We have a hard-headed Rottweiler who pulls like the dickens when we take her on walks.  I’m not very big and I don’t relish the idea of playing tug of war with my dog every time I want to go somewhere.  With that in mind, I went to the local feed store the other day to pick up a choke chain to help train her to respect the leash.  Much to my dismay, a checker we have seen for quite some time got pretty upset that I was buying a choke chain and tried to educate me on options that wouldn’t involve “choking” the dog.  That got me thinking that maybe many people truly believe that’s what a choke chain is for.

The truth is, you never, ever, hold the pressure on a choke chain to cause any choking.  In addition to being cruel, it would be pretty self-defeating to choke your dog every time you want to correct them.  While they have a name that implies something bad, a choke chain is more about the sound than anything else.  A quick jerk on the chain will put a little pressure on the dog, but the biggest factor is the sound it makes.  Dogs don’t care for the sound and respond appropriately.

When training our Rottweiler with a choke chain, I will let her have her head on the leash, but if she begins pulling, I simply jerk the chain one time, quickly, and then release it.  I am not reefing on it, just making a quick, light jerk.  She responds immediately and slows down.  If she doesn’t, another quick jerk is usually all it takes.

Like any training tool, a choke chain can be misused, but by using it properly you are providing audio feedback to your dog to tell them their action is not acceptable.  Most dogs respond very quickly to this type of  training, as our Fern has.  I can guarantee you she would still be pulling at every walk were I to use a nylon harness as the checker suggested.