Hello.

My 4-month old will be ready to go out for walks in about a week. I was wondering what is the best collar to use to discourage pulling. I am leaning more on a prong collar but also thinking about a martingale. I am not a fan of the harnesses because I used them with my other dogs and it didn't stop them from pulling. How old do they have to be to start using a prong collar? He just turned 4 months a few days ago and he is 32-lbs. I have two smaller dogs and I eventually want to be able to walk all three.

Thanks!

At such a young age I really don't think a prong is necessary, and I personally wouldn't use it. I can handle all of mine on collars (regular, semi-slip, half-check) although I do prefer semi-slip, martingale, and half-check type collars because your pup won't be able to slip out. As for walking all three I cannot help, I walk all three of mine but I use front-leading WYDWL harnesses which you've already said you don't want to try.

Thanks for the info. I think I'll try the half-check or martingale on him first while training him. He is pretty young and hopefully with a lot of patience and a lot of treats he'll learn.

1. I would never recommend using a prong collar on any type of dog. If you're worried about pulling, get some type of leader, or harness that discourages pulling.
2. Just work on teaching your dog to walk on leash. A husky like any other dog can walk perfectly on a leash without dragging you around town. My own boys are good to walk on a leash just with a regular collar, and if they begin to pull all I do is correct them and they're fine again. Though most people who work their dogs, get their dogs used to pulling in a harness. My two know the difference between going out in a regular collar, no pulling, to being in a harness and me wanting them to pull.

I have a martingale for Dizzy. Not the type with a chain, just a regular nylon one. The only reason I did that is because he backs up when he's being stubborn and doesn't want to go inside. We're working on this, but to keep him safe in the meantime, I got the martingale so he can't back out of it, or slip it.

By the way, he still pulls in the martaingale, just like many dogs pull in a choke collar. I watched an interesting training video called, 'silky leash training' a few days ago. I want to start trying it this weekend. Its an interesting concept on leash training, it teaches the dog to yield to leash pressure vs. opposing it. Generally dogs react oppositionally to pressure vs. a horse who will yield to pressure. It also would be helpful in distinguishing pulling in harness, vs. not pulling in collar. http://ahimsadogtraining.com/blog/2008/10/12/silky-leash/

And, your pup is adorable!

I would personally start off with just a normal collar and see how your pup does with that because if you start off with other stuff he will never learn to walk on a normal collar!

Thanks. I love the "silky-leash" video. I will definitely try that at home. I'll use the regular collar he has on since he still has a few more days before he can head outside.