Celebrity Dog Trainer Tamar Geller Warns That Prong Collars Are Abusive in New PETA Campaign

For Immediate Release:August 24, 2023

Contact:Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Norfolk, Va. – Just in time for National Dog Day (August 26), celebrity dog trainer Tamar Geller—whose clients include Oprah Winfrey, Natalie Portman, Ben Affleck, and Gillian Anderson—has joined the PETA pack for a new PSA to educate dog guardians about the dangers and cruelty of prong collars.

“Do you remember the days when teachers used to hit the students with rulers? Obviously it’s not allowed any more. Unfortunately, abuse and pain is still allowed in dog training, and what I’m talking about is the horrible prong collars …where the metal prongs dig into the dog’s neck. People call it training, but it’s not,” says Geller, a former paratrooper in the Israeli army who founded The Loved Dog, a training approach based on positive reinforcement.

She adds, “If you’re taking your dog to a trainer who wants to use any of those horrible devices, take your dog and run away! There are much better ways today.”

PETA points out that prong collars—as well as choke and shock collars—are designed to inflict pain and discomfort in order to “punish” dogs for normal canine behavior and can cause serious physical and emotional damage, chronic anxiety, and displaced aggression due to fear. Instead, outfit dogs with a soft, comfortable harness, and choose carefully when selecting a dog trainer.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.