Prong collars have long been a controversial tool in the dog training world. I used them in the past and saw quick results, but over time, I’ve shifted my perspective.
Today, I believe there are more effective, compassionate ways to train a dog that don’t rely on pain or fear. This post explores the pros and cons, why I no longer recommend prong collars, and what I suggest instead.
I used to think walks were non-negotiable. Rain or shine, my dogs had to be walked daily. And if they pulled, we used what we thought worked, including prong collars.
Years ago, when we adopted Bear, he was a 95lb powerhouse with zero leash manners. I remember the stress of trying to walk him with my daughter on her bike and thinking, “How will we ever make this work?”
The prong collar seemed like the answer. It helped me gain quick control, and at the time, I believed it was the most humane option available.
But the more I learned, the more my thinking changed.
Are Prong Collars Cruel?
This is one of the most frequently asked questions, and the answer isn’t straightforward. Prong collars aren’t inherently cruel… when used properly, they’re designed to apply even pressure around the dog’s neck rather than causing trachea damage like flat collars can. But here’s the catch:
Most people don’t use them properly.
And even when they do, prong collars rely on discomfort to stop unwanted behavior. That’s just not how I want to communicate with my dogs anymore.
Why I Stopped Recommending Prong Collars
Over the years, I’ve fostered dozens of dogs and worked through a wide range of behavioral issues — reactivity, fear, leash pulling, and more. And yes, I used prong collars with some of them in the beginning. I don’t regret those moments; they were part of my learning journey.
However, I’ve also seen how much more powerful it is to build a relationship based on trust, choice, and clear communication, rather than pressure or pain. It might take longer, and it’s not always easy, but the results last longer and feel better for everyone involved.
Instead of reaching for a prong collar these days, I do one of two things:
- I don’t go on a walk right away. I start by sitting in the yard, working on calmness, connection, and attention.
- I use reward-based training and tools like front-clip harnesses or long lines, depending on the dog’s needs.
Walks aren’t the only way to exercise a dog. Mental stimulation, sniff time in the backyard, enrichment games, and play can meet a dog’s needs in a more relaxed, confidence-building way.
Pros and Cons of Prong Collars
Although I no longer recommend them, I think it’s essential to provide a comprehensive picture, especially for those who are desperate for help.
The “Good” (why people use them):
- They can stop pulling quickly
- They’re often used by balanced trainers
- They can be a last resort for strong dogs when other methods haven’t worked
The “Bad and Ugly”:
- They rely on pain or discomfort to stop behavior
- Misuse is common, which can lead to physical and emotional damage
- They don’t teach the dog what to do instead
- They can erode trust between you and your dog
What to Use Instead
There are so many tools and methods that can help you teach your dog to walk nicely on a leash, without fear or pain:
- Front-clip harnesses (we use the Ruffwear Front Range Dog Harness)
- Relationship-based games that teach attention, impulse control, and focus
One of my favorite resources is the Loose Leash Walking online course by SpiritDog Training. It’s a gentle, step-by-step program that teaches your dog how to walk politely without pulling.
➡️ Check out the SpiritDog Loose Leash Walking Course here (affiliate link)
This is a great option if you want expert guidance, especially for dogs who are leash-reactive or overly excited on walks.
And if your dog is struggling with reactivity or fear? Training games that build confidence and help them feel safe are your best path forward.
I cover many of these ideas in my blog and in my Rescue Dog Confidence Training Starter Pack.
Final Thoughts
This isn’t about shaming anyone. I’ve been there. I still see prong collars online or at the park and feel that moment of, “I get why they’re using it.”
But I also know we can do better.
If you’re here because you’re struggling with your dog pulling or being reactive, you’re not alone, and you’re not failing. There are kinder, more effective ways to help your dog, even if they take a little more time.
Want help figuring out where to start? Check out these resources:
We recently attended a three week intensive training program for our 4 year old, 50 lb lab mix. Sweet dog who is highly, highly excitable and anxious. Our goal with the program was full obedience. They started our dog on a martingale collar, then upgraded him to a choke, and finally the prong. All seemed to be going well with the prong except his reactivity to other dogs while on leash seemed to get worse. However, I am primarily writing here because he recently growled and snapped at our 1.5 year old son while getting a correction with the collar – he has never done this before. He was supposed to be in a “down” but got up
when my son went by with a musical toy so I
gave him a small correction back to his down. I think our dog is fearful that our son is causing
him to get negative corrections. Since the
incident he has been mouthing our son a lot
more. Could the use of the collar be creating more fear and anxiety in our already anxious
dog? We’ve invested a lot of time and money in our training and I feel like we have to go back to the drawing board. I haven’t used the collar since. Our dog is very responsive to positive training with treats, but he is also food aggressive which makes me nervous to use around my son (and he is sometimes so excited about the treats he can’t pay attention to training). Any training resources or advice
you can provide would be very helpful! I am trying to gain more knowledge and be a responsible dog owner (esp. with kid number two on the way in just a few weeks).
Look into Ed Frawley with Leerburg-has many articles, videos, and you can ask his wife Cindy questions, she is a trainer too.
We rehomed a 8 month old GSD who was full of anxiety and nervousness. Our first walk getting her home she barked and lunged at anything that moved be it person or dog. She nearly pulled my partner off her feet in the first week. We worked with a balanced trainer to begin with and we saw some improvement but didn’t want to use a prong because of their reputation. We then moved and tried a force free trainer. No amount of chicken, ham or hotdogs we’re getting our dogs attention when she reacted. I spent a year night after night, hours in all weathers, trying thresholds etc to help our dog and while we saw improvement she was still had some reactivity issues. Contacted another balanced trainer and he recommended a prong. What a life changer. In one session she was working roundabout his dog with no issues. We’ve even had comments from people about how well behaved our dog is. The absolute best feeling was able to have a family trip to a busy seaside and she walked calmly through crowds, passed dogs, runners and cyclists and she was good as gold.
If used correctly prongs are a great tool and can greatly improve your and the dogs quality of life
I have four bouvier dogs whom i love dearly, but using the regular belt type choker, got me dragged under the wheels of truck, which fortunately stopped at the last second, saving my life and the probably the dogs as well, since i walk all four at once, so all i can say, is your information and positive comments on the use of the prong collar seems to be my only and final choice. My wife bought the plastic" command collar" it did have immediate results, but i cannot get past the fact that they are all plastic. So I will be finally , not without some reservations , be trying your collar, at least i feel that when walking the dogs , they will know when to stop yanking, rather than me pulling or yanking on them for control. Also we may all live to see tomorrow. Many thanks for your advice and recommendation. Sincerely Brian Kelly
hi,,, we got a herm sprenger collar yesterday, it was recommended by the owner of the daycare center. Mickey is a 45 lb standard poodle and is 6 months old. He pulls when i walk him half the time. it seems ugly and embarrassing. With the collar we walked last night and twice today hes a totally different dog .A real gentlepup. My only complaint is that it is a bit of a bitch to put on and take off.
After using it for a while you’ll notice taking on and off gets easier. Also, try having your dog wear a cute bandana… it covers the prong collar if you are self-conscious about it.
I love my dogs prong collar. I have a strong 100 pound GSD. 4 years ago I would have never used it, until my dog trainer trained my dog on it.
My dog trainer helped us find the most comfortable prong collar and fit it properly behind Blu's ears. It makes all the difference and Blu seldom pulls or lunges. At this point, he rarely has to be corrected.
I found the prong collar to be far more humane than say a shock collar, a flat collar, or even an ill fitted harness.
The collar is not designed to hurt the dog, but get the dogs attention. The prongs simulate another dog's mouth, which makes sense if you've ever taken your dog to the dog park.
I recommend prong collars, but only after consulting a certified dog training professional.
If you think prong collars are cruel, think about it this way. My dog loves going on walks and he always wears a prong collar when we leave the house. Why would he still be so excited to go on walks if the prong collar was so terrible? And trust me, my dog knows how to communicate if he doesn't like something.
I have used the prong collar with my Lab. Now, at age 6 it doesn’t seem to be as effective. I’m certain it must at least in part be me. I bought a new prong collar suggested by person at HS site. and it is big and clunky. Is 3mm what I should use with a lab?
I decided to share my story because so many people have not. I have a 140 BRT, and he is only 14 months old. I used positive reinforcement in training him to walk since he was 3 months old. He did well about 75% of the time but at some point he figured out that he was bigger and stronger than me and started to lung at people and other dogs (he loves people and dogs what can I say). I tried different collars and approaches and nothing worked. So a friend recommended a prong collar, I knew that I had nothing to lose by trying it. If I did not get his behavior under control I would have to re-home my dog, if I could not walk him that would be cruel and if he hurt me or someone by lunging that would be even worse. I did training and watched several videos regarding the use of the collar and in less than 2 week the lunging was OVER. He lunged once and never did it again. I can walk right past other dogs and people and he looks at them and keeps in stride with my pace. I have never been more grateful for this training tool, I love my dog and have put a lot of work and money into training him. I know that I could have accomplished this with positive reinforcement but it would have taken me another year and based on his size I did not have the luxury of time. I really wish I had started using it early in his training program.
My Australian Shepperd is very very active and extremely loveable and he pulls like a German Shepperd. He’s large for the breed. I raised him w/ a no-pull harness, and he quickly out grew that behavior. I swapped over to a prong collar, and got him to behave, and pull and run after other dogs less, but it doesn’t stick when I put him on another collar. He only does the right things when he has the prong collar on cause he’s smart and knows not to mess around w/ it on. Some times he forgets it’s on and tries to run and it’s clear he’s in pain. I don’t think its inhumane to use the collar w/o any jerking or quick pulling motions, but if you’re one of those people who yanks, or if you have a dog that will abruptly yank, you need to do more than use a prong collar.
I just switched him back to a no-pull collar, and it’s working much better w/ training him to stick around and not pull, especially w/ positive enforcement and treats. I think, a prong collar, having the constant fear and discomfort creates a different situation for a smart dog, and when they don’t have that worry or fear, they just drop all their training. Use a no-pull, or a choke chain, and train them w/ positive reinforcement. The pain and discomfort of of a prong collar isn’t going to beat out the bad behavior.
We adopted a 7 month old lab/pit/Brittany spaniel mix from our local rescue shelter. He is clearly lacking in socialization and his behavior and demeanor are indicative of prior abuse. We are taking things really slow, but I’m concerned if we take them too slow, we will actually be reinforcing behaviors learned from the abuse, i.e. he won’t make eye contact, has to be taken out of his kennel, has to be carried inside after be letting out to go to the bathroom, etc. He growls a little but I know he’s just reacting and not being aggressive. He did bite me once but that was clearly situational and hasn’t happened again. So, the reason he has to be carried into the house is that he won’t move when he has a leash on. It used to be he wouldn’t move at all when we set him down, but now he runs to go outside it runs away from us when we’re outside (we have a fenced in yard so he can’t get away). My question is if the prong collar would scare him even more, causing more distrust, or if the “boundaries” of the collar would actually make him feel safer?
It’s a tough call. It depends on the severity of his fearfulness. You will need to read the dog’s body language. But I’d recommend giving it a try, if he seems too afraid, then take a few steps back.
I would not use a prong collar for him. He clearly is afraid of the leash. My guess he was abused while wearing one or was constantly on one. You need to work with him letting him know the leash is a good thing..associate the leash with something positive. Putting a prong collar on him that would make him uncomfortable or hurt him would further harm him mentally. He will begin to associate the prong collar with pain, which is something he is afraid of. I think it’s a bad idea. Use lots of love and positive reinforcement with a no pull harness.
I don’t think the fear is based on the leash, but something else. Of course I do not know this dog. A good behavior trainer is best in situations like this. Prong collars do NOT cause pain. That is a misconception. I do agree positive reinforcement is key in fear based cases. Every dog and situation is unique.
Consult with Virginia from Oliver’s Travels dog training. She agreed to train a lab mix that was petrified of everything and was essentially still catatonic after months of us having her. Virginia transformed her into an absolutely normal dog. And she did it using a prong collar. You don’t use it to punish, you use it to guide. Teaching pressure & release is fast, easy, and helps build the dog’s confidence. Most dogs that are terrified of things have never been exposed to them rather than having been beaten by/with the thing they’re exposed to.
I have a large, leash-reactive male German Shepherd. He pulled on his leash and barked aggressively at other dogs and people when using a standard flat collar. I switched him to a prong (Herm Sprenger 2.25mm) and his behavior improved immediately.
Thinking it looked barbaric and painful, and not wanting to subject my dog to “torture”, I put it on myself and gave it a tug before I ever used it on him. I did not find it to be a painful experience on my own neck.
Learn how to fit it and use it properly before employing. It hasn’t had any negative impact on his love or desire to go on walks.