Training Collar(Choke Collar)

Question
Can a dog be injured if a training collar is not used in the proper way?? If a person was to take a dog and swing it around on the end of a leash(Training Collar On), could that result in injury to the dog?. When should a training collar be used, if at all??

Answer
Yes, a dog can be injured using a training collar.  In all actuality, a dog can also be injured using a flat collar or even a piece of rope.

There is no acceptable reason whatsoever to swing a dog around on the end of a leash, especially with a training collar on.  I have heard of this technique and it sickens me.  I have seen and experienced about every situation one can be put in by a dog or the interaction of 2 or more dogs including being attacked, and still see no need for this type of brutality.   It accomplishes nothing more than to make the trainer feel in control-the dog learns absolutely NOTHING valuable and many damaging lessons, and if a trainer needs to do this to control a dog they shouldn't be allowed to train anything with a heartbeat.

That being said, a training collar used properly is a very effective tool.  The point of a "choke" or slip collar is to give the dog the sensation of something grabbing and releasing its neck quickly in conjunction with a noise distraction.  These collars are not meant to actually choke a dog-something else that can be accomplished (but shouldn't be) with a plain buckle collar.  So yes, there are occasions when a slip collar should be used-and basically I feel that is when you have exhausted other training techniques that are not so aggressive and are still not able to get through to the dog.  I also feel too many handlers and professional trainers resort to using these collars when they are not at all necessary.  These are meant for a correction-not teaching initial behaviors.  What that means is not correcting your dog for not knowing what "sit" or "down" means.  I do not use training collars in my puppy classes, or on dogs that have not had any training at all.  It just isn't fair, and is not conducive to building the positive working relationship that is important if you want a well-mannered dog with consistent behaviors.