# Slip Collar on a Puppy



## bcfreak99 (Feb 17, 2010)

I am getting a Border Collie puppy in march and he will be my first puppy. I have had dogs going on ten years now, but most of mine have been rescues. So i am wondering, training wise, at what age is it safe to use a slip (choke) collar on a puppy? If it's just plain not a good idea, then what age could I start using a martingale?

Thanks!
Brianne


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## TooneyDogs (Aug 6, 2007)

Collars and leashes are only safety lines. Ideally, training is done without mechanical/artificial devices....just you and the dog....learning to communicate and become a team.

Slip and choke collars are designed to cut off the dogs airway....never a good idea on a puppy that can bolt.


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## bcfreak99 (Feb 17, 2010)

Ok so a martingale would be better? This dog is going to be a competition obedience dog hopefully getting his OTCH (Obedience Trial Champion) one day and he will need to be learning how to heel at 8 or 9 weeks old. How do you teach a reliable heel without a collar and leash?


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## Labsnothers (Oct 10, 2009)

You shouldn't use a slip collar on a puppy before 4-5 months. As part of the trend to more positive methods, they are being used less and less. You can use the Martingales and restricted fabric slip collars much younger, and also the head collars, Haltie or Gentle Leader. 

The assistance dog school we have raised puppies for doesn't use metal slip collars at all, but the different fabric ones. The dog guide school still uses them on adults, but has been giving the puppy raisers a puppy and adult sized Martingale along with the puppy. They do instruct us that the Martingale is strictly for training and should come off with the leash. I haven't bothered with anything but a flat leather collar on our 5 month old Lab.


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## bcfreak99 (Feb 17, 2010)

OK well I will be purchasing a martingale for the baby before I go and get him. I'm very excited about this and I really want to make sure I'm doing everything right. The local Border Collie people where I live said to start on a sit, down, heel, tug, come, and retrieve at six weeks and just to keep building from there....Is that right? Good idea or bad idea?

Thanks you guys!
Brianne


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

Just remember he is just a baby at six weeks. I would start doing training without a collar at all. You can teach him sit, down and stay at first but make your training last only a few minutes at a time. Use lots of treats and make it fun for the puppy, give him lots of chance to be just a puppy. You have lots of time to teach things like "obedience type heeling" when he is a little older.


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

Forgot to add, teaching "come" is also very important and easy to train with a little puppy as they usually want to be with you. Once he knows his name, call him and run the other direction so he chases you, then give him a treat when he comes to you. Don't ask him to come unless you are sure he is paying attention and will come.

Border Collies seem to really love tug-a-war so it is a good game for them. I would be a little careful about the retrieve as I have seen so many Border Collies that are fixated on it. Just make sure you have the say in whether he keeps retreiving or stops.


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

why do you feel you need to use training tools already? why not just get a flat buckle collar??? i dont understand....


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

bcfreak99 said:


> The local Border Collie people where I live said to start on a sit, down, heel, tug, come, and retrieve at six weeks and just to keep building from there....Is that right? Good idea or bad idea?


at 6 wks old that pup should still be with its mother and litter. pups shouldnt be leaving the mother til atleast 8wks of age at the earliest. and in some states its also illegal to sell a pup before 8wks old


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

GreatDaneMom said:


> at 6 wks old that pup should still be with its mother and litter. pups shouldnt be leaving the mother til atleast 8wks of age at the earliest. and in some states its also illegal to sell a pup before 8wks old


Agreed. Why are you getting him so young? I firmly believe against this. Wait the extra two weeks.


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## Labsnothers (Oct 10, 2009)

I start obedience on my way out of the kennel with a 7 week old. I agree on keeping the lessons short and positive. At that age they are like sponges and learn very quickly. I keep a flat collar on the puppy at all times to hold its ID tag. As long as its heel is progressing well, I don't bother with another collar. 

Since the dangling tag always bothered me, I used a Chicago Rivet to rivet Raven's flat to the collar.


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## Maura (Mar 17, 2009)

I hope you aren't getting a six week old puppy. Some problems associated with removing a puppy from his mom and litter mates too soon include: separation anxiety, inability to housebreak, very difficult to train, unable to focus, ...

When you do bring a puppy home his training needs to consist of: which door leads to the toilet, where to toilet, learning his name, bite inhibition, teeth belong on toys, the crate is my den, "leave it".

Since you have never trained a puppy, I think you should slow way down on what you are expecting. I have a border collie, and they learn so fast that you can easily make mistakes in your training. Concentrate on creating a secure environment

If you'd like to know how to train your puppy to heel, down, heel without a leash or even a collar, go to http://foreverhomebook.net/htm and buy the book.


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## skelaki (Nov 9, 2006)

He does not need to know a formal obedience heel at 8 weeks of age. The most important thing at this age is bonding to you and establishing a good relationship. His biggest training should be house training at this age, not heeling, etc.

Build a foundation for later, more formal training by using games to establish a strong foundation. This also teaches him that training is fun and not just drudgery. Then, when he's ready for formal training you'll have a head start.


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## Labsnothers (Oct 10, 2009)

Let a puppy form bad habits when young, and it will take drudgery to correct them. Starting the first morning after I get a new puppy, we walk out our long driveway to pick up the paper. I am careful not to let the puppy inspect the mail box post. Within a week or 2, the puppy is heeling decently. 

Housebreaking is part of the obedience foundation, command, behavior, praise. However, as already mentioned, they learn the other basics very quickly in short training sessions. 

Perhaps they don't need obedience and heeling then, but it is the quickest and easiest time to teach it.


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## Robrowe (Jan 25, 2010)

Another to chime in on 6 weeks is too young!

I for one oppose anything that chokes the dog.

At 8 weeks you will be doing good if you can get him to respond to his name and start with the come command. Training a dog is baby steps. Work on a few things at a time and wiat until those are reliable before adding more. Of course the more time you spend with the dog the more impact it will have. Also keep in mind that you cant spend all day doing the same thing over and over. Keep it short, 15 minutes at a time and break for play. Remember that expectations lead to disappointment. Different dogs learn at their own pace and some are easier to train than others.

There is a huge difference between heel and loose leash walking , do not confuse the two.
You dont need a choke collar to teach heel. A nice hot dog will work just fine, The idea is to have the dog focued on you 100% during the heel. I did it with clicker training and rewards. Started off with marking and rewarding every time I would get eye contact. When done properly the dog will heel without a leash attached.


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## Locke (Nov 3, 2008)

Why not just use a flat buckle collar? No need for training collars, especially so young.


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## Labsnothers (Oct 10, 2009)

While 15 minutes is way over their attention span, you can and should start training the day you get a puppy. As long as you keep sessions down to a minute or too, they learn very quickly.


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## GypsyJazmine (Nov 27, 2009)

There is NO reason to use training collars of any kind on a pup for his basic training!...Use a regular collar.


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## CharlieGirl (Oct 13, 2011)

TooneyDogs said:


> Collars and leashes are only safety lines. Ideally, training is done without mechanical/artificial devices....just you and the dog....learning to communicate and become a team.
> 
> Slip and choke collars are designed to cut off the dogs airway....never a good idea on a puppy that can bolt.


-----
I agree that it's not fair to put a slip collar on a dog that bolts and has not learned how to be attentive and how to sit. Also, it is important to know how to use one properly. Many ppl don't, and it's cruel to the dog and just gets them confused. This is why they are often called 'choke collars.' Get a professional to show you.

With that said, I must say that they were never designed to cut off the airway, even if the unskilled use them that way sometimes. (see my 1st prg). They are designed to mimic the nip a mother dog gives her pup, and not intended to be anything but a very quick jolt that has more of a psychological message. Pain and restriction of airflow are NOT what they are supposed to do. When you hear ppl say they are cruel, you can bet they have never really used on properly. For some dogs they are the kindest thing you can do, in the long run. Which leads me to say that you need to know yourself AND your dog before you choose a training method. Do your homework, choose a method then STICK TO IT so your dog does not get confused. He/She needs to feel safe to be happy and a good citizen, and you provide that by being loving, responsible and confident. Like with kids, a big part of that is being consistent.

Good luck and enjoy your new baby!


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