by Jules Pierre

Created on: August 11, 2008

This is very much a case of one, or a few, bad apples spoiling the bunch. The choke chain, or slip chain has been used responsibly and effectively by trainers for years. The catch is that trainers know how to use these collars correctly and sensibly.

It is all very well to argue that these collars cause no harm when used appropriately but, only conscientious dog owners and people with know-how will realistically employ the correct methods when leading a dog. Even owners who would never purposefully aim to harm their precious pets may unknowingly cause harm through improper use of the choke chain.

As a child I was allowed to lead our family dog by her choke chain. This was the standard training collar at the time. Fortunately, having been trained as a gun dog (for trials only) she was easy and compliant. She tended to lead me rather than the other way around. Still, had she had inclinations towards stubbornness, it's easy to picture a six year old, tugging at a dog twice her size, yet unaware of cause and effect dilemmas and life's ethical responsibilities. A child could very easily, unconsciously, hurt a childhood friend, the family pet. Most likely not irreparably but the potential is there.

As for those less considerate ownerspeople with little humanitarian leanings towards dogs, and yes there are many, are very likely to cause harm through ignorance of the collar's correct usage and apathy towards the dog's reaction.

It's a sad day when, what has been nothing more than a useful tool to most people, must be banned to prevent cruelty from its misuse. Whether the cruelty was intentional or not makes little difference to the suffering animal.

Having said this, I don't necessarily agree that these items should be banned completely. Within regulated areas such a training institutions the collars can be used as before, without causing harm to any dogs. The nylon slip collar which has replaced the chain variety, whether for fashion or humanitarian reasons I'm not sure, still uses the same mechanism as its predecessor but is much less likely to do unintentional harm. Banning it does seem a bit excessive. Apart from for training, the collars are also used for dog trials and shows. These too are regulated institutions and any owner seen yanking or dragging an unwilling and unhappy dog behind them would be quickly drawn under scrutiny.

What it comes down to is this: are you willing to find another method of training your dog if it prevents cruelty towards animals by those less compassionate than you? When seeing it from this angle, I believe that a person whose natural inclination may is to be annoyed at the collars' prohibition, will see the rationality behind it. By making small adjustments in our own lives we may be able to improve the quality of life of thousands of animals.

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