My puppy pulls on leash. Is her collar hurting her throat or windpipe?

I think you meant leash? Yes, gentle pulling on a leash while out for a walk is safe. It can take puppies several weeks to understand the purpose of a leash. If you puppies is coughing or snorting when pulling on the leash he may need to wear a harness instead of a collar. Obedience training will help you puppy understand to walk next to you instead of pulling on a leash. A leash should never be left on a puppy without you being on the other end - they can get easily tangled up and choke!

I generally recommend using harnesses rather than collars for walking. If a dog pulls excessively on a collar, they can cause irritation to the trachea (windpipe) or develop neck pain or injury. Some harnesses, such as an EasyWalk harness or Gentle Leader, are designed to minimize pulling and can be quite helpful for training. Teaching Jasper a "look" command where he learns to watch you closely while on a leash is quite helpful. All of that said, I still like dogs to wear collars so that their identification tags are readily accessible in the off chance that they would run off. I hope this helps and that all goes well!

That's the first thing to try, a harness is usually solving this type of problem in dogs that are pulling to hard, the collar presses on the trachea and it causes breathing problems and coughing. if this is not the reason for this symptom then the harness will not help and you can see it pretty much immediately, in that case my advise would be to take her to the vet in order to get that checked ASAP.

It would definitely be a good idea to try a front clip harness like a Gentle Leader. The pressure across the chest can help you maintain better control. I do not recommend the use of the choke chain collar as it rarely works and can cause damage to the trachea. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and good luck!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It sounds like you are doing everything right. Normally, if you are able to fit 2 fingers then yes that should be ok. You can try to give her a treat when you put the collar on so that she starts associating the collar with something positive. They do get used to it relatively quickly within days to weeks. It may just take a bit longer for her. Good luck!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Daisy. Small dogs are prone to a condition known as collapsing trachea. As the dog ages, the cartilage weakens I'm the wind pipe leading to a honking cough. In this case, a harness would be more appropriate than a neck collar. If your dog pulls excessively, then the harness may be helpful as well. However, a small dog is unlikely to pull hard enough to crush its own wind pipe. I hope this information helps!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is possible that this is all related to Rose pulling a lot in the leash which ultimately could have resulted in some degree of tracheitis. This usually improves on its own relatively quickly. If this does not resolve in the next 3-5 days, have her evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment. At that point, if nothing else is wrong, they may choose to start her on an anti-inflammatory medication. Good luck and have a great day!