Gina Marie Capatar

As more breeds of dogs are domesticated, the number of available dog training collars are also steadily increasing. It can be really hard to keep up with what dog collars to use for your dogs.

Let me guide you through the maze of dog training collars. We’ll take a look at each of the available collars we can get for our dogs.

First, there’s the buckle collar. The buckle collar is really like a buckle that we use for our trousers. Buckle collars have buckle fasteners to to secure it to the dog’s neck. Buckle collars for dogs come in different varieties — flat, rolled, made in nylon, or made in leather. The preferred buckle collars are those made of nylon. They are easier to clean, don’t shrink and they come in different colors and styles. The leather ones, although popular, are not very easy to clean and if wrongly washed they may shrivel or shrink.

Another collar especially used for flyball training and sled dog racing is the Martingale collar. Martingale collars provide “limited choke” on the dog’s neck. These collars tend to stay put on your dog’s neck — they really fit closely in a very nice way. Martingale collars are flexible, and eliminate the danger of choking even if the dog gets very excited.

Next is the Limited Choke Collar. These collars are more like the choke chain, but have rings at the end to make room for a few inches of allowance. To use these collars, you just have to ease the training collar from dog’s head, slip it down his neck and tighten it a little.

An outdated dog training collar is the choke chain. This was formerly used by dog owners before better collars were invented. Mostly, choke chains were used for punishment and correction. When a dog misbehaves, the owner would jerk on the leash and the dog would choke, making him think twice about what he was doing. Before, choke chains were really made of chains but now they are mostly made of nylon. Choke chains really do amount to torture to dogs, and in some cases when the jerking is very hard, it can damage the dog’s windpipe and even cause it to collapse.

An innovation on the choke chain collar is the snap-around choke. This is similar to the choke chain, but designed not to damage a dog’s windpipe. The snap-around choke is very snugly fit and it is worn up high the dog’s neck. When the leash is jerked, it does not damage the dog’s windpipe and does not jolt the dog very much.

Most of the collars we have discussed are worn around the dog’s neck. However, there are also dog training collars that are worn on the head. These collars are fit on the dog’s head with a leash attached under the dog’s muzzle. The principle of this is that, where the dog’s head is, its body will follow. The dog may not adjust that easily to wearing these kinds of dog collars and they may look like a pony halter or a muzzle.

Next is the Pronged or the German Pinch dog training collar. This collar is especially made for dogs that are wild, unruly and difficult to control. These collars apply pressure on the protruding areas in the dog’s neck; therefore they effectively get the dog’s attention. This kind of dog training collar does not damage the dog’s windpipe.

Another dog training collar is the electronic collar. These collars set off radio waves that shock the dog. The consequence of using this kind of collar is that your dog will always leave on fear and negative anticipation of the next shock. Electronic collars should basically never be used by novice trainers as they won’t know how to properly use this collar.

There is also a collar known as a no-bark collar. These are generally not really collars, but are meant to train dogs not to bark. It is often very damaging and hardly beneficial to the dog to use this kind of collar. Not only are they often ineffective, they can shock the dog when a loud noise shows up in the environment, leaving the dog anxious, confused and even depressed.

Believe it or not, we haven’t named them all — there are still many more dog training collars available. Collars are constantly evolving to be as comfortable and as dog-friendly as possible. Other dog training collars include: light-up collars, which light up or glow at night; ornamental collars; schutzhund training collars, and many others.

An important thing in choosing a dog training collar is that they cater to your needs without damaging any part of the dog’s anatomy. It’s also important to weigh the pros and cons of each kind of collar so that both you and your dog will both benefit from the one you have chosen.

About the Author: Gina Marie Capatar writes on a variety of topics. She is a freelance writer and the head writer for http://www.isnare.com You may contact her at gina@isnare.com or visit http://outsourcing.isnare.com for writing job proposals.