Pet Topics

Collars come in a wide variety of styles, colors, and materials. The two common types of collars are training collars and buckle collars.

The purpose of a training collar is for you to be able to guide your dog or to check your dog if necessary. (A check is a tug on the leash followed by an immediate release of tension on the leash.) A check is used when you want your dog to stop doing something. However, the check is a form of negative reinforcement and an unpleasant experience for any dog.

Collars for the trained dog are called buckle collars. They are either leather, nylon, or canvas. For the untrained dog, buckle collars are virtually useless. Trying to control a dog with a buckle collar would be difficult. Some dog owners prefer to use a harness, which is perfectly fine for dogs that do not pull or for small dogs, where pulling is not terribly objectionable. But for a medium-sized or large dog that pulls, harnesses are not a good idea because you give up the control that you are trying to achieve. The dog literally leans into the harness and drags you wherever he wants to go. The only exception for using a harness on an untrained dog is if the dog has a neck injury.