Herm Sprenger Stainless Quick Release Steel Prong Collar 16" X 2.25 mm with with Double Billets & Ri

This is about the collar as I did not purchase off of Amazon.

I'll be the first to admit these collars look like something out of the Inquisition and appear draconian and until recently would NEVER have bought one in preference to the traditional choke chain. Not to get long winded but after doing a lot of homework on this collar and maintaining my objectivity, this is definately the way to go. When used correctly, they are much kinder to the dog than a choke chain or even a traditional collar. The trick is that you have to get the fit right. If this collar is causing pain to your dog the fault is yours alone. These collars should simply provide the corrective "nip" or "pinch" that a mother dog would give to her pup(s) or at worse an elder or higher up pack member would give when correcting a dog that's out of line.

Herein lies the problem with this particular collar. The other Herm Sprenger collars wrap around the neck and should be a little snug so that when you pull there is a uniform pinch around the neck. This is achieved through the action of the martingale style collar. This collar does not have this and as a result the prongs dont pinch, they stab. I did not notice this on my dog until I was attempting to put his other collar back on after a training session and there were small skin tears on his neck with small gashes. I was horrified but oddly he never yelped once!

Having had a small pinch collar of the martingale type earlier, I did not have this problem and I had a professional dog trainer (of the obedience/schutzhund type) help me fit that collar and use it correctly. I will be the first to admit that I could be doing somthing wrong with this particular collar.

I love the quick release feature of this collar as it's so easy to get on and off. I wish the martingale type had this release also as it's easier, and, I think, a little safer to use this rather than sliding the collar on and off. My dog is still a puppy (at 50 lbs) and naturally everything goes into his mouth even a collar when you slip it on and off. That's happened a couple of times, and I've simply undo the prongs to get the collar on and off; a tricky prospect with a squirming, then 12 week old puppy.

I think the other thing that dissappointed me is that the tips of the prongs on this collar were not rounded at the tips. I know this to be a sort of Herm Sprenger trade-mark. Even the knock-offs have the rounded prongs to prevent the kind of tearing that happened on my dogs neck. However, I will be purchasing a stainless steel Herm Sprenger martingale style correction collar when I complete this review.

Hope this helps.

Unlike the other reviewer, I am switching TO this style Herm Sprenger collar after we had already used the standard stainless steel martingale Herm Sprenger collar with the swivel D-ring. We have a 1-year old German Shepherd Dog, who has been through 2 levels of obedience classes, and daily training. We have various collars, from flat buckle mesh collars and rolled leather collars for lounging around the house, e-collar for off-leash field work, and the standard prong collar described above for outdoor training sessions under various levels of distraction. Yesterday, during our private 1:1 training session with a nationally recognized trainer who specializes in German Shepherd training, I was advised to switch to this quick release prong collar. When properly sized and correctly positioned, it is to be used with a quick light movement of the leash. During the entire training session, except for these light corrections, the leash should exert almost no tension on the collar. This is the way all prong collars should be used. If pressure is applied nearly constantly, even mild pressure, your dog is learning to behave only when under duress, and you are likely to have trouble with his compliance off-leash. You wouldn't drive a car without prior instructions, and you shouldn't use training tools like e-collars or prong collars without prior professional training, especially if you own high-drive dogs like German Shepherds, Dobermans, etc. They are like high performance cars: properly handled, you will be thrilled by their performance.

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