Zeeke has used a prong collar since two years ago when we took him to obedience class. There was an immediate difference in his behavior, and for once I could actually handle him when on walks, even when he was misbehaving.

Since then we still always put the prong collar on him and hook his leash to it, but we rarely need to actually rely on it for anything - he knows where the end is, and only once in a while mistakenly hits the end. He heels well. He saunters along like a charm when on walks, doesn’t pull at all.

So why do we still use the prong?

Well tonight I took Zeeke out after I fed them. It was getting pretty dark. He ranged ahead of me like the dogs always do. Out of nowhere he bolts and hits the end of the leash, wrenching my hand and arm. It was a cat - someone’s cat was in our back yard and took off running when he saw Zeeke. Without a doubt, without that prong collar he’d be still chasing that cat through neighbor’s yards. With any normal dog - like, say, Zoe - getting loose would not be the end of the world. Zoe comes back. Zeeke… doesn’t so much.