Dog Health Questions: What are the different types of dog training tools?

I'm going to be getting a 10 month old husky mix this coming up weekend. I've owned several huskies in the past and absolutely love these dogs. Before I have effectively been able to use a pinch collar to teach them to not pull my arm off when walking. I'm interested in learning what other types of training tools are out there and how effective they are compared to the pinch collar.

The only type of tool I won't use is any sort of harness because I'm hoping to teach him to Skijor so he needs to retain his drive to pull, just not when we're walking on a leash.

Thanks!

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Recommended Answer:
Even if you have experience with dogs, it's always best to seek a professionals help when using a new tool. Any new tool (or old tool) can cause damage to a dog if not used correctly.

I've tried several available tools and only found one to really be effective when dealing with pulling/lunging (of course, it was used at the discretion of my trainer and along with proper training techniques.)

Here's a list of the tools i've used and what i found out about them with MY dog:

1) Head Halter: Not effective in the sense that it made my dog MORE frustrated when working around other dogs. Instead of dealing or correcting the excited behavior, it turned her away from the dog and that made her throw a tantrum. Every single time we used it, she threw a big one and ended up worse off. In terms of pulling it helped, but when she wanted to go somewhere she stiffened her head/neck and went on pulling.

2) Harness: Traditional harnesses encourage pulling. The no pull ones that make it uncomfortable just made her walk on her hind legs when she wanted to go. The ones that snapped in the front made her walk sideways, and eventually she managed to pull OUT of them.

3) Pinch (slip) collar: She pulled too much (too constant) for me to safely or effectively correct the behavior.

4) Prong collar: This one worked. She stopped the behavior VERY quickly after a correction and i was able to return her focus to me. I have since STOPPED using it because she got the point very quickly.

Note: I used tools because her behavior would get bad enough that a treat and simply Positive reward training would not get her attention OR the behavior i wanted. I was advised by a trainer.

Dogs respond to different tools in different ways. Some could respond well to the Head Halter even though my dog did not. Others could be too timid or fearful for a Prong collar. It's best to consult with a professional to figure out which tools are needed, if they even are. It's best if NO tools are needed at all because removal of the tool could mean recurrence of the behavior.

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