A Positive Note on "Choke" Chains

I hate to bring this up here but I have found a lot of people who seem to think that choke chains are a negative way of training. I would like to refute that. I don't know where that myth has come from but it is false if you use the chain correctly.

Dogs have a lot of muscle in their neck and it is a way of gaining attention more for the sound than the actual "choke". This way of training works and seems less invasive than these head collars and such.

I am not trying to angle for a fight but I am sick of people saying bad things about this form of training.

I think if you use them correctly they can be fine. But choke chains do cause a lot of damage to the dog's throat and windpipe.
I don't understand why people don't just use a half choke then the throat is cushioned but you can still correct the dog's behaviour if need be. This is just IMO

If its for the sound why dont you just put bells on the lead??
I dont want to fight either - I dont like them
there are kinder ways to train a nice walk on the lead

Would you use one to stop a child running?

I have never used one, and don't intend to, but I think dog's necks can't be very sensitive because my dog pulls sometimes on the lead and can be totally choking himself - it doesn't bother him, doesn't hurt him or surely he would stop?

I do agree with Ben McF though, if it's just a noise distraction why not use a rattle bottle?

It's a matter of personal preference..

I can't stand them..but I think prong collars are worse

A dogs throat and windpipe is not protected by "lots of muscle" the throat area is vulnerable, that is why choke chains work the way the do.,,,they "choke" cutting of the air supply in some dogs who are "extreme pullers" they do not stop pullers pulling.

No doubt used correctly they will not cause damage, but the amount of people who use them correctly is minimal.

I dont like them, there are far better tools to use to teach a dog Not to pull , on the market these days..

Hi Alison I am afraid we will have to agree to differ here. I can't think of one good use for a choke chain.

I guess you are talking about using one to stop a dog pulling? I have my own views on pulling, I believe dogs naturally walk and trot at a faster pace than humans and are eager to get going and explore, so pulling is a natural reaction to our slower pace and the restrictions of a collar and lead. Puling is also a self perpetuating behaviour, the more a dog pulls the more it needs to pull to get away from the restrictions of a collar.

Try putting a choke chain on and walk at your normal pace while someone walks slowly behind you pulling on the chain if you get too far ahead, not a pleasant experience I am sure.

I prefer to train puppies not to pull using a harness that way they can pull without harming themselves until they have learned to walk at a humans pace.

Just found this -

A Study on Choke Chain was done in Germany:
* 100 dogs were in the study. 50 used choke and 50 used normal mesh collars.
* The dogs were studied for their entire lives. As dogs died, autopsies were performed.
* Of the 50 which had chokes, 48 had injuries to the neck, trachea, or back. 2 of those were determined to be genetic. The other 46 were caused by trauma.
* Of the 50 which had normal mesh collars, 2 had injuries in the neck area, 1 was determined to be genetic. 1 was caused by trauma.

The numbers seem to speak for themselves on this matter, Im sorry I would never use a choke, I know in a early post I said I didn't see a problem if they were used correctly but after reading this I would never spend money on a choke chain.

to me if you use a choke chain, it should be for no longer than ten mins, if you still need it after that your not useing it right,

But with the correct training in place one should never be needed,

I had a bit of a giggle at that,,, the reason being, I covered the above points at training on Monday night,, poor Inkliveeva had a choke chain on, the person not the dog may I add,, its the best way to show,, the down side of badly used training aids {I would just like to add, inkli doesnt use a choke chain but she has a half check,, so its not that she was doing anything wrong,, }