Bad Idea: Can I Use a Coupler With Prong Collars?

This is easily the most cringe-worthy gear combination I've seen so far, though fortunately I don't see it often. Using a coupler to walk two dogs in prong collars could be no problem at all, or it could be so terrible that it causes lifelong behavior problems.

So what's the big deal?

A prong collar is a training tool designed to communicate a clear signal to the dog via the leash. When the collar is pulled tight, the prongs pinch the dog's neck, causing discomfort or pain depending on the dog in question. A lot of dogs are bred to be insensitive to pain in order to do their jobs, so prong collars tend to have less of a dramatic impact on gun dogs and bully breeds than they do on herding breeds. 

They are staying in this picture, I wouldn't let them move in this ridiculous setup.
Photo by Erin Koski

Though prongs are meant for giving corrections via sharp jerks, the majority of people seem to use them as a device to discourage pulling. It's true, most insensitive dogs will pull hard enough to pinch their own necks a bit. These dogs do tend to respond to collar corrections as well, so the feeling of just casually pulling on leash wearing a prong must be significantly less than a hard collar pop.

For placid adult labs who don't tend to make sudden moves but do pull when not wearing a prong collar, connecting them together with a coupler is probably not the end of the world.

However, the whole picture changes when one of the dogs in question makes a sudden move. If one dog on a prong collar lunges or bolts suddenly, they will give themself a hard collar pop when they hit the end of the leash. If they are attached to another dog via a coupler, they will both feel it. This essentially means both dogs get punished if one moves too far from the other. If one of those dogs is excitable or reactive, they could both get a severe correction when that dog lunges.

It gets worse...

Constantly getting pinched for your buddy's bad behavior would make anyone feel less enthusiastic about him. But what if he does it whenever he sees something specific? Take a dog that gets overly excited or stressed at the sight of other dogs, coupled to a dog that doesn't care about other dogs. If both are wearing prongs, it would only take a few incidents of neck pinching before the second dog also thinks strange dogs are bad news.

A prong collar on a fairly resilient dog is not a huge concern for me, and I'd rather see that than a choke chain. Throw a second dog and a coupler in there though, and you have two dogs getting random punishments that they may learn to associate with each other, or just about anything in their environment. You wouldn't randomly punish your dog if he were on his own leash, so it's wise to leave the coupler and home and not randomly punish him for the movement of another dog. 

Couplers are for trained dogs on dog-friendly collars or harnesses. It's a bit more work walking two dogs on two leashes, but it's far kinder if you are using prong collars. You can leave one dog at home, enlist a helper, or just walk with one leash in each hand if you must take them both out.

Bad Idea: Why Can't I Use a Flexi Leash with an Easy Walk Harness?

The PetSafe Premier Easy Walk harness is great for preventing dogs from pulling like sled dogs on walks. Flexi retractable leashes are great for letting dogs have a little more freedom without a long leash dragging on the ground or tangling in their legs. Why not combine them and give the dog the freedom of a long leash without getting dragged all over the neighborhood?

Photo by Erin Koski

Well I guess you can use them together if you want to, but it's not very nice to your dog. You see, the Easy Walk harness is designed to make leash pressure inconvenient and uncomfortable, and the Flexi leash exerts constant pressure. The result is that the dog learns to ignore the signals given by the harness because pulling is actually a good thing.

Using a retractable leash with a no-pull harness means the dog feels a constant unpleasant sensation.

Photo by Erin Koski

The entire point of retractable leashes is that
they do not go slack. Constant tension from the handle to the dog ensures that the leash never drags on the ground, keeping it clean and dry. The bulky plastic handle of a retractable leash houses a spring and a wheel.

Unless the brake is pressed, the spring exerts continuous pressure on the wheel causing it to roll the leash back into the handle. This is what causes an unclipped Flexi leash to go flying back into its handle. Unless the brake is presses, the spring also exerts continuous pressure on the dog. It's not a lot of tension, but it is ever-present tension.

Photo by Erin Koski

In order to extend the leash and get wherever they want to go, dogs learn to pull on the Flexi. The leash is constantly pulling on them, so there is no way for them to walk with no pressure. Just pull against it, and the leash will get longer most of the time.

Unlike other front-clip harnesses, the EasyWalk tightens up across the front when leash pressure is applied. This causes squishes the shoulders and alters the dog's gait. It makes them walk funny. That's not fun, so the dog learns to keep the leash slack so he has freedom of movement.

It's hard to walk while pulling in an Easy Walk harness. A Flexi leash constantly pulls on the dog. Plenty of dogs learn to ignore the feeling, walk funny, and pull as much as they can in the harness. This defeats the purpose of using a no-pull harness. It's also not great for their bodies. Easy Walk harnesses restrict shoulder movement, causing the dog to put more weight on their back end. Using a retractable leash with constant tension probably exacerbates this effect. While it's not always noticeable, sore hips, knees, and backs don't need to be carrying more weight than necessary.

Bad Idea: Why Can't I Use a Flexi Leash With a Gentle Leader?

Working at a doggy daycare, I see a lot of egregious misuse of dog gear. Some are merely self-defeating, others are actually dangerous. My least-favorite gear combo is a retractable leash attached to a head halter.

Not pictured: the leash I'm standing on, attached to Brisbane's collar for safety.
Photo by Erin Koski

Why Is This a Bad Idea?
A Halti, Gentle Leader, or other head collar with the leash attachment at the front of the dog's head, has a surprising potential to cause harm. These tools require very little strength on the part of the handler because they control the dog's head. This is at the very end of his spine, obviously. A head collar is intended to teach loose-leash walking, mostly by making pulling on the leash uncomfortable for the dog.

A retractable leash, like the perennially popular Flexis, works by means of a spring inside the leash casing. This spring applies continuous tension to a wheel in order to keep the leash taught and off the ground. While it does not apply a lot of force, the entire reason retractable leashes retract is because they exert continuous leash pressure.

So the first problem with the Flexi/headcollar combo is that the leash puts continuous pressure on the headcollar and therefore the dog's face. They can't really walk on a loose leash unless the brake is locked. This is often uncomfortable for the dog, and habituating them to leash pressure is the exact opposite of teaching them to walk nicely on a leash.

The second problem with this gear combo is that retractable leashes tend to be longer than fixed leashes. The longer the leash, the more speed a dog can build up before he hits the end of it and comes to an abrupt stop. Hitting the end of a 15' leash at top speed on a neck collar, where the pressure is closer to the center of his spine, is bad enough. Hitting it on a head halter can cause serious neck injuries and even be fatal in certain circumstances.

Good Idea
I would love to see the general public give head halters a little more respect. It needs to be used with very light pressure, otherwise you're torquing your dog's neck around all over the place. I like to use a 4' leash to limit how far my dog can get from me, and remind myself that we are using a training tool so I need to stay attentive and hopefully redirect my dog before he tries to run somewhere.

I'm not a big fan of Flexi leashes in most public spaces, but I still own and use several of them because they are just so convenient is certain outdoor spaces where it is acceptable for my dogs to be 15' away from me. I always attach a Flexi or any other long leash to a harness. That way, when my dog suddenly sees a squirrel, or hears a poorly-timed firework, or any other unplanned event causes him to suddenly speed off without warning, he won't get hurt when he hits the end of the leash. Not every dog is prone to bolting, and it may not happen very often, but I still think it's wise to be careful. If my dog suddenly finds some reason to run to the end of his leash at top speed (deer, mail carrier, gunfire, zombie attack, clowns) there's no chance he's going to injure or break his neck.