How to Train With a Martingale

Training is a very important part of being a responsible pet owner. Many breeds of dogs, such as greyhounds and whippets, have heads that are smaller than their necks. When this is the case, a typical collar cannot be used to train your pet. For these type of dogs, a martingale collar, sometimes called a greyhound collar, is a great choice for training and walking your dog. Martingale collars have a collar that is fit to the neck size of the dog when the collar is in the closed position.

Things You'll Need

  • Martingale collar
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Instructions

    • 1

      Fit your martingale collar properly. When in everyday use, the collar should be fit snug, but not too snug as to block the airway. When it is being used as a training tool, or as an alternative to a choke collar, you will want it to fit slightly snugger than normal.

    • 2

      Flick your wrist quickly to stop unwanted behaviors. Since a martingale is tight on the neck, a quick flick of the wrist will put enough pressure to help the dog realize that the behavior is not proper. The release of this pressure when the dog is exhibiting proper behavior is a great positive reinforcement.

    • 3

      Use consistency when training your puppy. You will want to correct inappropriate behaviors each time that they do it and offer verbal praise each time that they do a positive behavior. Give commands consistently to help them learn to sit and stay.

    • 4

      Remove or loosen the martingale collar when not training. The collar should not be placed too tightly on your dog for too long. When training is over, you can loosen it and leave it on, or remove it completely.