Haha yes, it would definitely only be used on walks. Our guy is a year and a half; he's pretty good with not pulling on the leash (that is, he pulls but as soon as we stop walking as a result he runs back to us and gets into heel position), but is terrible for lunging. He has started acting out towards other dogs and sometimes people to, by lunging and barking. If we can distract him ahead of time and turn his attention away, he's fine, but once he's started, we've lost him and it takes all of my strength to pull him away. We live downtown (and are moving into an apartment building very soon), so these interactions aren't something that can just be avoided unfortunately; we need control.I started using a prong 6 years ago when Merlin was 1. It was the first time I ever had a newf who would not listen and lunged instead. The first time he wore it was the last time he pulled. He lunged and actually corrected himself by doing so. He let out a little yelp and never lunged again. On the other hand, my Shannon still needs one at 8 because she wants to get to everyone she sees for her fair share of lovings. She is also a critter chaser and doesn't listen when something goes running by...They should only be worn when walking the dog...
If your dog has any lead agession, which this sounds like, a prong collar can make this worse....i would look into BAT training (google it) for the lead aggression. lead agression lunging is not a pulling issue.it is a different type if issue and need to be helped in a different way....tight lead and prong can escalate this (lead agression). hence you may need some professional help. I deal with many clients that have dogs with lead aggression. And two of my rescues had issues with it.harry is a perfect example of lead aggression made worse by using a prong collar ( by his previous owner and a trainer who used the Alpha roll)..we now have him on a flat collar and we do BAT training and clicker training.he now goes to our kennel club and has become very social and no further lunging.
We are working with someone, but it's not leash aggression we don't think - the reactions happen off leash as well. But curbing the on-leash antics is clutch for us at the moment. It may turn out that a prong isn't the best option for him at this time, but that's why we're wanting to work with a trainer knowledgable in their use, so as to get feedback on its appropriateness.
We use the gentle leader harness, and had started getting him used to the Halti head harness, but I don't feel like i have enough control over him with the head harness (mental block on my end)...the one we have is also a bit too big right now I think (had to get the biggest to be able to do it up around his neck, but it then is a bit too loose around his face. However, he's just had a surgery on his face which won't allow him to wear a face device for the next little while. I have reached out to a trainer someone suggested and will be meeting with them when the little guy's more healed up. Thanks everyone!
