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Emilie is spot on with her observations and comments. With the behaviors this Milo is exhibiting and practicing, tug of war is NOT a game for him. Running after a thrown ball or stick or walks as Linda mentioned is a much better method for burning off his energy.
I guess I better prepare Michael to be horrified once again. First, there have been some municipalities that tried to pass legislation to have choke chains illegal as training aids. (I can't make this stuff up, and it does go to show public perception of them.) Second, the odds of walking into any pet shop/supply store and getting a store clerk who may actually know how to demonstrate the proper use of one - pretty slim. The large chain stores like PetsMart and Petco, the employees there probably like animals, doesn't mean they know beans about them or what they are selling. My nephew worked as a groomer at PetsMart and his experience there could give some pretty eye-opening revelations as to the competency of the training. Shoot, we have to look no further than Dewey's experience with her friend (Aaron was it?) and his "knowledge" of breeders or breeding. Even in the small scale specialty stores where there is a little more depth of knowledge and experience, not two weeks ago my sister and I had to explain to another customer how the martingale collars work - the store clerk didn't know and she's been with the store a very long time.
Putting on choke collars is not rocket science and when done right and used correctly, they can be a very effective training tool. But even now, after all these years and using them on a regular basis, I'll still catch myself putting them on backwards, but I do realize they are on backwards - which is an important detail (and I don't feel so bad when I see professional handlers make the same mistake). Another little detail someone needs to ask about besides the proper use, is the correct size.
The debate whether to leave a collar on or not is an ongoing one and choke collars are ones that should not be left on. Collars for ID purposes, well most of them harbor the potential to get caught on something. That has to be a personal choice and decision. There are many people who do attach the ID tags and info to a choke collar and leave them on.
Debbie
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