[Woody Taylor]

Can I get some perspectives on prong fit? I definitely adhere to the instructions Ed posts on his website and his basic ob video...high up, tight, though I do not like hooking both dead and live rings...but how tight is tight?

Does tight mean you have to struggle to get your finger between a prong and the actual skin of the dog, or just a snug fit that keeps it up high on a dog with a thick coat (GSD)? I'm concerned I might be snugging up too hard on mine and that I'm consequently always putting some light pressure on her next with the prongs...I don't know if that's good or bad.

Also...she's got a small neck. We use the small-sized prongs. If I use a medium I've only got room for about four or five prong links and I feel that makes it less effective. Does that make sense in your experience? And does a heavy coated dog render small prongs less effective?

 

[Woody Taylor]

Ping.

Anyone have any input here? I had another n00b just PM me asking if I ever got a response. I would appreciate some input!

Read something recently I had not realized...Jack and Wendy Volhard suggest not going by "initial fit" when you first put on a collar. They maintain that a dog can/will tighten up its muscles at first, making their necks appear larger...and that you should put on a collar, then wait five minutes, to really check fit.

Again, any responses to my initial post would be awesome. (Jerry said there were no dumb questions! :lol: Thanks.

 

[Selena van Leeuwen]

tight means without a struggle a finger in between skin and prong. If you think the fur is in the way with a correction, get a link out.

A light correction, feeling the pressure of the prong is good, IMO. Only with young dogs I have the prong a little wider so the correction isn´t to hard.

 

[Mike Schoonbrood]

Yes dogs can increase their neck size, lil shits that they are LOL.

High on the neck, snug, if it looks loose then it is too loose.

The smaller the prong the harder and more pronounced the correction is that the dog feels... if you have a very soft dog and a very small prong make sure you give appropriate corrections, because a sharp pop on a 4mm prong is nothing compared to a sharp pop on a 2.25mm prong! I like the 3.0mm for my boy.

I used to hook it to both rings, but I've come to like hooking it to the live ring, need less for on the correction physically.

 

[Tim Martens]

i just go by: if you have to constantly keep having to pull the collar high on the neck, then it's too loose. if it keeps slipping down, then it's too loose. most people err on the side of too loose, to the detrement of their training.