How to Fit A Prong CoLLAr
By Ed Frawley
I have trained more dogs than I can remember with prong collars. Not all dogs need them but for those that do I call them POWER STEERING ON DOGS.
They are excellent for many people who own dogs with behavioral problems. While many think a prong looks nasty the fact is they are far more humane than a normal choke collar.
The biggest problem with prong collars is that new dog owners don’t know how to put them on, how to size them or how their dog should wear them. This article will address these issues. It will not address the decisions made on which dogs need them and how to use them in a training program. I leave that to my DVD on Basic Dog Obedience.
Normal choke collars need to be ordered by length (i.e. 22 inches long etc.) Prong collars on the other hand are ordered by weight - Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large.
Prong collars come in a standard length which is adjusted to fit the neck of the dog by removing or adding links to the collar.
Prong collars (unlike choke collars) are meant to be put on and taken off before and after daily training sessions.
Choke collars are often left on the dog all the time (in some cases this can be a dangerous practice because dogs can hang themselves if they are kennel climbers).
One of the most common mistakes new trainers make is they don’t remove enough links to get the correct snug fit. When that happens the collar hangs down on the dogs neck which results in the collar not working the way that it was designed. A prong collar should fit the way you see it in the photo below.
Properly Fit Prong Collar on a Doberman
The correct position for a prong collar is to sit right behind the ears and up under the jaw line like you see in the photo above. The photo below shows how many people mistakenly let a dog wear a prong.
this photo above demonstrates a prong collar that
was not properly sized for the dog. the collar is too
loose and riding too far down on the dog’s neck. it
should be up where i have drawn the yellow line.
this collar is correctly sized and fits properly.
the rings on the leash are attached to the right place
on the side of the neck.
Sizing the Prong
Adding and removing Links
Some people mistakenly try and put a prong collar ontheir dog by slipping it over the dogs head and thenmoving it down on the neck. That’s wrong. Prong collarsare designed to be put on and taken off by unhookinglinks and actually unsnapping the collar from around the neck.
The right way to unhook a collar is to pinch one of thelinks and pull it apart. Taking the collar off is always easierthan putting it back on.
this photo shows how to pinch a link and take the
collar off the dog’s neck. it does not matter which link
you pinch.