[ceesophie]

I have a 15 week old maltipoo @6 pounds, is it okay to use a prong collar to discipline, or is this too much? Will it hurt him? He keeps attacking my 8 yr. old cat who is very mellow, what can I do besides saying NO!! ( that doesn't work!)

[labman]

I wouldn't use a prong collar on such a young pyppy. When you see him headded for the cat, give him a sharp ''Ah, ah, ah!'' and offer him a chew toy. If he takes the toy, praise him, Repeat 1,000 times.

If your dog is at least 4 - 5 months old, start with a good 6' leather
leash and a sturdy slip collar, the metal chain ones with the rings on each
end. You want the shortest one that will go on and off easily. If you walk
with the dog on the left, pull the chain through one loop forming a "P".
Facing it, slip it over its head. The free end should come over the neck to the leash, and the other end should drop slack when there is no pull on the leash. Before 4 months use a conventional flat collar to protect the tender young neck.


Easier dogs will give up their pulling with a few good snaps of the leash
combined with a stern "Bad dog!". You can work up to forceful corrections
with the leash doubled up in both hands and your whole body behind it. But
you don't want to use any more force than you need. One gentle technique I
like is to just stop when he pulls. He wants to go. If you move forward when
the leash is slack, and stop when he pulls, he should quickly figure out the
only way to get to go, is not to pull. This is about teaching him not to
pull, not getting somewhere. The man that taught it to me said "If in a half
hour you haven't made it out to the front walk, fine, you have taught him a
lesson. Pulling the dog backwards is a good technique too

Still, you may want to switch to a head collar. The leading brands are Promise, Haltie, and Gentle Leader. They have a strap going around the dogs nose looking something like a muzzle. They work by pulling the dogs head around. No other way gives you such great control with so little force. The prong collar is now a
dangerous relic of value only for its macho looks. Do not consider using one
without hands on instruction from somebody with plenty of experience with them.


All but the most recalcitrant young puppies can be controlled before they are 4 months old with the flat collar and patience. If you must have something more with a younger puppy, use a fabric restricted slip collar. These are sort of a cross between the conventional flat collar and the slip collar. Some of them are adjustable, Good for a growing puppy. They have a fabric loop at one end with a metal ring holding the other end in the loop, allowing it to slid back a forth. Find one, or adjust one to where it will go on over the puppies head, but will not tighten up past a snug fit around the neck. Put it on the same way as the metal slip collar. The service dog school my Pepper belongs to uses them on all their dogs, puppies and working dogs, except where they must use a head collar.

[froggy7]

You need to manage the situation better. First, what does the cat do when the dog attacks him? Does he hiss, swat, bite? Does he just run away? Is he afraid of the dog, or just bothered? Take that information, and do what you need to in order to make the cat comfortable. If he is afraid of the dog, give him a room he can get to that the dog can't, so that he can get a break if he needs it. If he's just bothered and giving warning swats, you might want to just let things ride and figure that the dog is going to get the point that the cat doesn't want to play. However, having said that, Labman's advice about discipling the dog when it attacks is good too, since I have noticed that cats mellow out when they get the feeling that the human is in charge and can control the obnoxious puppy. Then a less-tense cat means less incitement for the puppy, and you get into a good spiral.