Occasionally the difference between training management and restraint/control is too quickly confused. Using commands and hand signals, with leads or food rewards, to entice desired action is training management and often uses positive reinforcement techniques. Using choke or 'no-barking' collars, electronic enclosures and comparable devices is for effective restraint/control and often uses negative reinforcement.

Control isn't of necessity harmful. Dogs instinctively have the need for and gravitate to the continuity of a community in which someone is the 'alpha wolf' and in a dog and a human relationship the human has to take that job. To allow the dog to establish himself as the alpha dog means property destruction, potentially threatening conditions for other dogs and humans, human dissatisfaction and a maladjusted dog.

Choke collars were conceived to help in getting control. Dogs are like humans in that each has their own character and traits. Some are, as a result, more assertive or slower to learn. For ones that don't react positively to a conventional leather or nylon collar, a metal choke collar can supply additional deterrence to tugging and leaping.

The immediate negative is that when correcting collars are used inappropriately - as is all too possible - they can give you results you didn't want and also be potentially unhealthy. Choke collars fit only one way and when correctly fitted should make allowance for a one to three fingers distance between the neck and the collar; three fingers for bigger dogs, one finger for smaller. By and large a collar two inches longer than the circumference of the neck will be ok.

If used poorly, correction collars can rub the skin - producing irritated areas that your dog will likely scratch and make worse. These collars can also accidentally depress the windpipe. An instantaneous pull-and-release does no harm, however. Its intention is to generate unpleasant pressure. But for dogs that aggressively challenge the lead this action is probably not enough. Generally, overuse of this type of collar is not approved of, notably for smaller dogs.

Prong collars are less menacing than they look, but - in this trainer's view - have almost no positive properties. The only positive aspect of the construction is their restricted diameter - they can only choke down so far. Nevertheless, an animal with such a determined predisposition to pull that prongs don't give him a second thought requires more than a quick fix consisting of choking and poking. That type of critter needs dedicated attention and behavior modification management.

Halter collars, which encircle the neck and the snout, but don't hamper panting or impair drinking, can give further restraint. The downside is they don't assuage biting if that's a problem. If biting is not a concern an ordinary leash and collar, or perhaps a chest halter might be preferred.

'No-bark' collars can at various times work successfully with those animals that insist on barking long after the initial reason to bark is gone. Barking is a straightforward response to potential danger and is also used to draw attention when one becomes distant from the pack community. But, for reasons not well perceived, some dogs continue barking for indefinite periods of time or at the most insignificant provocation.

Electronic collars that prohibit barking come in two forms: noise stimulus and shock stimulus. Noise collars generate a brief, unpleasant sound that distracts and tends to discourage continual barking.

Shock collars generate a temporary but unpleasant electric shock that is repeated during long-continuing or obstinate barking. Non-subjective evaluations of their efficiency disclose mixed results, however. As with prong collars, any dog who is a candidate for one would profit more from knowledgeable, experienced training to determine the psychological reasons for excessive barking.

Now and then quick fixes are appealing and worthwhile... until they become replacements for more constructive (both to trainer and dog) long-term management. Making the effort to understand how to access your dog's focused attention and cooperativeness without disproportionate reliance on control equipment is better. The usual effect is happier trainers and more well adjusted dogs.