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Can Dog Collars Cause Neck Injuries? Yes, They Can

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Prevent Dog Neck Injuries With the Right Equipment

Dog Neck Injury
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Dog collars can cause neck injury. Dog neck injuries occur when dogs pull against their collars. While we assume this only happens to large dogs, it can happen to any dog regardless of size. If your dog pulls against his collar, it’s time to change up his equipment for walks around the neighborhood and visits to the vet’s office. The equipment I’m about to tell you should be used until your dog is taught how to walk politely on leash. 🙂

Why Dogs Pull Against Their Collars

Dogs pull against their collars because it works for them. Dogs will pull against restraints, such as tight collars, because these forward movements will inevitability move them and their pet owners to where they want to go. It sounds overly simplistic, but that’s why dogs pull. I see it happen every day. When a dog pulls his neck against a collar, both the pet owner and the dog move forward—or the pet owner’s arm will grow three inches longer—but something has to give.

Dog Neck Injuries are Common

It’s very common for dogs to experience a neck injury or throat damage from pulling their collars. When dogs pull against their collars, the front of their necks sustains the most amount of trauma. It’s important to understand that a dog’s trachea (windpipe) is located in the front part of his neck, which is why your dog chokes, gasps and coughs when he pulls against his collar. Other areas are affected too.

For example, a dog’s spine can easily be damaged from collar pressure, his delicate thyroid can be damaged because it sits right where a collar digs into a dog’s neck and his eye pressure can increase. Collar pressure can also cause glaucoma. A 2006 study conducted by a veterinary ophthalmologist “showed an increase in intra-ocular pressure (IOP) in dogs while pulling on a collar, confirming a correlation between glaucoma and collar stress” (Tremayne, 2006). In addition, a dog’s eye pressure can increase after just one collar-pulling incident. I mean when you think about it, all that forward pressure has to go somewhere.

RELATED: How to Get Your Puppy Used to a Collar

Best Collar for Dogs That Pull

Of course, I don’t recommend pinch or choke collars. Those types of dog collars are the main causes of neck injuries and throat damage. Somehow, pinch collar enthusiasts feel that pinch collars won’t choke a dog, but they think it’s OK for its metal spikes to dig into fleshy and fragile neck areas. I would rather base my dog training methods on facts by leading veterinary behaviorists instead of feelings.

Research shows that pinch collars do cause damage and dogs will pull against them too. Do know that flat buckle collars and Martingale collars can still cause dogs neck injury if the dogs are constantly pulling against them. If your dog pulls against his collar, regardless if he weighs 5 pounds or 150 pounds, stop this behavior before your dog gets hurt.

For strong-pulling dogs, I recommend a front clip harness. For this type of dog harness, you clip the leash in front of your dog’s chest and back. Yup, instead of putting all the force in one area of your dog’s body, this harness evenly distributes the force onto the front and back of your dog’s chest. Plus, you have more control over your dog’s forward movements because you’re controlling your dog’s body and not just his neck.

Dogs will pull against collars, it’s going to happen, so it’s important you have the right dog training equipment to keep your dog safe and prevent you from being pulled toward another dog or moving car. Plus, this harness is an excellent dog training tool to positively teach your dog how to walk politely on leash.

But What About Your Dog’s Collar?

Flat buckle collars should be worn for ID tags only. If your dog pulls, give a front clip harness a try. It’s a new piece of equipment that works amazingly and it keeps your dog’s neck injury-free.

Does your dog pull like a freight train?

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Pet-Safe Natural Weed Killers

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Natural Weed Killers That Won’t Harm Your Dog

Natural Weed Killers
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It’s summer, which means weeds and grass are sprouting up in unwanted areas everywhere. I’m always amazed where weeds will pop up and grow. I’m from the South and I’ve personally witnessed weeds growing out of water gutters hanging from the rooftops many times. Not only do weeds pop up everywhere, but they’re also next to impossible to remove permanently. You think you’ve killed the weeds, but you see their return the following week.

So it makes sense that people grab the cheapest and most effective weed killer possible. No one wants to fight weeds every day. However, are chemical weed killers safe? We all know the answer, and they’re not. What’s an alternative to fight pesky weeds on your lawn? Pet-safe weed killers. While natural weed killers weren’t very effective in the past, they’ve come a long way, baby!

Chemical Weed Killers Are Dangerous

Many years ago, I pledged to never use chemical weed killers again. Not only are synthetic chemicals extremely harmful to our water supply, but they also expose our precious dogs to toxic chemicals every time our pets play or potty on treated lawns. Several studies have shown that dogs will excrete synthetic lawn treatment chemicals in their urine even when pet owners have followed chemical product instructions carefully. In addition, several studies have linked weed-killing chemicals to cancer in dogs.

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Now, let’s think about this for a minute. Weeds are harmless to humans, yet we pour chemicals on them. Weeds don’t sting or bite us; we kill them because they’re growing in and around our lawns, gardens and flower beds. I understand weeds can and will take over an area and smother other plants, and they can also be unsightly, but should we really increase our risk of cancer just because weeds are pests? Maybe we need to rethink a few things.

Natural Weed Killers That Are Pet-Safe

Thankfully, there are several natural weed killers on the market that won’t harm our dogs or our earth, yet still kill weeds. Yes, there’s a bit of a drawback using non-toxic weed killers. For example, you must spray or pour natural weed killers more often than chemical versions and only during specific times of the day. However, I think it’s worth it to reduce potential poisoning and cancer risks in pets and their owners.

10%-20% Vinegar

Over the years, I’ve tried a ton of natural weed killers and I’ve found good strong vinegar works the best. Spraying vinegar directly onto weeds works best on warm and dry sunny days, so I spray it around noon. Some gardeners swear adding dishwashing liquid, salt and citrus oils will boost the effectiveness of vinegar’s weed-killing power. I didn’t notice a difference when I tried it, but I’m sure it’s still worth a try.

Regular grocery store vinegar doesn’t work. You need the strong stuff. Head to your nearest lawn supply store, Lowe’s or Home Depot for the good stuff. You’ll need 10%-20% vinegar (don’t dilute it). Ask a sales associate to recommend a specific sprayer based on the area expanse you’re needing to treat.

It may take a day or two before you notice weeds welting, so it’s best to spray vinegar when rain chances are low. Keep your dogs away from the area until the vinegar dries and please wear protective eyewear. Vinegar is an acid and will blow back into your face on windy days. Oh, and be prepared for the smell. 🙂

BurnOut Weed Killer

If you’re having issues finding strong vinegar in your area, you can purchase it online or buy other non-toxic weed killing products. BurnOut Weed Killer is made of strong vinegar and clove oil, which many lawn experts claim boosts the effectiveness of vinegar. Clove oil also masks the vinegar’s unpleasant smell. 🙂 Just remember to follow this product’s directions carefully and understand it may take a bit longer to work its magic than chemical weed killers.

The Old-Fashioned Way

Pulling weeds out by hand, then covering the area with several layers of plastic or newspaper gets rid of weeds too. Now, this method will take more time than simply spraying weed killers, but it works just as effectively.

Many years ago, we had a large shaded area that only grew weeds. I fought this weed-infested area for an entire year. I even poured salt on the weeds since many articles promised that nothing would ever grow in the area again once I “salted the earth.” Well, we had weeds within a week. Finally, I caved in and pulled all the weeds out by hand. Then, I layered newspaper and landscaping plastic material over the area and covered the paper and plastic with gravel. Guess what? No weeds and the area finally looked neat and tidy. For small clusters of weeds, I use strong vinegar. 🙂

Enjoy summer, but keep poisons out of your yard. Your dog will thank you!

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Reasons for Sudden Aggression in Dogs & How to Fix It

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Sudden Aggression in Dogs

Sudden Aggression in Dogs
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When your friendly and easy-going dog suddenly attacks another dog, child or you, it’s an extremely terrifying and confusing moment. Many pet owners wonder what exactly caused their dog to growl, snap or bite. The answer isn’t always clear. One thing’s for sure is if you witness sudden aggression in your dog, you need to address it immediately.

Why is My Dog Suddenly Aggressive?

We all want to understand why our dogs suddenly become aggressive because if we can identify the cause, we can fix it. Sometimes, the cause of aggression in dogs is pretty obvious and other times we have to dig deep to find the real reason our dogs acted out. Below are a few reasons on why a dog may suddenly growl, snap, lunge or bite. If you’re still unsure of the cause, partner with a dog trainer and veterinary behaviorist to resolve this bad dog behavior.

Please remember: Never allow children (or anyone, really) to sit on, ride, tease, pinch, pull, poke at any part of a dog’s body, roughly pet, throw something at, run toward, hit, scream, kick or step on a dog. Doing this will certainly cause pain or scare a dog, which will cause aggression.

Pain

Dogs are stoic creatures. It’s unbelievable how dogs can mask excruciating pain. When dogs are in pain, they’ll growl, snap or bite if you touch a painful area; it hurts! On the other hand, if your dog hides, constantly pants, drools, limps, licks a specific area, whines when moving or remains still, he’s likely in pain as well. If you suspect your dog is suffering, bring your dog to a veterinarian immediately. Then, conduct a family meeting to explain that physical petting and cuddling your dog is painful for him now, so give your dog space until he feels better.

Scared

Dogs get scared more than their pet owners know. Many dogs are frightened when a new person touches them, visits their home, yells at them, physically hurts or punishes them (i.e. hitting, collar correcting, pushing) and so forth.

For professional dog trainers, it’s pretty easy to know when dogs are scared. You’ll notice a dog is scared when his body language changes quickly, ears flatten back, tail tucks, eyes widen, and body stops moving and freezes or leans away from whatever is scaring him.

Some dogs will even growl, which may translate to “please leave me alone,” “stop doing that,” “this is freaking me out,” “if you don’t stop, I will run away or hurt you,” or “I’m scared.” Always listen and respect your dog’s growl. If you punish or ignore a dog for growling, your dog will escalate his warning to an air snap or bite. When your dog growls, he’s begging you to stop scaring him.

Resource Guarding

Dogs love their resources. They love toys, food in their bowl, chewies, treats, cozy spaces and even their pet owners. Some dogs will guard their resources fiercely. You can see this in action when you walk next to or touch your dog’s beloved resources. You’ll notice your dog will either hover over the item, freeze, growl, snap or bite.

In the dog training world, we call this resource guarding. Do know, resource guarding is a completely normal dog behavior. Those that guard their resources survive. Although it can be scary if resource guarding occurs in your home, especially around other dogs and small children.

RELATED: My Dog Steals Food From Children

Never punish your dog for resource guarding. You’ll make the situation much worse. Instead, teach your dog or puppy that trading his favorite items for super yummy treats is rewarding. Check out additional details on eliminating resource guarding behavior.

Personality

This one is usually a shocker. Many pet owners either refuse to accept their dogs aren’t friendly or completely misread their dog’s behavior. Once, many years ago, a pet owner insisted I hold her growling small dog during a behavior consult. This 8-lb dog was firmly nestled in his pet owner’s arms and as the owner approached me, her dog growled, flashed his teeth and sneezed/snorted. Of course, I backed away, but the pet owner insisted her dog was only “smiling” at me.

Long story short, we had a discussion on interpreting her dog’s body language, which completely stopped all of her dog aggression issues. If only all consults were that easy. 🙂

Here’s the truth: many dogs just don’t like meeting new people or dogs, and that’s OK. If your dog doesn’t like it, then please stop introducing him to strangers (i.e. other dogs, children) and accept it’s part of your dog’s personality. If you’re not sure whether or not your dog is friendly, please seek advice from a professional and experienced dog trainer.

What Should You Do Next?

Remember, it’s very important to find the reason for your dog’s sudden aggression because then it can be addressed.

Steer Clear of Triggers

Keep your dog away from whatever caused his sudden burst of aggression until your dog is seen by a veterinarian. Use sturdy baby gates and crates to keep your dog safely confined when guests come over or when children are playing. If your dog is aggressive toward another dog, keep all household dogs separated and stop allowing your dog to visit other dogs.

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See Your Veterinarian

Always start with ruling out any and all medical issues. If your dog is in pain, a complete veterinary exam, blood work, X-rays and additional diagnostics should discover the cause of your dog’s pain and sudden aggression.

If pain isn’t causing your dog’s aggression, then ruling out illness is extremely important. Seizures, low or high thyroid levels, anxiety, and chronic illnesses can cause sudden aggression in dogs to happen, so always see a veterinarian first.

Find a Professional Dog Trainer

Once medical issues have been completely ruled out by your veterinarian, it’s time to find a professional dog trainer. If your dog has bitten someone or another dog, you need help from a veterinary behaviorist first and then follow up with a dog trainer. Check out these tips on finding an experienced dog trainer who specializes in dog aggression as well as locating a veterinary behaviorist. These articles will help you narrow your search quickly.

Sometimes, it’s difficult figuring out the exact cause for sudden aggression in dogs, but keep digging and work with a positive reinforcement dog trainer.

How to Prevent Scorpions From Stinging Your Dog

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Keep Scorpion Stings at Bay With These Tips

Scorpion Stings
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It’s that time of year in blazing hot south Arizona where scorpions come out to play. Bleh! This is our first summer in Phoenix, and we’ve already been formally introduced to a poisonous bark scorpion. Unfortunately, the experience was too up close and personal for my taste, leaving my husband with a scorpion sting.

It started last night. We found a bark scorpion in our bed at 1:00am when it stung my husband. That nasty creature was less than a foot away from my small dog and a couple of feet from me. The bark scorpion obviously strolled right past a snoring Rottweiler while it headed straight for our bed. My husband jumped out of bed claiming a scorpion stung his thigh, which caused me to stand and scream in the bathtub with both dogs until he found it. I’m surprised the police weren’t called.

My hubby is okay and I’ve resisted the urge to burn the house down, and yes I haven’t slept since. Fortunately, deep breaths, bright lights, a frantic voicemail to my pest control guy and a Xanax decreased my sudden thoughts of things crawling all over my body and face.

How do we protect ourselves and our dogs from scorpion stings?

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How to Prevent Scorpions From Stinging Your Dog

Scorpions are nocturnal; they search for food and water at night. It seems scorpions live everywhere too. While most scorpion stings feel like broken glass in your skin, they’re not poisonous except for the bark scorpion. Apparently, June through August is prime scorpion time, and we had our formal introduction in July.

Seal Cracks and Gaps

The best way to keep your dog safe from scorpion stings is to keep your dog inside and scorpions outside. Small cracks in your home and gaps in weather stripping near doors and windows are beacons to scorpions. To check for gaps and cracks, have someone shine a flashlight along your windows and doors at night while another person stands outside t0 look for light peeking through. Scorpions are able to flatten themselves like a credit card, so seal any and all cracks and gaps tightly.

Hunt Them at Night

Bug sprays and powders won’t affect a scorpion. If they do, it would take 7 to 14 days for it to penetrate their extremely durable exoskeleton. Now, sprays and powders will keep other pests away that scorpions love to munch on. Some of our neighbors hunt scorpions at night with black lights and a shoe because scorpions shine brightly under black light. Around 10:00pm, we usually hear gleeful “I got ’em” comments coming from several homes in the neighborhood. Many neighbors and pest control companies swear this is an effective way to prevent scorpion stings. Maybe I need a black light and one of my old shoes too.

Hire a Pest Control Company

We do have a pest control company that sprays regularly. They’ve walked our property before showing us cracks and gaps that need to be sealed. Although, somehow, a scorpion still got into our home. While I totally believe in natural products and living a chemical-free life, I made an exception for the pest control company. After chatting with our holistic veterinarian, she recommended pest control chemicals if we’re dealing with bark scorpions. Another reason I hired a bug guy is because bark scorpions can scale walls and walk along ceilings. They can go anywhere they want to basically.

What to Do if a Scorpion Stings Your Dog

When dogs are stung by scorpions (or wasps and bees for that matter), your dog will likely yelp, whine, paw or rub at the sting site. Scorpion stings hurt. Many years ago, my dog was stung by a scorpion in our Texas home. He yelped and began limping immediately. Fortunately, I saw the scorpion scurry away. However, I managed to kill the scorpion, put it in a plastic bag, and bring it and my dog to our vet’s office immediately. I say that I’m thankful for seeing the scorpion because I was able to rule out what actually caused the sting.

If a bark scorpion stings your dog or cat, bring your pet to a veterinarian immediately. She’ll likely inject a Benadryl-like medication into your pet. If a scorpion stings your dog overnight, call your veterinary emergency clinic immediately. She’ll likely ask you to bring your pet in for an injection too.

From chatting with our vet, we learned that not only can bark scorpion stings cause pain, but the sting site can also become quickly infected. When my husband was stung by a bark scorpion, the pain lasted for more than 12 hours. He was nauseous for a couple of days, but luckily the sting site didn’t become infected.

For other types of scorpion stings, watch your pet closely for the next 4 hours. Most large dogs recover well from scorpion bites, but reactions are more common with small dogs and cats. If your dog or cat has trouble breathing, struggles to stand up, can’t walk properly or looks distressed in any way, get your pet to your vet immediately.

Good luck out there, and I hope you never see a scorpion. As for me, I need to call my bug man again. I need reassurance after writing this article (scratch, scratch).

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Dog Shock Collars are Cruel and Unnecessary

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Dog Shock Collars: They Hurt and They Don’t Work

Dog Shock Collars
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A few days ago, I stumbled upon a news article in which a mother was accused of shocking her toddler with one of these dog shock collars. What? Is this article for real?

Unfortunately, it’s very real and the mother is being prosecuted for child abuse. She had witnessed a pet owner using a shock collar on his dog to change the dog’s behavior. She thought the collar would change her toddler’s behavior too, so she shocked her child whenever he wouldn’t swallow food or didn’t potty in the toilet. I’ll spare all the gory details because it’s truly disturbing. However, if you want to read the full article, click here.

The world and I were disgusted that a mother would shock her child, but don’t we use shock collars to train dogs every day? Is there a difference?

Why It’s Upsetting

As a positive reinforcement dog trainer, I don’t use shock collars for dogs and stay clear from people who use them. I guess it’s my way of ignoring the problem. However, when I read this news article pertaining to a mother shocking her child, my heart dropped and that angry fire started burning inside me again. I asked myself, “Why are we still using dog shock collars?”

Everyone has a right to do as he pleases unless he’s harming someone else. For the most part, adults have a voice and can defend themselves if someone hurts them. They’ll fight back or press charges, or even do both. I don’t pick sides and I try to stay out of other people’s business, but when a voiceless and defenseless child or animal is hurt, I get really angry.

Dog Shock Collars Cause Pain

There is no reason to shock an animal. I’ll never be convinced that shocking or physically hurting an animal will teach it quicker, faster, more efficiently or more humanely. I’ll never believe any and all other buzzwords that further defend the use of pain during training.

Dr. Karen Overall, MA, VMD, PhD, DACVB, believes everyone should understand that:
“The use of shock is not treatment for pets with behavioral concerns;
the use of shock is not a way forward;
the use of shock does not bring dogs back from the brink of euthanasia; instead, it may send them there, and;
such adversarial techniques have negative consequences that those promoting these techniques either dismiss or ignore.”

I Used to Train Dogs With Shock Collars

You’re probably thinking I’m that dog trainer with limited dog training experience who has only used positive reinforcement methods. That’s not true. More than 25 years ago, I trained dogs with electronic collars (or e-collars), pinch collars and choke chains because that’s all I had known.

As I became more experienced, I knew something was wrong. I felt icky shocking a dog if he made the wrong choice. The look in his eyes would say everything. After a decade of training this way, I learned that rewarding good behavior instead of correcting bad behavior was the best way to train dogs (or any living creature for that matter).

Not only did my dog training skills improve, but my group classes were much happier too. We celebrated wins instead of waiting for bad things to happen, so we could correct them.

Oh yes, I’m on my soap box! If everyone clasps their pearls when they hear a mother shocking a defenseless child, why don’t they react the same way when a pet owner shocks a defenseless dog? Dog shock collars hurt. I’ve tried them on my leg, arm and neck at the lowest settings possible. Even knowing the shock was coming, it would still hurt. Shock collars don’t deliver a tickle, vibration or a buzzing sound. They stinking hurt.

Research Proves Shock Collars for Dogs Hurt

If you don’t find dog shock collars painful, you’re fooling yourself. Research has finally caught up and proven that shock collars do cause dogs harm. If you’re interested, you can find the latest research here and here. There’s more than a dozen research findings by real experts in this article too. The results all point to the same painful conclusion.

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Shock Collars Aren’t the Last Resort

Dog shock collars aren’t the last resort for saving a troubled dog’s life. I highly doubt you would consciously choose shock therapy to save your life. However, you have a choice whereas a child or dog doesn’t. Positive reinforcement dog training works better and quicker and changes dog behavior.

All creatures should be treated humanely because it’s the right thing to do regardless of your beliefs. I’m stepping off my soap box now and I strongly hope this article will stop at least one pet owner or dog trainer from purchasing or using a shock collar on a dog. As for new dog trainers entering the pet industry, you don’t have to use these painful collars. You can find much better ways to train dogs.

Choose to be kind. It’s the right thing to do.

Dog Training Nation is a dog training blog for pet owners and dog lovers. We cover a range of topics from puppy socialization tips to dog aggression to dog health. It is our hope you share our content to make the world a better place for dogs.

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