It's almost impossible to get one here, pet shops don't sell them and most of the places you can buy them online are in the US.  I don't have a problem with any training aid when, like in your case,  they're used properly

Annette

No offense, but as it's controversial board, I can say it.
I think they're awful and I wish they were banned all over the world.
There are better ways to train a dog to walk nicely, why hurt them?
Personally if it was me I'd get in touch with a trainer who could teach me how to teach my dog how to walk nicely.
I wouldn't use one of those collars ever - I am against hurting animals in any form - be it masked as training or not.
It's no better than training an elephant with a stick, or making a bear dance by whipping it.
What's the point?  There are so many other ways to teach your dog to do something that dont involve pain, why choose the one that does?

I'd rather neither.  The only way it can help train is by causing pain or discomfort.  So why bother?
Do people honestly not care about hurting animals or making them uncomfortable?  I thought the whole point about being a caring and loving pet owner was that you wouldn't want them to be in pain or uncomfortable - no matter how small or large that pain or discomfort.
I mean, why would anyone want to train like this?  Surely as a caring pet owner you don't want your animal to be hurt or shocked or anything?
I dont get it.
Dont get me wrong, I have two lurchers at 28kgs each who pull like hell, but a harness has made it much easier to walk them.
And if I can walk two dogs like that with a split pelvis, I'm sure any healthy normal person could walk their dog without a prong collar!
People might be able to prove there's no pain and it only causes discomfort, but the whole point is they work by making an animal uncomfortable - they could cause severe pain in some - so why use them?
I know this may sound rude (but I'm not meaning in this case) but I do feel that they're used by folks wanting to look like they're big and hard.  Wannabe tough man walking his GSD on a prong collar, how hard!  Makes their dog look like it's mean and dangerous - exactly what they want folks to think.
I bet half of the dogs walked on prong collars dont actually need it.  Actually I'd probably go as far to say that 99% of dogs walked on prong collars probably dont need it - it's just a quick fix thing.
I personally think the owners using these should have to try one on and walk around with someone yanking a lead attached to it - then decide if they want to put their pet through it.

Lisa,

I use it the correct way, there are many people out there who don't fit it properly, and they give the correction way to hard.  My guys tend to pull when they see an animal, but one small correction reminds them not to.  I don't use it because I can't control them, I use it to reinforce that I'm the boss, and they have to listen to me.  They have no marks on their necks, and when they see me get the collars out they get excited, omg, we're going on a walk.   As you can see in my pic, they don't wear them 24-7.

Plus I had agressive Shar-pei that was dangerous around other animals & strangers, the prong gave me more control over her behavior.

Thing is, I'd personally recommend a headcollar for lunging problems, as a harness or normal collar and lead doesn't give enough control for a lot of owners.  Yet a lot of people lately are saying using headcollars can damage your dog [saw quite a few posts in this vein on DP, one woman's dog slipped a disc or something similar because of lunging whilst wearing one]!  So what else is left?  

If you're a smaller person who owns a large dog, or if the dog has lunging/barking probs you need to have immediate control over it  or your asking for trouble!  Yes by all means go to a class as well, but during the learning period before the dog has ben taught not to lunge/pull [and that does take some time] people tend to need some help with control.  Those collars do look vicious I know, but according to people who have fitted them on their forarms and suchlike they're a mild pinch *shrugs*  I suppose people prefer them to the possibilty of being dragged into a road

Annette

It would lead me to think they should have considered the size and strength of the breed/dog before buying/adopting.  I'm not saying small folks shouldn't have large dogs (otherwise I'd be a bit of a hypocrite!) but they should consider whether they can control that animal using humane and reasonable means.  If not, then they should think about a different breed.

I dont think putting an animal through pain (or discomfort) just because of the size of the owner and lack of control they have, is right.

Why not adopt or buy a dog they know they can control without one?

And I thought society was supposed to be progressing.These collars are quite frankly barbaric,and anyone using them should'nt have a dog at all.The combined weight of my dogs is 182 kilos and I walk all four of them on their leashes with no need for any kind of torture implements.If you are having problems controlling your dogs,take them to a training class.Or better still,call a dog trainer to come to your house and work with you.It will probably work out cheaper than the vets bill for the physical damage you do with the collar,and the endless hours of behaviour training for the psychological damage inflicted from the wearing of this type of collar.Quite frankly how any dog owner can say they are caring and then admit to using one of these collars in the same sentence is beyond me.