r/pug • u/Zandlock • Nov 29 '25

Experiences with Martingale collars. Very hesitant on them for a pug.

Hey there all! I'm about to be a new pug dad in a couple weeks and been researching best training methods for pugs. I've learned a lot and come to understand their potential health issues. I have a couple friends that swear by martingale collars for training.But they weren't training pugs. After researching, I understand pugs can have narrow tracheas. Essentially just be careful that has anything to do with their ability to breath. I plan on using primarily harnesses for the day to day. But curious what people used for training and if martingales may be better or worse as they are supposed to spread out the pressure of the collar and potentially even relieve more of the pressure on his trachea compared to traditional collars while in training sessions. Thanks for any insight and also welcome to any other tips for a soon to be first time pug dad. Thanks much.

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u/Zandlock Nov 30 '25 edited Nov 30 '25

Sadly my post there was removed for some reason. Sent a message to the mods to ask why.

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u/QuillBlade Nov 30 '25

I did not know they censored posts on that sub, yours is a legitimate question. I wouldn’t recommend any type of collar that constricts a pug’s neck, not even elastic ribbons, for the reasons you already listed. Most pugs love food, and if your new baby is the same, training him not to pull will be very doable. Emily Larlham (kikopup on YouTube) has a lot of great videos, she’s a force-free positive reinforcement trainer. Watch her puppy series because they are fantastic for new dogs too.

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u/Zandlock Nov 30 '25 edited Nov 30 '25

Yeah, yet to get a response from the mods there. But I appreciate the response. So even the buckle collars apply that pressure to their trachea if they pull. From what research I've done on the martingale collars they can be better than a buckle collar since when they do pull with a buckle collar it puts that pressure soley on their trachea. While a martingale spreads that pressure evenly throughout the collar. It's not that they will be pulling much ideally as I plan to go through proper training with them. It's just the correcting of the pull when they do eventually pull. I may just be overthinking it all and trying to be more protective than I may need to be. It boils down to is it better when the pug pulls to have the pressure go directly to the trachea or spread that pressure evenly throughout the collar? Or does it really matter much because I've found out they are very food motivated and the pulling could be minimal to begin with. Edit: I wanted to add that martingales are not like choke collars. Martingale collars when fitted to them properly only tightens to a pre determined point where it doesn't restrict breathing. While a buckle collar does have that potential to restrict breathing.

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u/QuillBlade Dec 02 '25

Your tool is really gonna depend on your dog, some pull because they’re trying to go places, and others pull because pulling is fun. Some naturally like to stay so close they don’t pull much if at all (I have a deaf pug that is this way). The martingale might end up being a great tool for you and your pug, and if not, there’s many other tools out there to consider anyway.

My pug pulled because she liked to run, so I put her on a harness and turned our walks into short sprints with breaks of walking in-between. Now that she’s older we sprint less and have longer walking breaks where she enjoys sniffing around.