The Dog Bowl Pet Supply and BARF Raw Food Blog

If you have an unruly dog, or a very large breed, you may feel compelled to purchase a metal choke collar to minimize the strain and pulling you have experienced. However, you may be doing your dog more harm than good.

Metal choke collars are not necessarily the appropriate answer to excessive pulling or aggression in your dog.

First of all, these collars may contain lead which is poisonous to you and your dog. While you may not see any effects today, lead poisoning is extremely detrimental and could leave your pet with irreversible health problems, not to mention the heaps of money you’ll end up paying in visits to the vet!Another danger that presents itself with choke collars is the fact that a dog’s anatomical structure is different than that of humans, and their esophagus is very close to the surface of their neck. All of the pulling and tugging directly puts a lot of pressure on their esophagus. One strong tug, and your dog could end up with a collapsed esophagus or trachea which can be immediately deadly.

Instead of purchasing a choke collar that they are walking directly into, try one of The Dog Bowl’s nylon leads that are a modified choke collar. These collars adjust to fit your dog’s neck size, but instead of fitting around the neck, they go up higher around the ears. With this modified choke, you pull up instead of out, which minimizes the strain you put on your pets vital airway and food passage. These leads come in a variety of lengths and thicknesses, so you can walk your unruly Chihuahua comfortably, or even your massive Great Dane!

Proper training and commands will also help in reducing the amount of tug of war that occurs when walking your dog. Perhaps attending an obedience class or two, or asking your vet a few training questions will help you as well. To see the variety of modified choke leads that The Dog Bowl offers, click here! Now you and your pet can literally breathe easily with these more comfortable, safe leads!

Labels: Dog Leash