Collars and Leashes and Training! Oh My!

When training a dog there are many types of training collars and leashes that you can use. The fallowing is an outline of the pros and cons of each. Every dog is different and will need a different type of training collar to work to their highest potential.

Note: Never leave a dog in anything but a flat buckle collar or martingale collar while unattended!
The Flat Collar 
If you own a dog, you should own one of these... 

Use: Identification, Training pups under 6 months, Small or Shy dogs.

Pros: Will not injure your dog, Can put ID tags on it, great for shy dog and puppies when beginning training or as a benchmark to pick the appropriate type of training collar for your dog.

Cons: Dog can easily back out of this collar even if it is fitted correctly and there for should never be used in environments where an of leash dog could run or get into trouble. Only for use on well trained dogs.

The Metal Choke Collar  


Use : Showmanship, on gentle well trained dogs, police dogs

Pros: Dog can't slip out of this collar easily if fitted correctly.

Cons: Very dangerous, this collar can cause esophageal, tracheal, and nerve damage to your dogs body that could be irreversible. Even if you know how to use it correctly you can still injure your dog. Experienced dog trainers and showmanship exhibitors are the only ones who should ever use this collar.

The Metal Prong Collar "Pinch Collar"

                                                               Use: For Training, Correction of lunging, pulling,             sniffing, and strong dogs that are difficult to handle, for pups 6 months and older.

                                                    Pros: Created by a veterinarian as a safer alternative to the choke collar, it works by applying an even amount of pressure across the dogs neck with a slight mouthing feeling to the dog. It's more natural because it acts as the mother dog giving a small mouthing correction to her young, most dogs are familiar with this feeling and associate it with a behavioral correction. When used properly it gives a quick correction to the dog and then returns back to having no pressure on the dogs head what so ever. Besides the flat buckle and harness this is by far the safest training collar when used properly as it will not caused any nerve damage or esophageal damage.

Cons: Not everyone can use this collar as it takes a lot of patience to learn how to use. Dogs often make whining sounds when first introduced to it and can be a traumatic experience for the owner to watch. Not for people who like to keep tight tension on the leash. The prong collar should only be used on dogs 6 months or older as puppies like to have temper tantrums and could have a traumatic experience if they are fighting the collar. Not that great for breeds under 30lbs.

Note: This is my favorite collar to use however the general public seems to think it is a torture device. It's not, I have used it at least a few times on every guide dog puppy I have worked with and gotten very positive results. Eventually I was able to switch all of my dogs (except sage) to a flat martingale  collar. To keep from getting comments from the public on what a terribly abusive dog trainer I am I started putting a lightweight bandana over the prong collar. This seems to work very well and is also useful in summer if your worried about the metal heating up.

The Flat Martingale Collar

Use: For well trained dogs that don't need a lot of correction, a safer alternative to walking your dog on a flat buckle collar, great for training dogs that don't pull.

Pros: great to transition to after training your dog in a prong collar. Good for dogs with over sized or small heads, grey hounds and pit bulls for example. Prevents your dog from backing out of their collar.

Cons: dosen't work great on dogs that pull. You have to learn how to properly use it for corrections, constant pressure could damage your dogs neck. Can't put your dog on tie down with this collar on.
This is the same Collar I used on Nick from the time he was about 16 months until he returned to the school. If he had good days I would use this and if he was super high energy I would use a pinch collar. oh, and I love this design!



The Head Halter "Halti"

Use: for dogs that pull or have intense sniffing problems

Pros: an easy way to control a large dogs head. This collar was created to reenact the horse halter by putting pressure on the dogs face. Its very effective for dogs with sniffing and nose dragging issues. This is also a good collar to use on dogs that have focusing issues. 

Cons: puts constant pressure on the dogs head and can be dangerous if not used correctly. In reality horses are 10 times larger than dogs so using a halter is much more effective on them than it is on a dog. It is not effective for small dogs but can be a good option for some larger breeds.

The Harness
Use: Sled dogs, Agility, Service Dog training
 
Pros: great for people how put to much tension on their dogs leash but don't realize it. Harnesses are good for older well trained dogs that respond to verbal correction and don't need a collar to correct them. The gentle leader harness that hooks at the front of the dogs chest is very effective for puppy's that like to jump up. By double leading it with a flat head collar your easily in control of the dogs entire body. Very good for guide pups still trying to figure out what they are supposed to be doing. It's very difficult to do any type of damage to your dog with a harness on.

Cons: Harnesses aren't very effective at controlling larger dogs. They where originally designed for sled dogs to wear as they pulled a sled behind them. You can't use them to train a dog over 6 months or a large dog very well.

Leashes:
 Nylon leash: good for training puppies who like to eat the leash, they are cheap and easy to buy. They are not very comfortable to the hands and can burn blisters into your palms if the dog is pulling a lot. They are also good for double leading puppies.

Double leading: In this photo you can see that I have two leads on Nick. The black lead is connected to a gentle leader harness on the front of his chest (to keep him from lunging ahead of me). And the blue lead is connected to his head collar (to correct him of unwanted sniffing). You can use a double sided leather lead or two nylon leads to accomplish this technique. It's very effective on young puppies. I used it on Nick when he was going thru a terrible phase of teething, bad behavior and crazy little man hormones. I prefer using a leather lead for it however Nick would have figured out a way  to chomp thru it while I wasn't looking. You can also use the harness in conjunction with a prong or halti if your afraid of over correcting or hurting your dog. Different color leads work well to keep track of what goes to what as it can get confusing at first. 

Leather Double clip leash: I discovered these when I started puppy raising. These are the same leashes that our graduates use on their dogs. I'm in love with them as you can do about a thousand different things with them. You can make them longer or shorter, hook them over your sholder, around your waist, onto a belt loop, around a chair or desk, Around a tree (for camping), or as a double lead as mentioned above. Oh, and if you don't have your dog with you but your walking several dogs you can clip it over and across your shoulder and it won't fall off :)
There are many different types of leashes and training collars. I have just touched on a few that I have had experience with. It takes a lot of experimenting to figure out what works for you. Everyone is different and likes different things. Asking around to see what works for other people is often the best way to try new things on your dog to figure out what works for them and for you. My two favorites are the double lead harness-flat collar for puppies and the prong collar for older pups with a leather guide lead. That's what works the best for me but different things work for different people. You have to decide what works for you and it's okay to change your mind more than once. 

Definition of a Service Dog

I am not a Service Dog user but Service Dogs are a very important part of my life. As I raise puppies and help individuals in need of dogs I often get questioned by members of the public. "What makes a dog a service dog?" There are a lot of things that makes a service dog, legal and non-legal.

Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. (ADA)

It takes a special kind of dog to make a service dog. They have to have natural ability, proper health, the perfect temperament, and be highly trainable. I constantly have people tell me that their dog would be the perfect service dog and ask if they can donate them to our program. That's not the way it works, service dogs are typically breed for their temperament or rescued and go through intense temperament testing before beginning a training program.

Service Dogs are only for individuals with medical and psychiatric conditions. It would be cool if everyone could take their dogs places but the reality is that it can be distracting to teams who are working. Service dog users all have relatively the same goal, to make their life's easier or safer. They are trained to do specific task that qualify them to be service dogs. A guide dog can improve the mobility and lifestyle of a visually impaired person. A diabetic alert dog can help prevent a diabetic from having an extreme high or low by warning them ahead of time. A Psychiatric service dog can get a person out of a situation and bring them to safety. I only have a service dog with me half the time because I'm a trainer and by law in Arizona and New Mexico, allowed to work my dogs anywhere the public has access to. They have to learn to be in every situation a service dog will be in so I try to take them where ever I go. (When I have a dog in training)

Therapy Dogs are NOT Service Dogs. The job of a therapy dog is to make people in distress happy. They do not perform special task and therefore are not service dogs. Therapy dogs do a very important job but businesses are not required to allow them access.

Service Dogs legally do not have to be certified by any organization. There are many wonderful teams that have been owner self trained. I think this is a great thing! Businesses are not allowed to ask to see your dogs certification but if your dog is clearly not a service dog they are allowed to ask you what task your dog performs. PLEASE DO NOT take a dog that is not a service dog or service dog in training into any public business that does not openly welcome pets. Owner self trainer teams are created by a person who legitimately needs help. By trying to pass your dog off as a service dog you will make it difficult for owner self trainer teams to exists. Please help to preserve this privilege by not taking your pets into public places.

Service Dogs do NOT have to wear identification. Jackets, Vests, ID cards and leash covers are all forms of identification. If someone says their dog is a service dog or service dog in training they are required access. If the dog is misbehaving ie, urinating/defecating on the floor, barking, or showing aggression towards other customers you may ask them to leave but only for that reason. If you have a service dog it is highly recommended that your dog wears visible identification to avoid access denial and confusion.

Like my good friend Amelia says, "They're not pets in fancy jackets

They're working dogs for the good of mankind!" 

 That's all for now, 

Kyia + Boeing  

The Beginning

    I'm starting this blog to document my experiences of undergraduate school and my plan to raise guide dog puppy number three. I'll warn you now that my writing skills aren't anything to write home about but hopefully they will improve with time. Over the next semester I will be preparing to raise my third guide dog for Guide Dogs of the Desert (GDD) and starting up a new student organization called Aggie P.A.W. (Partners for Assistance thru Work). I will be serving as the club president as the club strives to create a community for service dog trainers, users, and individuals interested in either of the two.

   A little bit about the two dogs I have raised.

Nick was the first puppy that I raised. I picked him up from Guide Dogs of the Desert on August 13th 2010 as an 8 week old puppy who's dream was to be the worlds greatest guide dog. I started project Nick as a Junior in High school taking dual enrollment classes at a local community college in my home town. While I was home schooled the rest of the time. Nick started out as a rambunctious little pup but quickly grew into a dog that strived for adventure. He wanted to work every day and if he didn't get to he would destroy things. His favorite things to eat other than dog food where socks and toilet paper. One time he ate a five dollar bill and really seemed to enjoy that, although my mom wasn't too pleased. I taught Nick a lot and he turned into an amazing dog. He went everywhere I went, school, work at the clinic, city bus rides, class rooms, Doctors offices, grocery stores, busy downtown streets and everywhere in between. He learned to be well behaved and do exactly what he was supposed to do.

 

   February 18th 2012, at about 2 years of age, Nick returned to Guide Dogs of the Desert for formal training. Before formal training began he had to pass in depth medical exams and testing which he passed with flying colors. Nick worked with trainers for a little over 7 months before my mom got the phone call. It was a dreary October day when my mom called to tell me he had been dropped from the program. He had a natural instinct to air sniff which is a really amazing thing dogs can do to see what kind of danger or potential threats are in the area. However, for guide dogs it is very distracting as they are constantly trying to protect their partner from threats that might not be there. According to the trainers at GDD it became to stressful for Nick to guide as he was always concerned about protecting his partner. The trainers offered us to take him back home with us. I seriously wanted this dog back but I knew how much he loved to work and I asked them to career change him. It was a painful decision to make that involved lots of crying but I knew it was the best decision for him. Shortly after, Nick found his new job as a Mobility Support Service Dog and therapy dog for a legally blind man who didn't quite qualify for a guide dog but needed a dog for support. Nick's a big 85lb boy which is great for mobility support dogs so I hope that it was the right job for him. I haven't seen Nick sine I dropped him off for formal training almost a year ago, but I hear he is doing well and I hope to one day meet his new partner.

 Bodo was the second dog I raised. My brother and I finish raised her for Guide Dogs of the Desert last summer. As the story goes, her puppy raisers dropped her of at the training campus and said that they where going out of town for the summer and couldn't deal with her any more. She stayed at the school for a little over a month undergoing health exams in preparation for formal training. She was about 14 months of age. From observing her in the kennels and attempting to work with her the trainers decided that she needed a little extra puppy in training experiences before she was ready to go into formal training. I got a call from our area coordinator asking if we would be interested in fixing this dogs many problems and my brother and I jumped on the chance.

We only had Bodo for a little over 3 months but the transformation we watched her take over that time was pretty amazing. She was not the smartest puppy I have worked with by far but she was really sweet and loved to cuddle. Her worst habits where jumping up and grabbing the back of peoples pants while they tried to walk by her in the house, and running around in circles around the house so that no one could catch her. She was easily cured of both of these issues and turned into a great dog. I didn't get to do as much with her as I did with Nick but by the time she went back to school she was a well rounded pup ready to begin formal training. She returned to GDD a week after I started college at NMSU and begin working in harness about 6 weeks ago. I'm super proud of what she has accomplished so far and I hope to see her graduating sometime next year!

Why don't I have pup #3 already? Well, I started university this semester and I didn't want to overwhelm myself with to many experiences at once so I decided to take a break from puppy raising for a year. I really miss puppy raising. It also cost a fair amount of money to raise a pup and I wanted to give myself some time to save up for that. This next semester I will be preparing to raise puppy number 3 by making special arrangements with housing and starting up aggie P.A.W. So far, I love university and I want to spend as much time as possible going to school. My end goal is to be a veterinarian possibly specializing in equine or wildlife medicine and donating time to guide dog and service dog organization I love animal science and anything to do with medicine. I'm super excited to be starting this blog and I hope if you read this far because it's really stinking long, that you will leave a comment and tell me how you like it!

That's all for now,

Girl minus pup