What Is The Practical Purpose Of A Prong Collar?

A prong collar is a type of dog collar that is designed with prongs that dig into a dog’s neck when pulled.

However, if you’ve never used a prong collar before you might be wondering: What is the practical purpose of a prong collar? 

In this article, I will cover some key information about prong collars, including the purpose of a prong collar as well as the dangers associated with them.

Let’s get into it.

What Is A Prong Collar?

A prong collar is a dog collar that has a series of prongs or blunted metal links which are designed to pinch the skin on a dog’s neck when pulled. 

What Is The Practical Purpose Of A Prong Collar?

The practical purpose of a prong collar is to prevent a dog from pulling on their lead during training.

When a dog pulls on their lead, the prongs of the collar close around the dog’s neck which can cause pain or discomfort which reduces the chance of the dog pulling on the lead again.

However, when it has been proven that positive reinforcement is a much more effective training method, is using a prong collar for training worth the damage it can cause? Absolutely not.

Similarly to shock collars, there is a significant potential for prong collars to induce abuse or misuse, putting your dog’s physical and psychological state at risk.

Over time, your dog could even associate being taken on a walk as something to fear, as any time they pull on their lead, their neck is being pinched by the prong collar.

Are Prong Collars Harmful To Dogs?

Yes, prong collars are harmful to dogs. The prongs are designed to dig into your dog’s neck, causing a sharp pain to the thin skin under their fur.

Anything that is designed to correct your dog’s behavior through physical pain is harmful to your dog, and a prong collar is no exception. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!

While some people consider prong collars to be useful in training, there’s a reason why countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Switzerland, the Canadian Province of Quebec, and many others have all made prong collars illegal.

When it comes to training your dog, punishment based methods lead to problem behaviors and poor welfare and, much like shock collars, they can reduce learning ability.

If your dog is less inclined to learn from being punished in this way, then why wouldn’t you opt for another training method?

What Are The Dangers Of Prong Collars?

There are a variety of dangers associated with prong collars, including the following dangers listed below.

Prong Collars Suppress Behavior, But Don’t Change It

While prong collars might suppress bad behavior temporarily, they don’t teach your dog what they should be doing as an alternative. This suppression of instinctual behaviors can lead to a variety of issues down the road. 

Instead of using fear and pain to teach your dog what not to do, using positive reinforcement to teach your dog what to do instead is a much more effective method of training your dog in the long term. 

Suppressing your dog’s behavior with a prong collar only temporarily before they lash out is causing a larger problem in the long run, as opposed to training them how to behave properly from a young age.

Prong Collars Can Instill Fear, Anxiety, And Aggression In Dogs 

Using a prong collar to train your dog can have detrimental effects to both their physical and mental state.

Prong collars are known for instilling fear and anxiety in dogs, which can even lead to them acting out aggressively to you, other family members, as well as other animals they come across.

If your dog was once good at socializing with other people and animals, using a prong collar can easily reverse hours and hours of positive behavior.

They make dogs more reactive, and more likely to lunge forward, act out aggressively, or be triggered in social situations out of fear.

Prong Collars Can Break The Bond You Have With Your Dog

The bond you’ve worked so hard to build with your dog over the time you’ve had them can come crashing down in an instant when you cause them both physical and mental pain.

When you use a prong collar to punish your dog, your dog will begin to associate you with fear and pain, adversely affecting the relationship you have with them.

Prong Collars Can Cause Your Dog To Become Less Obedient

Although you might think that prong collars are the answer to your dog’s disobedience, it can actually worsen it.

If you punish your dog’s behavior with physical pain and intimidation, your dog might become even less inclined to follow your orders.

Prong collars are not the training shortcut that you might think that they are.

Training takes time, dedication, and patience, but your dog is much more likely to get there if you don’t use fear and intimidation to teach them right from wrong. 

Your dog’s wellbeing should always be at the forefront of your mind when it comes to training, and the evidence of misuse and abuse that comes with using prong collars is all too prevalent.

If you don’t have the time to train your dog with positive reinforcement methods, then you should ask yourself why you’re getting one in the first place.

The potential for damage caused by these types of collars is far too great to ever make them a recommended training method, which is why many vets are vehemently against prong and shock collars.

In Summary 

The purpose of a prong collar is to dig into the neck of a dog when pulled. The use of prong collars is unnecessarily cruel, and in some cases, can even cause irreparable damage.

There are much more positive training methods that are better for your dog’s physical and mental wellbeing, and also provide your dog with a much better chance of learning good behavior in the long term.

While prong collars might suppress bad behavior temporarily, it will cause more damage than good in the long term.

Avoid prong collars at all cost if you want to maintain a good, healthy relationship with your dog, and so that you’re not at risk of causing irreparable damage to the trust built between you and your pooch.