 3 of my dogs do pretty good that way, i couldn't walk the boys with a plain collar the way I could with a choke chain. My puppy gets interested in things and ignores the chain so I might switch him to a pinch, overall though I wouldn't recommend using anything less than the choke chain.

Thanks for all the advice, I should have also mentioned this question was b/c I recently aquired a doberman, and I was wondering which method I should try using, the pinch collar or the choke chain, I actually have one of each, but I've enrolled in a K9 police dog academy course for the beginning of January to show me the proper training for canine obedience. This course however will only cover the obedience portion of the training to go any further I would have to be a certified police canine unit officer and the cost of that course would be more than I'm willing to pocket.

I would try the choke chain first. We met a couple with a Dobie at a UKC show Thanksgiving weekend and she was on a chain *shrug*

alfisher3 wrote:

Thanks for all the advice, I should have also mentioned this question was b/c I recently aquired a doberman, and I was wondering which method I should try using, the pinch collar or the choke chain, I actually have one of each, but I've enrolled in a K9 police dog academy course for the beginning of January to show me the proper training for canine obedience. This course however will only cover the obedience portion of the training to go any further I would have to be a certified police canine unit officer and the cost of that course would be more than I'm willing to pocket.

hey, good luck with the course.

Good luck Ant...sounds like it could be a lot of fun and a great learning experience.