Re: Re: Walking dogs for exercise/thanks for encouragement Ev!

[Guest guest]

> Funny, i never really thought of it before, but they wear a choke

> collar daily with their tags, etc. but i would never hook their

> leashes to it, or the prong type. I take them out on harness.

~~~~~Oh, my, oh, dear! I am afraid I'm going to have to sound the alarm,

here! NEVER leave choke collars on dogs! If you want to have them wearing

tags, etc., they should be on leather or nylon collars loose enough for the

dog to back out of in the event of some unfortunate happenstance. Choke

collars can all too easily do just that to the dog, should the loose ring

become snagged on something. Makes me shudder to think of it. And, yes, I

HAVE seen it happen, happily when there was still time to rescue to poor

thing. Choke collars are ONLY a training tool - they were NEVER designed to

be a permanent " item of apparel " on a dog.

If the harness works for walking, that's fine. If the dog pulls (and mine

surely would), I recommend the prong collars. They aren't half as harsh as

they look, and much kinder than a traditional choke collar, despite what

they look like. (!!) I have never had any luck with the " Halti-head " sorts

of things, but I know people who swear by them.

But PLEASE! Take the choke collars OFF - TODAY!!!

>

> yeah i have nylon, when i have the money, i will check into getting a

> leather to try on one and see how i like it.

>

~~~~The nylon leashes are much prettier, what with all the fun colors and

designs, but I just have been damaged once over often by an

overly-enthusiastic youngster!

Conversely, I like soft cotton reins better than leather ones, even though I

wear gloves when I ride.

> Well After posting last night, i was motivated to do something, so i

> tossed on my dirt tennis shoes and took my girl over to the arroyo

> for a 30 min walk. it was good.

>

> Syl

~~~~~Ahhh, starting out simple is grand! And keep it so it's fun for you -

you'll " advance " as the mood strikes you (when your body lets you know it's

okay to do that). I love getting out - to walk or jog, bicycle or ride,

when Bonus lets my attention wander... {:-/ It's a fabulous " moving

meditation " for me. Kind of " blows out the cobwebs " in my head.

Ev

[Guest guest]

Well at least I did something right raising this dog! I never left his collar on when he was in the yard. Only when we walk does he wear a collar and now that he has the cancer on the under side of his neck I've just got a really loose nylon collar on. I tried a harness and he wouldn't walk, not even for treats so I know it was a bad idea!

Shari

[Guest guest]

Oh, hey - I'm not trying to come across like some sort of pro or anything, really. But choke chains - which I gave up using as a training tool some 10 years ago, after talking to a few pro trainers - really are unsafe to leave on a dog, and I just get skeeved thinking about it. If you've never had (or seen) the worst-case scenario, it might not be something you'd even think about, so I wanted to let people know.

I haven't met anybody on any list yet who would be the sort to not care. It's just a matter of being aware of potential problems.

My dogs wear their leather collars all the time, but if they had to, they could get out of them. In fact, they've done it several times while playing outside. Then (way!) later, I notice somebody is "nekkid", and I have to go on a hunt for the missing collar!!

(I've only used harnesses for tracking, so putting those on my dogs does NOT lead to a good "heel" response)!!

Ev

Well at least I did something right raising this dog! I never left his collar on when he was in the yard. Only when we walk does he wear a collar and now that he has the cancer on the under side of his neck I've just got a really loose nylon collar on. I tried a harness and he wouldn't walk, not even for treats so I know it was a bad idea!

Shari