I bought a copy of the June edition of The Field magazine after Heidrun mentioned there was an article on gundog bootcamps that included the kimberleys. I was staggered to realise that the beautiful English Setters on the front cover were wearing prong collars! Surely there's no place for those on any dog let alone a trained gundog. The photo is related to another article but if I was a trainer I would be hoping no one associated me with those things
Re: Prong collars on the front cover of The Field I was equally surprised to see that front cover photo. To be honest I don't really know how the pointing and HPR breeds are trained but I have never seen a prong collar on a gundog of any breed. I know that they are commonly used in America in the training of HPRs, especially for training steadiness when the dog is on point. We have got to remember though that anything can be harmful and painful to a dog if used incorrectly. Many. many times I have seen people walking their dogs in a head harness of some sort attached to a flexi lead. That could be potentially fatal for a dog.
Re: Prong collars on the front cover of The Field [quote author=heidrun link=topic=1668.msg12292#msg12292 date=1370861997] We have got to remember though that anything can be harmful and painful to a dog if used incorrectly. Many. many times I have seen people walking their dogs in a head harness of some sort attached to a flexi lead. That could be potentially fatal for a dog. [/quote] I do agree, I did wonder if I was being hypocritical as I use a slip lead but with the amount of effort we've put in on heel work I decided I wasn't
Fortunately we live in the country, and our dog runs free when outside, but one of us is always with them. We have a cattle type fence, dogs can get through it. The only time they have a leash is when at the vet. I hate seeing dogs on leashes. It is necessary in town, so we don't take our lab to town except to see the vet. As for collars, we don't use them. All our pets are chipped. We have a black lab and a couple of cats.
