I love my job as a dog walker but very occasionally I will get asked by a client to walk their dog using devices such as pinch collars which I will never do as I think they are evil devices and should be banned

What is a Pinch Collar?

A pinch collar I a set of interlocking links of metal, each with two blunt prongs that pinch the dog’s skin when the collar is tightened and will pinch the skin around the dogs neck

Why do I think Pinch Collars should be banned?

The answer is simples.  They give out mix signals to the dog and I have seen first-hand how they can turn  a 45kg German Shepherd from being a playful, nice natured dog to being very reactive.

Whilst a dog wearing a pinch collar may walk nicely by your side this is more out of fear than anything else.  The dog soon comes to learn that when he pulls he gets things stuck in his neck and so becomes stressed and even fearful.  Is this how you want to train your dog?  Surely your dog should have fun and enjoy training which is why I would only ever use positive training and recommend trainers such as Tip Top Dog School

Take the following scenario which makes little Tommy think he is being punished and he can’t work out why

We all know that dogs love to sniff and this is how they explore the world.  When you take them out for a walk they get excited and want to get to the park and have a run Enter the prong collar. Little Tommy starts to pull on the lead even just to get to a sniff and suddenly he has what feels like 20 barbs sticking into his neck. He starts to think what did I do wrong?  Why did I deserve that?  Is the park actually an evil place now?

Once he works out that the pinch collar is her to stay he starts being reluctant and even scared to go for  a walk due to it bring a painful experience.  Is this what you want?

But wait, it gets worse.  When you come across another dog on your walk it is natural for a dog to pull forward to say hello and check him/her out.   The pinch collar can constrict his airways every time he pulls to say hello to these dogs and causes him undue stress Before long, he goes from being social and friendly, to reactive.

This is why I firmly believe the pinch collars should be banned