Hugo is still pulling hard for at least the first 20 min of his walk - trainer suggested trying Halti any advice from you all?! My friend tried fitting one on for me but he just laid on the floor trying to get if off ! Hugo is nearly 8 months - thanks in advance! Xxx
Jessie is also 8 months old. We also tried a halti, to try and control her going bonkers around other dogs! She hated it and spent walks trying to get it off and I didn't like her discomfort. The trainer said I just need to work through this, but we went in holiday and I haven't tried since. I also tried a halti harness which I think gives me more control, but probably not as much as the head collar would. I might try again with the head collar, but at the moment i think she is improving without it. I know a lot of people get on well with them.
Many dogs really, really dislike Haltis. If you want to use one, you need to introduce it slowly and with care - and even then, he may protest. When you say Hugo pulls for the first 20 minutes of his walk, that sounds like he's being allowed to pull. Are you consistently - every time - stopping when he pulls? That really is the best way to go about training a nice walk. It's boring, yes, but effective. You just have to get into the mindset that you're training something, not necessarily that you have to get somewhere. I did this and it seemed futile at times, but I look at where we are today, and they walk really nicely on their leads. I found that, if I was somewhere they were unable to walk nicely, I just kept walking over the same 10m or so, turning at each end, until I got the behaviour I wanted; this allowed them to work out what I was after, with the smells becoming normal after several repetitions. At eight months, he's becoming a teenager, and the world is so much more exciting than it was before. It will come together, though, if you keep on training consistently.
I second what snow bunny says about training With consistency we have come on masses with Jessie's pulling. Within 2 weeks of just stopping dead when the the lead pulled tight, we had made huge progress. Our issue is her forgetting herself and leaping up around other dogs and people! Again, we are improving, but progress with this one is much slower! Good luck!
I think if you have to walk Hugo on lead to get somewhere ( e.g. if he has to come with you to walk children to school, or if you don't have a car) then the halti might be a temporary solution. But I always think dogs look unhappy in them and I've never used one. If it's not essential that Hugo walks on lead to get somewhere then only put him on lead to practise lead walking. I used to drive to off lead areas, let Molly have a run and every so often put the lead on for very short sessions - just 30 seconds at first. I did it by treat streaming, gradually leaving longer gaps between treats ( eventually you don't need treats at all). Some dogs learn more quickly than others - Molly took longer than previous pups - but if you keep practising they all learn in the end.
I use a K9 bridle headcollar for walking in new places. I find it really good and it stops the pulling. After doing the same walk with it on a few times I then move to the harness then eventually to a flat collar. I really wish I had persevered with loose lead walking at a young age though. (She's now 3 years old). I can't have her pull me as I have spinal injuries. Harley tolerates the head collar the same as she tolerates a body harness. She doesn't like either but once it's on she's fine.
If you do need to use a head collar, the Gencon is much better. I found with the Halti the dogs don't like it and it rides up into their eyes. The Gencon is a simpler bit of kit. My second pup had no need to use one as I taught him heel work, off the lead in the garden and so he just went seamlessly to a collar and lead.
I've not had to use one in ages and the designs may have changed, but I liked the Gentle Leader over the Halti. It fit my dog better and was more escape proof than the Halti. My boy loved his head collar because it meant we were going out and having an adventure. I don't even think I did much to get him used to it, just a few exercises to make sure he had a positive association with it. I personally loved it and called it my "power steering". My dog didn't fight it, so I personally had no concerns about damage to his neck (this seems to be the only controversy about head collars). Actually, not only did he not fight it, he would actively put his own nose into the loop and do the happy dance when I told him to "Put your snoot on". But he also loved the muzzle he had to wear on the train here in Germany, so go figure. On the other hand, I tried it with my rescue pitt bull and frankly she told me where I could go shove it. I never did get her used to it. But she was 8 years old, vs. Brogan being a puppy. But I would say give it a try, with lots of positive reinforcement and step-by-step praise/cookie-filled intro. It made my walks safer for me and my dog and I wouldn't dream of going through another puppyhood without one. The only downsides for me were (1) lots of people thought it was a muzzle, which reinforced the "mean Rottweiler" rap and (2) it became more of a training crutch than a tool as I used it for WAY longer than I probably should have done.
