Best Dog TRAINING COLLAR for *Difficult Dogs

Are you dealing with a particularly difficult dog? If you are, then this is the article for you.

There’s no doubt you care about your dog, and you don’t want to get rid of him. However, he’s probably causing some severe distress, or else you wouldn’t be reading this article.

A stubborn dog can try the patience of even the calmest of trainers. So what do you do?

When more extreme measures are called for, training equipment can go a long way. I’ve found one of the best solutions to taming a dog is to invest in a training collar.

In this article, we’ve tried to present a variety of training collars to give you a mix of options as the severity of the problem will dictate which you’ll need.

Later in the article, we’ll review the following training collars:

  1. Starmark Training Collar
  2. COVONO Invisible Fence for Dogs
  3. Country Brook Martingale Heavy Duty Nylon Dog Collar
  4. Garmin T5 GPS Dog Collar

Advantages of Using a Training Collar

Superior Control

A short coated tan black dog with a green harness standing on green grass

Despite the quantity of training collars on the market, they all serve the same primary purpose: to give the trainer a greater degree of control over the dog. A problem dog requires a firm and steady hand.

For instance, a dog that continues to chase other dogs can be easily discouraged.

You could pull them back with the leash, make them sit, and scold them for their disobedience. However, it would be a lot easier if you had a pinch collar to create a slight deterrent.

Most of the collars listed in this article can be combined with other devices for even greater control.

Consider, for example, a dog with a thick neck, e.g. a Bulldog. These types of dogs find it much easier to slip a collar, creating panic for an owner.

You can remedy this by connecting your dog’s collar to a harness using an inexpensive connector (e.g. a D-ring).

Plenty Of Versatility

Instant Correction

Pinch collars and choke collars provide a disciplinary tool that can be very useful in discouraging unwanted behaviors. These collars are not meant to cause pain but merely to cause mild discomfort. In most cases, this mild discomfort is enough to make the dog think twice about repeating the behavior.

If a dog pulls against one of these leashes or otherwise begins to get out of control, the negative consequence will happen instantly with no effort to you. The dogs’ momentum does the work. This is also true for dog shock collars that work in conjunction with buried cables. The Martingale collar is an excellent example of a collar that provides only light correction.

A black dog with a red training collar

Monitoring Possibilities

Since your dog will be wearing his collar 24 hours a day, you can use it as a way to keep tabs on him. There are many devices on the market that combine a collar with a tracking device. These might include GPS trackers, miniature microphones, or miniature cameras. If your dog keeps wandering off and getting into trouble, these types of training collars might be just the thing you need.

What to Look for in a Training Collar

There are certain things you should always check before laying your money down.

Here are the most important factors:

Relevance to Your Problem

Most dog owners buy training collars to remedy a specific problem. The first thing to consider is what result you hope to achieve. Here is a quick guide to some common dog problems and the collars that might help combat them:

Leash pullingPinch collars, choke collars, Martingale collar
AggressionMuzzle-collar, choke collar
ChewingCorrective shock collar, camera collar
Running awayGPS collar, camera collar, buried cable shock collar
Escaping from collarsSwitch to a harness

Durable Construction

Durability is always a big concern. Specialized training collars are required to take the worst abuse that a dog can dish out. They’ll need to withstand maximum resistance so don’t accept any product that isn’t well constructed.

The band of the collar should be thick and should not include any plastic snaps. These are fine for small dogs, but those little plastic clips won’t hold up against a medium to large dog.

Buckles and connectors should be made of steel — coated steel is the best since it’s protected from the elements.

Resistance Against Water

German Shepherd has the training collar

In some cases, specialized collars will have an electronic device attached to them. When this is the case, it’s important that the product is guaranteed to be 100% waterproof. Water-resistant isn’t good enough.

Comfort

As with anything that your dog will wear, carefully consider their comfort. If your dog is uncomfortable, the device isn’t effective. Of course, some of these collars are designed to cause discomfort, but that’s only when your dog does something bad.

The more irritated your dog becomes, the harder they will try to remove the collar. If the dog is dedicated to the task, they’ll often succeed.

Proven Track Record

Our advice is to avoid “gimmicky” collars that use new and untested technology. While there is nothing wrong with innovation, this is a case where you need reliability above all. Play it safe and stick to the time-proven designs that have served dog owners well for many years.

Training Collar Reviews:

This is a good example of a “pinch collar.” If you’ve never used one before, its appearance may startle you. At first glance, it looks like some kind of medieval torture device. However, if you look closely, you’ll see that the spikes inside the collar are quite soft and are unlikely to cause discomfort until the dog pulls.

View on Amazon

This type of collar is designed for a dog that doesn’t want to be leash-trained. We consider these devices to be humane because they cause only mild discomfort. Also, the dog has control of the discomfort, as they only need to stop pulling in order for the pinch to go away.

The only thing I don’t like about this product is the fact that it’s mostly made of plastic. In mitigation, its a high-grade polymer and held together with steel pins, so it’s only a slight issue.

The best feature is its customization — you can change the links or add more of them.

The product comes with some extra links, and more can be purchased. In this way, you can modify the collar for a dog of any size.

Pros:

  • Effective controlling the dog
  • Soft spikes cause no discomfort until the dog pulls
  • All connecting pieces are made of steel
  • Looks like a normal collar when worn
  • Great for owners of large dogs

Cons:

  • Dog fur will sometimes get caught between the links
  • Too much plastic
  • No warranty

This is the only shock collar on our list. This one is paired with an underground fence.

The idea is to create an invisible barrier that your dog can’t cross.

Covono offers one of the best invisible fences on the market. This kit comes with everything you need to get started. The bands of the collars are very wide and are made of high-quality leather. The receivers are thick and bulky but durable.

View on Amazon

You get 650 feet of wire with this kit, which means you can cover up to three-quarters of an acre. Unless you have a very large yard, you should only need one kit. The manufacturer also offers a “100% security guarantee.” This means that if your dog escapes, you get your money back. The product also comes with a lifetime warranty.

This product is designed with the multiple-dog owner in mind. This particular system can support as many dogs as you have, though each dog will need a receiver. You can manage all of them from the same console.

Pros:

  • Allows precise control of boundaries
  • Can support an unlimited number of receivers
  • Lifetime warranty and security guarantee
  • 650 feet of wire
  • Complete kit with everything you need

Cons:

  • May not deter the largest or most stubborn dogs
  • Subject to failure due to power blackout
  • Receiver is large

The Martingale collar is a design that isn’t well-known. Unlike most of the collars on this list, it is meant for dogs whose problems are not quite as extreme.

This type of collar could be described as a limited choke collar. It has an extra loop that can be pulled to tighten the leash, but it can’t tighten very far.

View on Amazon

Not only can this be an option for less stubborn dogs, but it can also be a graduation option for dogs who have made progress.

In other words, you can start a difficult dog with a pinch collar, and when their behavior improves, this collar offers the next level of training.

Pros:

  • Well-suited for the less-extreme cases
  • Thick, double-layered construction
  • All connections are made of thick steel
  • Good for a graduated option
  • Offers discipline similar to a choke collar, but without the choking

Cons:

  • Not suitable for extreme cases
  • Some buyers haver reported sharp ends on the nylon straps

Although this is more than a little bit on the expensive side, this is the best solution for a dog that continually runs away. Garmin makes a lot of GPS devices, most of which are intended to be used in your car. As such, it’s a trusted name brand.

This thing comes with a handset that looks more like a cellphone. It allows you to track your dog’s location on a map with extreme precision. It would be very hard to lose your dog with a device like this. The handset can track up to 20 dogs at once, although very few would ever need to do so.

View on Amazon

This product is only rated for use within the United States and Canada, so it probably won’t be a good option if you live anywhere else. Within those borders, however, it can track the approximate distance that the dog has traveled from home, how fast they are traveling, and how long it has been since they left home.

The whole thing works by bouncing signals off satellites and updates every 2.5 seconds. Although not everyone can afford it, you really couldn’t ask for a better tracking collar. Obviously, this is an extreme solution, but for some dog owners, it may be the only solution.

Pros:

  • Extremely precise location
  • Tracks speed, distance, and duration
  • Tracks up to 20 dogs at once
  • Works by satellite so terrain doesn’t matter much
  • Updates every 2.5 seconds

Cons:

  • Receiver is large
  • Expensive
  • Only works in the U.S. and Canada

Final Thoughts

If you’re having issues with your dog running off and getting lost, the GPS collar is what you’ll need. For this situation, a muzzle or a pinch collar would do nothing to remedy your problem.

However, pet owners who are dealing with an aggressive dog will find little use in the GPS collar or the underground fence.

Just remember to have patience whatever decision you make.

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