Walking woes: collar, head halter, or harness??

Over the years we have had a big pulling issue. I have tried various 'tools' such as head collars and harnesses. I would never use a choke chain or prong collar. It is my fault as I wasn't consistent enough when training when she was little. Nowadays I rarely ever use the head collar. I went back to walking up and down my cul-de-sac for weeks, firstly using the head collar, then moving to her harness, then onto her flat collar. It took us a few months to be able to walk to the local shops and back on a flat collar. I use the K9 bridle head collar as it pulls the head down, not sideways. Her harness is a cosy dogs fleece Y front. Harley does pull in the harness occasionally, but I stop and wait until she stops. It's not ideal and I wish I trained it better when she was younger, but we have found a way that works for us. I have spinal injuries which affects the top half of my body so can't have 28kg of dog pulling me.

 

I used Gentle Leader head collars a LOT with my two big boys. Before coming to this Forum, I never knew there could be an issue with neck damage or even that anything negative was associated with them. I do think that now I would try the head collar more as a last resort and then also really evaluate my own training methods, including asking questions here. I'd go for the front-fastening harness first - those didn't exist when I started using the head collar way back when.

All that said, for me - at the time - the GL was a life saver. I have burn-damaged hands and balance issues from the wonky way my back healed after a break. Plus I was dealing with a dog who was much more powerful than myself if he really wanted to be. I felt the head collar was a way to keep us both safe until he was 100% reliable on lead.

Neither of my dogs had any health issues related to the GL, but Rotties are also built differently from Labs - necks are much, much thicker. Also mine didn't struggle against it as some dogs do and I purposefully kept no tension on the line - it was extra power for brief "emergencies" not something to constantly tug on. If you do decide to use a head collar, a few caveats: (1) introduce it very slowly and make each use a very positive experience, (2) don't get addicted and use it too long instead of relying on training. I used mine with Brogan for 3 years and he probably only needed it for a few months at most - and yes, I know it's debatable if he really needed it at all.

And don't feel too bad that you got sucked into the prong collar purchase. It's really a cultural divide that I've seen between US/Canada and UK/Europe. Over here (Europe) my impression is that you are the devil incarnate if you use a prong (I think they are even illegal in Germany, but I'm not sure) and in the US, they really get pushed on you if you have a large breed dog. The thing is, even if you take the pain factor out of the equation, they simply don't work. Dogs quickly get used to the pain and ignore it. I've seen 250lb guys get dragged along by a 150lb dog using a prong and it does them zero good in controlling the dog. Not that I need to convince you, I'm just preaching to the choir here.

Just wanted to say this is the best quote ever of why not to use a prong. I'm going to plagiarise it copiously if ever called upon to explain why I don't use prongs, chokes, etc.

Here's teenaged Brogan in his GL:

 

Would anyone do me a hugge favour and have a look at this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Freedom-n...hash=item4b0f35fd21:m:mklYuvGET2Yht9lNvwAXHCQ

As a comparison for this

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0085XO...&pf_rd_p=8c02c99b-ac78-4f55-b22e-8480a77bd95a

Big cost saving and seem similar to me?

 

I will head out to check out some harness options ASAP. Our obedience trainer advocated for the prong with our old boy which is why I went to it first. I think that Emily is right that there is a difference between Canada/UK and/or Europe. Here the prong is regularly used and recommended in obedience classes and the choke chain is one of the most common collars you see.

The harnesses I have looked either fasten at the back or on the chest. Which is the best for reducing the pulling. I just cannot handle Archie trying to drag me down the street anymore. I tried stopping when he pulled when he was little, but as most of our time on walks was spent off lead (we live in the country) I see now that I was focused on the wrong things. I should have focused on proper lead behaviour as much as I focused on recall and staying close. Sigh. Hindsight is 20/20, right??
D.

 

Haha!! I was just looking at those too!! I'm not sure if you can order from amazon.ca in the UK, but the version on our Canadian Amazon is $52 Cndn - much less for you than the
£82
I will watch to see what you hear!
D.

 

Harnesses that fasten on the chest are often used to reduce pulling, like Easy walk(er).

 

Awwwww, thank you but I'm no Saint - it's the best job in the world

...

 

Yes, this is exactly my experience. I was also required to put a prong on my dog during some of his obedience classes - all dogs who walked through the door had to have one on, not just my dog.

 

Yep 20/20 hindsight is the killer but you can work on it now

 

This is still the norm?! Wow...when I trained my dog back in the early 90s (I lived in the States at that time), we had to use a choke chain. I was just a kid at the time and didn't really know any better, so I used it (didn't help a single thing with pulling...). I would have thought things would have changed by now, that is seriously shocking to me.

 

Just home from the pet shop. I took Archie with me to fit the harness. Found one with a front clip that the woman there (whose dog was perfectly behaved) recommended. In the midst of fitting Archie for the harness, he managed to excited-pee all over the floor and clerk - and I mean all over. There was pee from one end of the place to the other. Turns out the size they sent me home with is the wrong one! Now I have to go back. I may take an apology mop to make up for my earlier visit!!

 

Totally the norm here too with certain trainers. Our old boy wasn't allowed into class without a prong collar on and that was six years ago. I am looking for a new trainer for Archie (well, for me really, but you get the drift )

 

Good for you. You'll find someone you like without requiring a collar you don't want to use.

After my first experience, I just learned I didn't really care for that old-school style of class anyway - even if they had a great reputation in the competitive obedience community. To me training classes should be fun, not all leash pops and marching in a circle.

I got around the "your dog has to wear a prong collar" in that first class anyway. Stuck Duncan in a super wide double cloth wind hound collar (flat buckle) then laid the prong over that. Then attached the leash to the wind hound collar, not the prong. This essentially turned it into the equivalent of doggie bondage jewellery which didn't actually touch his neck at all. No problem-o.