How Can I Tell If My Dog Is Choking Or Just Coughing On The Chain?

1. Clare Says

   I would personally avoid choke chains, especially with problems such as lunging at people due to anxiety.
   The problem you have is that by tightening the choke chain, you can actually cause her pain. What she learns from this is that “When i see people coming, I feel pain in my neck”, she then becomes even more anxious when she sees people as the thinks pain may be on it’s way and your problem gets worse.
   Be very cautious of choke chains as they can cause a lot of aggression issues in my opinion.
   My method of choice is a Beaphar Gentle Leader which is a head collar that gives you great control over your dog but also puts very slight pressure on the back of the neck where a mother dog would hold her pup which helps your dog feel calmer.
   To avoid her lunging at people and other dogs, train her a ‘Watch’ command (use treats to get her to look at you – raise the treat to your eyes – when she looks say “Watch! Good!” and give her the reward, then when she understand this, move the treat to the side, she will follow it with her eyes, then wait saying NOTHING, she will glance back at you (you have to be patient, it can take a minute or so) to see why she’s not getting the treat – the second she does this, say “Watch! Good!”. Practice this until she looks at you when you say ‘Watch”).
   You can then use this command when you see another dog, ask her to “Watch” you and reward her for doing so.
   This way you are decreasing her anxiety around other dogs as she learns “when i see another dog, if i watch my owner instead of lunging, i get a treat!” and you are also teaching her that paying attention to you is far more rewarding than ignoring you and lunging!
   Good Luck, I really hope you can get this sorted and it helps you build a really good bond with your puppy in the process:)

2. Tess Sharpe Says

   You didn’t mean to, but yes – you choked her a bit. As she is not quite trained yet, you might be better off with a haltie head collar, which pulle the dogs head towards you rather than squeezing the throat like a choke chain does. Borders are very clever and I am sure you will soon have her trained.

3. Moondog Says

   Though I don’t use choke chains your dog ignored your first correction so she needed a harder correction. You did just that and you did nothing wrong. She needs to learn when you give her a correction you mean business and obeying you is not optional.
   The dog and you would be in a lot more trouble if you weren’t able to correct her if she connected with the guy snapped and lunged at..

4. Ashleigh Says

   U done nothing wrong at all. But yes she did cough from choking. If you dont want to use the choke chain try a no pull harness. I use a Sporn harness on my American staffy. Works a charm and with out the choking! it works on your dogs pressure points under their front legs so they soon figure out not to pull or run towards people. Border collies are extremely smart, she will figure it out soon enough either way.

5. G’hound Says

   She was coughing from choking. Get a prong collar instead and learn to use it properly. Hopefully you will not need to go anything like so tight as you get a choking reaction. It is a redirective pinch that cues your dog to stop the bad behavuiour and do something you need it to do instead.

6. Mikebusc Says

   you were choking your dog to death, what you did could be a reason to contact the authorities. Espiecally since she’s so young, just use one of those rope ones where they go around the body instead of the neck, those are actcually more helpful since they are more comfortable and the dog will not be scared of it. i had a dog, i used the body ones till he was 2

7. suman Says

   well. i had a dog too.
   when i thought, its too tight for him to breath . i use to put my palm in the bel, in order to chek it’s loose or tight.
   as ur problem is: if the chain is loose, then if still it behaves the same then its cough.
   . take care,bye

8. Anonymous Says

   She was actually choking!

9. Anonymous Says

   please use a leather collar if she slips from the leather collar then move to ohio and marry a bonbon

10. Bob Says

    You are looking for excuses why your dog doesn’t need further training. The fact is, that your dog DOES need to be better trained. I suggest you read some books on how to raise and train a dog. Using a choke collar, or other adversive device is bad for your dog.

11. Jojo Says

    Your dog is too young to be using a choke chain on her. If she pulls or you yank too hard it could damage her neck or trachea. And yes it does sound if your dog experienced some real pain or discomfort from your use of the choke chain.
    Use an ordinary flat fabric or leather collar or a half check collar adjusted so it cannot tighten too severely on the neck.
    There is no substitute for correct training and I suggest you enrol in a good dog obedience club where your pup will learn to walk calmly amongst people and other dogs as well as learning all the basic obedience commands.
    Collies are very smart and learn fast.

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