From: David F. Austin <David_Austin@ncsu.edu>
Subject: Re: choke chain opinions
Organization: NCSU
X-Useragent: Nuntius v1.1
     <1jn3qhINNrtg@trochlea.cs.unc.edu>
     <1993Jan21.231434.29556@rchland.ibm.com>
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 17:44:41 GMT

In article <1993Jan20.161202.25282@cattnts.canada.ncr.com> Sal Magnone,
sal@cattnts.canada.ncr.com writes:
>Hello all,
>
>I have a 17 week old male Golden Retreiver named Mojo.  
>[stuff deleted]
>The question I have today is on his training.  I have recently enrolled
in
>a traing class, although the class is for obedience I have informed my
>trainer that I wish to show Mofo and therefore she will be tailering
>her lessons for me.  (i.e. no sitting and lots of standing).  Now to my
question
>basically, how does everyone feel about the use of choke chains
(correction
>collars).
>
>I have discussed this with my breeder and she has spoken to my trainer
and the
>consensus is: The choke chain to be used until Mojo obtains his controll
(i.e
>no pulling on the lead during walks) then a gradual switch to a nylon
collar.

The following may be of interest to readers of this thread:

ON CHOKE COLLARS:
      There appears to be a sharp conflict between Michael W. Fox's view 
(in Superdog, Howell,1990) on the use of choke collars in dog training 
and the view of the Monks of New Skete (in The Art of Raising a 
Puppy, Little Brown, 1991).  Here's what they have to say in their 
books:
      In Superdog, pp. 113P114 ("Don't Use Choke Collars"), Fox 
writes,
 
      Some experienced veterinarians and dog trainers are now seriously 
ques-tioning the wisdom of using a choke chain on dogs for training....
      For training a dog to heel and not to pull on a leash, a broad
leather 
or nylon collar can be just as effective as a choke chain.  Owners who 
use choke chains to stop dogs from leash pulling generally give a loud 
verbal reprimand and then pull hard on the leash, which snaps the chain.  
This can cause the dog considerable pain and may cause permanent 
damage to the neck.  A far better way is to simply stand still when the 
dog is pulling ahead and command the dog to "heel" while braking it by 
maintaining pressure on the leash and moving up alongside and in front 
of the dog.   As soon as the dog has been passed by the owner, it 
should be rewarded with praise, either with food or with a gentle pat, 
for being in the position by the owner's heels....  This kind of training 
sequence rewards the dog for being close to the owner and is far more 
effective than giving the animal a painful jerk with the choke chain when 
it is out in front of the owner.
      The pain and trauma caused by the owner's suddenly snapping the 
choke chain could interfere with the dog's ability to learn.  In
contrast, a 
regular leather or wide nylon collar will give a steady pressure around 
the dog's neck without causing pain or physical injury.
      Although many dog trainers advise their clients to use choke chains 
to stop their dogs from pulling on the leash, more than one experienced 
trainer has found that as many as 50 percent of their clients' dogs still 
pull on the leash with or with-out a choke chain after they have been 
through routine training with one.  One is led to the inevitable 
conclusion that is cruel and unnecessary.  Since its function is to
literally 
choke the dog in to obedience, it cannot be considered a humane or 
enlight-ened training aid.  Furthermore, significant injuries can be
caused 
by these choke chains by people who are too rough, are inexperienced 
or lose their tempers with the dogs.   These include rupturing of the 
windpipe or severe bruising around the larynx; neuromuscular disorders 
resulting from constriction and damage in the cer-vical region of the 
neck; bruising around the base of the ear causing hypersensitivity to 
touch and a tendency to bit when handled around the head; and epileptic 
seizures triggered by constriction of the blood supply to the central 
nervous system.
      While some animal trainers follow the path of power, using all
sorts 
of in-humane devices, more enlightened trainers endeavor to use 
gentleness and under-standing at all times and recognize that choke 
chains not only can cause injury to dogs but also have limited 
effectiveness as a training device and are closer to an in-strument of 
torture than one of control.
 
      In The Art of Raising a Puppy, pp. 172P179, the Monks 
recommend using choke collars in training.  On pp. 172P173, 'Learning 
How to Correct', they write,
 
      A combination of related elements must all work together [to make 
leash corrections properly]:
      -a properlyPfitted training collar that is put on correctly
      -a leash that is held so that there is always some slack between
you 
and your pup
      -a threePstep correction consisting of a "No" with a leash pop, 
repetition of the command, and immediate praise upon compliance....
      ...for most breeds we recommend a soft braided nylon training 
collar that is snug going over the pup's head and which rests 
comfortably high on her neck.  Be-cause nylon collars are lightweight 
and flexible, they do not tend to slide down to the bottom of the pup's 
neck as many steel collars do, so you can make easier, more effective 
corrections.  An exception to this would be training a long-coated breed, 
like a bearded collie or Old English sheepdog, whose long hair tends to 
tan-gle easily in the nylon collar.  For these cases, we suggest steel 
training collars with small links that are pounded flat, not rounded, so 
that the collar moves through the ring cleanly when pulled. In such 
cases, make sure that the pup's hair is tucked un-derneath the collar so 
that it stays high up on the neck.  For most pups, you can an-ticipate
two 
inches of slack when the collar is pulled tight.  {Footnote: A flexible, 
braided nylon training collar is best.  Collars come in twoPinch 
increments and are flexible enough for a knot to be tied to shorten it, 
should a more precise fit be nec-essary.}
 
There follow sections on putting on the collar correctly (pp. 173P176, 
with pho-tos), the threePstep correction (pp. 176P177, including 
directions to spend several ses-sions, each involving at least a dozen 
corrections, practicing on a hu-man helper's wrist), and using one's 
voice correctly (pp. 178P179).  The Monks clearly believe that there is 
an art and a complex technique to making corrections properly with 
choke collars.
      Perhaps Fox believes that the overwhelming majority of his readers 
simply will not learn the art or techniques described by the Monks, 
corrections will al-most always be improperly done, and dogs will be 
harmed P so, as a practical matter, it is better to take a strong, even 
exaggerated, stand against using choke collars.  Or there may be a 
deeper disagreement here.
 
Since I was taught to use a metal choke collar in training, I was 
concerned by this apparent conflict and decided to write to Fox and the 
Monks, and to discuss the matter with our vet.  Here are the responses I 
got.  First, Fox's reply:
 
      ... concerning my condemnation of choke collars for training dogs.  
To reconcile the concflicting opinions of Fox and the Monks of New 
Skete, I would concur with you that most readers of SUPERDOG 
won't go to a sensitive and experienced dog trainer and won't use a 
choke collar correctly, thus placing the dog at risk.
      I'm especially strongly opposed to metal choke-chains, but with 
very strong young dogs they are necessary.  I use a flat nylon choke 
collar on my own dogs, designed by Honey Loring, Putney, Vermont 
05346. It is comfortable and effective.
      Choke chain and sliding nylon collars should only be used for 
training and walking a young pull-your-arm-off-dog, and only then 
when the handler /owner has had some personal instruction over correct 
and appropriate use. I do disagree with the Monks that the choke collar 
can be worn all the time. [Ref.: HOW TO BE YOUR DOG'S BEST 
FRIEND, CH. 29, Equipment, "We feel strongly that a dog should 
wear a training collar all the time."]
 
And here is the Monks' reply:
 
      ...While it may indeed be true that Dr. Fox is writing out of
concern 
that the majority of people use "choke collars" inhumanely, our 
experience suggests that this is more the exception than the rule.  Any 
training aid can be abused by an ill tempered owner; that does not ipso 
facto discount the value of such devices properly used.  To generalize a 
training collar as being "closer to an instrument of torture than one of 
control" seems hyperbolic.  To our knowledge, there has been no 
serious study made documenting the ill effects of training collars.  In 
our judgement, the more serious problems are the many dogs whose 
owners neglect formal training and whose resulting bad behavior often 
puts their lives in jeopardy.
      There are several additional points that might be helpful to make:
      1)  We dislike the word "choke collar", because it gives entirely
the 
wrong impression of what the collar does.  A collar is never meant to 
"choke" a dog, and when that happens it indicates that the collar is
being 
used incorrectly.  We prefer the term "training collar", since the
purpose 
of the collar is to help foster a proper relationship through the
intelligent 
process of obedience training.
      2)  Having trained many dogs of many different breeds, our 
experience is that a flat, buckle collar, used for training purposes, is 
usually counter productive.  It fosters a misunderstanding of the proper 
dog/owner relationship and often results in the dog dominating the 
owner by excessive and repeated forging.  The training collar, properly 
used, is a means of communication between the owner and the dog and 
is more helpful in creating the proper development of that bond.
      We have long respected Dr. Fox's work with dogs and their owners 
and suspect that you appraisal of his position regarding collars is 
correct.  However, we do feel strongly that it is both possible and 
necessary to educate dog owners on the proper use of training aids, so 
as to foster a healthier bond between man and his best friend.  Towards 
this end, we are contemplating developing a video program to go along 
with our two books....  [Signed Brother Christopher, Monks of New 
Skete, Cambridge, NY 12816.  (518) 677P3928]
 
When I discussed this material with our vets, Drs. D and T, I also asked 
them these two questions:  Have there been any studies of the physical 
effects of long-term use by skilled individuals of choke collars?  Is
there 
any evidence of cumulative choke-collar 'micro-damage', resulting 
eventually in more serious injury to the dog?  Dr. D said that he and Dr. 
T agreed with the Monks, and that they had no knowledge, from either 
their own experience or any studies, of cumulative damage; indeed, 
neither of them had seen more than a couple of choke collar injuries in 
all the thousands of dogs they've examined.