Hikes are awesome I wish I had a trail to take my dogs. There's one near me but it's full of people and ticks. The prong collar is too low on the neck, if your dog is still pulling with it, it could really hurt it's neck with it. The prong collar should be worn tight and much higher. Now if your dog feels the click of the collar and stops pulling then it's fine. If yor dog pulls like nothing is on it's neck then it's not good for the throat.