"Dark Force" Black Stainless Steel Neck Tech SPORT Dog Collar - 19 inches (48 cm) long

Each of Sprenger collars is stamped with a brand name HS-Germany (HS-GERMAN INOX / HS-CUROGAN) on the rings, swivels and some additional places on certain products. This marking functions as a verification of brand recognition for each Sprenger product.

Moreover, all stainless steel pinch collars are labelled with an additional tag that is marked with a red dot. It also helps to differentiate a stainless steel collar from a chromed steel one at the first glance.

A prong collar is a pretty insane-looking device. It resembles something you’d expect to see in a horror movie. Despite the frightening appearance, pinch collars are safe and effective when used properly. In some ways, they may be even safer than standard chain collars.

The prong collar puts universal pressure around the entire dog’s neck, kind of like a mother dog does with her puppies. It does NOT damage the trachea when properly used.

Yes, you will hear horror stories about prong collar injuries and dogs that were found with their necks torn apart by a prong or choke collar. These cases are always the result of a very irresponsible dog owner; a dog owner that ties his dog outside while wearing a prong collar or is abusive with the collar. Any collar can result in injury to your dog’s neck.

It’s really best to work together with a dog trainer, at first. He or she can teach you to use the collar effectively and humanely.

A prong collar is a training device and not designed for a long-term use. It is not your dog's primary collar and should not be used on casual walks or outings.

Make sure you've put it on your dog correctly. A prong collar should sit right behind the ears and under the jaw.

Use short, firm tugs when your dog pulls or lunges in response to stimuli. Then, release the pressure. Your dog should let up when he feels the pull and it's unlikely you'll need much more than a quick tug.

No matter how you treat this tool, the prong collar is NOT suitable for:

• aggressive dogs
• extremely shy or fearful dogs
• young puppies.

Prong collars are designed for larger, untrained dogs to teach leash manners. They are usually a last resort for dogs whose pulling problems are not resolved through other means. Puppies are new to walking and should not start off with the most intense level of training collar. Prong collars are not safe until at least 5 or 6 months of age and, even then, they are not recommended unless other training methods have been exhausted.

No collar will permanently fix a dog’s bad behavior. This needs to be done with good training. A prong collar will give you a bit of “power steering” with a larger dog that pulls hard, but it’s no substitute for training.

A prong collar must be placed around a dog's neck in a specific manner to be safe and helpful for training purposes. A prong collar should sit right behind the ears and under the jaw. Placing the collar lower than this will make the collar ineffective. The collar should fit snugly as it doesn't move around from the proper place. If the collar is loose, consider removing one of the prongs.

To define the ideal neck size of your dog please put a measuring tape closely to the fur right behind the ears and under the jaw. Mind that two fingers should slip between the collar and the dog's neck. Or you can measure his neck and add two inches.

When the collar is on his neck it should allow you to slide two fingers under the collar and your dog's neck. If there's extra room, you need a smaller size and you should remove links . If both fingers don't fit, the collar is too small and some links should be added.

NEVER EVER slip the pinch collar over your dog’s head and then move it to the bottom of the neck! The right way of putting the prong collar is by unhooking links.

Make sure that prongs are not twisted. Put the unhooked collar on the neck of your dog so that the O-ring is to the right side of the neck (not on the top and not on the bottom). Connect the collar by squeezing one link’s end together and placing it in the loop of another link.

There are prong collars that have a quick release and you won’t have to pinch the links to put your collar on and off.

There are also prong collar with click-lock buckles. Instead of opening and closing the individual links of the collar, just unclip the side release buckle and place the collar around your dogs neck and re-clip the side release buckle.

The part of the collar that hooks onto a leash should be facing upward, just behind a dog's ears.

There are two ways to attach a leash to the prong collar: to the live-ring or the dead-ring. Which one you choose will depend on the dog and your training purposes.

The first time a prong is used on a dog the snap should always be on the dead-ring.

When a correction is given and the leash is connected to the live-ring, the dog gets an amplified correction.The live-ring is used if a dog does not respond well to the snap being placed on the dead-ring.

Please, choose the collar according to the following factors:

• dog’s neck size
• dog’s weight
• dog’s fur color
• the level of correction you want to get
• allergy to nickel.

You will find more information about each product on the product pages. If you are still not sure which collar to choose for your dog, ask our support manager or local trainer.

Both prong and choke chain collars are generally made of metal chain material which tightens around a dog’s neck when the handler pulls or jerks back on the leash.

The choke chain is designed to control by tightening around your dogs neck. There is no way to control how much a choke chain can tighten, so it is possible to choke or strangle your dog with this kind of collar. It is also easy to cause injuries to the trachea, esophagus, the blood vessels around the eyes, neck sprains, nerve damage, fainting, and temporary paralysis.

Prong collars function similarly to choke collars, except they contain metal spikes on the inside that dig into and ‘pinch’ a dog’s neck if he pulls on the leash. However, the martingale controls how much tightening the collar can do, which reduces the chance for accidental injuries.

There are many reasons of the discoloration of your dog’s fur. One of the reasons is the dog’s allergy to nickel. As a solution, Sprenger offers the nickel free materials curogan and solid brass to provide these dogs with a comfortable alternative. However, the collar may stain dog’s fur without any apparent reason.

We are unfortunately not in the position to assure you that curogan collars will not cause fur discoloration. Curogan is 100% nickel-free and is less likely to stain fur than any other material. However, there are cases when dog’s fur got stained because of the curogan prong collar.

A stainless steel collar is less likely to rust. And here is why. Chromium and nickel are present throughout stainless steel, not just on the surface (compare - steel with chrome coating that can be easily damaged and result in rusting). Because of this, the microscopic layer will form itself anew, even when the steel is cut or scratched.

A Neck Tech collar is designed for those dogs who do not need a hard correction and have a long hair (since prongs may get tangled in long fur of a dog). But it will also work well on short hair dogs. Moreover, it looks very discreet without the need for a nylon prong collar cover.

There are two modifications of a Neck-Tech collar - Sport and Fun.

The NeckTech Sport is a traditional pinch collar with sharp prongs that pinch dog’s neck. This collar works like an ordinary pinch collar, but has a more appealing look. Experienced dog trainers say that dogs react with more attention while wearing the Neck-Tech rather than an ordinary pinch collar. By using the Neck-Tech Sport the dog trainer can communicate more sensitively and in a way that is understandable to the dog, especially those with shorter hair.

The NeckTech Fun is a prongless modification of a pinch collar. It is a kind of a “light version” that is gentle on the dog’ neck. So, what is the use of it? It is designed for those who just love the look of a NeckTech collar, but do not need a training collar for their dogs.

When pulled, the prong collar with a nylon loop tightens considerably more than the basic quick-release pinch collar. So, it is suitable for more stubborn dogs who do not react to a classic pinch collar.

Quick release collars feature a unique, quick release (scissor type) snap that can be operated using only one hand.

It is a great feature for those that have a harder time with a regular pinch collar! However, be careful! Quick release collars do exactly what they say they do – quickly release your dog. It can come off at the worst time!

Rubber can rub against your dog's hair, causing pain. Metal, on the other hand, moves smoothly over a dog's coat.

To define the size of extra links you need to know the following:

• collar’s model - knowing the model of the collar is the easiest way to determine the size of the link. It will tell you the size of the link and the metal of the collar.

If you do not remember the model of the collar, you need to pay attention to these parameters:

• prong’s length - please, measure the length of the prong. Check the chart to define the size of the link:

• dog’s weight - each collar model is designed to stand definite load. Please, see the chart above to check which prong collar is preferred for your dog depending on his weight.
• prong’s material - define the material of the collar. Black stainless steel and curogan are the easiest to differentiate by their color. All stainless steel pinch collars are labelled with an additional tag that is marked with a red dot. It also helps to differentiate a stainless steel collar from a chromed steel one at the first glance.