22/05/2022
MEDIA RELEASE
The Pet Professional Guild Australia welcomes the move by the Queensland Government to review their animal welfare legislation, particularly in regards to the proposed new amendments in regards to the banning of the use of prong collars.
PPG Australia is a membership organisation representing pet industry professionals who are committed to science-based, force-free training and pet care.
We are an official branch of the Pet Professional Guild, a worldwide organisation committed to advocating, educating and encouraging improvements in companion animal welfare through the use of fear free techniques. Our member’s skills and knowledge are maintained to the highest standard through continued education from trainers and researchers across the world.
It is the position of the Pet Professional Guild Australia that effective animal training procedures lay the foundation for an animal’s healthy socialisation and training and helps prevent behavior problems. The general pet-owning public should be educated by organisations and associations to ensure pet animals live in nurturing and stable environments to better prevent behavior problems and help ensure the overall well-being of the animal. Consistent with this effort, it is the position of the Pet Professional Guild Australia (PPGA) that the use of collars and leads that are intended to apply constriction, pressure, pain or force around a dog’s neck (such as choke chains and prong collars) should be avoided.
Though data demonstrating the exact damage that can be potentially caused by using choke and prong collars is incomplete, experience has shown that soft tissue injuries are common and, as is the case with any harsh training method, the damage to the animal-human relationship results. Studies and the experience of the PPGA’s membership finds that training and behavior problems are consistently and effectively solved without the use of choke or prong collars but with the alternative and positive methods of reinforcing the animal-human bond. Evidence indicates that rather than speeding the learning process, harsh training methods actually slow the training process, add to the animal’s stress and can result in both short-term and long-term psychological damage to animals.
Common problems which can result from the use of choke and prong collars:
Physical problems
While precise information on the potential damage caused by the use of choke and prong collars is still being collected, there are many cases of dogs suffering soft tissue damage, eye problems, strangulation (leading to death), tracheal/esophageal damage and neurological problems resulting from the use of choke/prong collars.
Training Fallout
Choke chains and prong collars are designed to administer negative reinforcement and positive punishment. Training techniques based in these two learning theory quadrants are prone to side effects. As an example, a dog wearing a choke or prong collar that fearfully barks and lunges at another dog would then be choked or pain inflicted by the prong collar. The pain and choking then adds to the negative association the dog wearing the collar has with other dogs. This is the polar opposite of what an ideal training protocol is designed to accomplish.
Even if a dog is free of reactivity issues, using a choke or prong is less than ideal. Today there are many effective alternatives available for training and management of skills where choke and prong collars have been traditionally used for teaching loose-leash-walking and formal/precision heel training
Conclusion
It is the position of the PPGA that all training should be conducted in a manner that encourages animals to enjoy training and become more confident and well-adjusted pets. In addition, PPGA members optimize the use of functional analysis to identify and resolve problem behaviors such as leash-pulling and lunging, where choke and prong collars are typically used. Further, the PPGA and its members actively recommend against the use of choke and prong collars while actively promoting the use of flat buckle collars, harnesses and other types of control equipment that are safer for the animal.
Kind Regards
Barbara Hodel
President
Pet Professional Guild Australia
[email protected]
Mobile: 0424 740 234
