Snake Chain And Training A 16 Wk Pup

[sandgrubber]

I've been training a ~16 wk Labrador pup on lead. She is a strong show prospect, so I decided to try her on a lovely snake chain I have for show . . . just to get her used to a different collar. She immediately clicked into line . .. no need to use the thing for corrections, she kept the line extended but a little bit slack, just as I like it. If I do want to give a correction, eg to say "time to turn now", a tiny very mild tug seems to make her understand. She shows no sign of fearing the thing . . . comes to have it put on . . .

I thought snake chains were a no no on pups. Curious as to why. I think the smooth surface allows instant transmission of signals given by the lead. Seems to me that so long as you're gentle, this is good and not harmful.

Interested to know if others have different opinions. . . or have had similar experiences.

[Seita]

I had my last BC pup on a check from 3 months old, it was a very light one and I used very gentle little tugs and he responded perfectly. I think it really depends on the dog and how it responds to the collar as to whether to use a check or not. I don't think there is a one size fits all rule for puppies and collars, it's all in the way you use the collar!

[Sandra777]

Wish everyone was as gentle and thoughtful with a check chain as both of you. I HATE seeing babies (or adults for that matter) on check chains in the hands of idiots - they turn them into choke chains in an instant.

If the dog/pup responds and isn't distressed then use what works would be my way of thinking!

Never heard of snake chains being a no no for puppies though, got to wonder about the reasoning behind it?

[TerraNik]

I started my show lappie on a snake chain at about 4-5 months. Previous to that she was on a martingale style show lead. She already knew what she was doing by that age so I never needed to 'correct' her with the chain anyway.

[Bjelkier]

My pup is being trained on a martingal show lead but for various reasons she has worn a snake chain before and its done her no harm.

My older boy has only just moved up to a snake chain (this is only because I have only just found one that fits him!) and he is fine with it but he is an adult.

Edited September 22, 2009 by Wolfsong

[corvus]

I had my last BC pup on a check from 3 months old, it was a very light one and I used very gentle little tugs and he responded perfectly. I think it really depends on the dog and how it responds to the collar as to whether to use a check or not. I don't think there is a one size fits all rule for puppies and collars, it's all in the way you use the collar!

I had my old corgi on a check chain very early as well. It was also light and I was gentle and she responded very well. But with heavier applications under the direction of a trainer or three many months later she eventually came to just want to walk as far away from me as possible because it was only when she was near me that she got checks. For her, I think if I'd never actually checked her I would have been fine. She disliked the tightening of it and would not voluntarily create tightening.

I don't like check chains in general very much because of what happens in an emergency situation. I stopped using a check chain with my corgi after the second time I had to pull her out of the way of a charging dog that wanted to hurt her. Given the speed of the oncoming dog and need to wait until the last moment so it couldn't change direction, I ended up hanging my dog on both occasions. Way to make a bad situation even worse for a dog. That's just my experience and it's never happened with my current dog, but those experiences with my corgi turned me right off.

[angelsun]

Check chains are a tool like any other tool. Some dogs work very well and immediately on them, others fight it. Same with martingale leads or even flat collars. Like any tool, the operators either use them correctly or they don't and as a result the finished product either is correct or it's not. (like using a sledge hammer to put in finishing nails...will get the job done but doesn't look very pretty!)

I have had dogs that start right off with check chains, including my new Pinscher girl, and others that needed other options. The real sign of a good trainer, be it for show or performance is whether the handler knows when to use another tool instead of forcing the issue.

The other aspect of this is simply the ignorance of many out there that see check chains used (good or badly) and are death against them regardless and because they don't know anything about how they work. The bad words spread faster I"m afraid than the positive result information.

So many obedience clubs banning check chains is a prime example. Now we see a large group of obedience dogs that are out of control and have horrendous heeling and behaviours because they have never been corrected, only rewarded. (another topic)

[FranVT]

I had absolutely zero luck with Atlas until I moved him to a check chain, he responded really really well to it and he still does. As soon as the check chain goes on he knows it's work time and he only needs little "pops" on the lead for correction it's very rarely tight on him, usually only when he's determined to get to another dog to sniff and even then only briefly. It's lovely having a strong dog walking/trotting on my left not pulling on the lead at all.

I am intrigued by snake chains though, are they a similar concept to check chains or a totally different thing? They sure are pretty.