does any one use one of these , figure 8 dog halter , head collar and lead,

This is not a head collar. It does not rub against the eyes. There are no buckles to break. It simply slips over the head like a slip lead and the secondary loop slips over the nose. Slide the safety stop down the lead handle once it is adjusted to fit your dog.

It is designed to fit flat against the dog's head with no twists or kinks and with the dog on your LEFT-HAND SIDE. The same lead can easily be reversed for walking your dog on the right-hand side. (This is the way it is shown on the chocolate lab in the picture.) It needs to be rethreaded for walking your dog on the right. If you want us to do that before posting it please make a note of "RIGHT HANDED" on the order.

It is made of the softest fabric we have seen for leads, yet it is incredibly strong. You will see other halter leads for sale that are made of rope and can be quite uncomfortable for your dog.

One size really does fit all dogs. The picture shows our friends chocolate lab. We used one for our Cavalier after one of us had surgery and could not tolerate ANY pulling at all - he walked like a kitten. We have customers with an almost uncontrollable Tibetan Mastiff, and this is the only lead they can use

 

Re: does any one use one of these , figure 8 dog halter , head collar and lead,

We use a figure 8 lead and recommend them highly.
We have both a padded nylon and a rope version, but actually find the rope one easier to grip.

jac

 

Re: does any one use one of these , figure 8 dog halter , head collar and lead,

hi jac, thank you for reply, i bought one of these yesterday, took jasper on his first walk with it, he was lifting his paws up to his face, trying to pull it off, rolling over on the ground, after many treats, i got him to walk, he walked beautiful on the lead, it was a pleasure to walk him, my son took him for his evening walk, rang me up and said jasper was rolling over on the ground, i just told him to be patient with him and give him time to get used to his new lead, i will stick with this, i can see all ready that he will be fine with this, did you have the same problems ????

 

Re: does any one use one of these , figure 8 dog halter , head collar and lead,

I personally wouldn't recommend using anything which goes around a dog's face until it has finished growing and even then I'd be very mindful, especially if the animal is of a nervous disposition.

Most face harnesses, regardless of what they are made of or what brand they are, exert pressure on sensitive areas of a dog's face, causing pain and discomfort when they tighten. This is how they work. The dog pulls, the harness causes pain, the dog stops pulling to stop the pain. The big problem of using these sorts of gadgets with a pup is that the pup, who has little self control, is then learning how much pain it receives when it wants to go play/greet with the dog or person coming towards them. I don't want my pups associating strangers and other dogs with pain as this can then make them fearful, which can lead to defensive/aggressive behaviours.

There is also the fact that while a pup's face bones and teeth are growing, these are soft and sometimes tender, so you are causing more discomfort on these parts of their face, than you would be an adult dog.

I've rarely seen a dog happy in a face harness. I've seen plenty who accept one, but I've yet to see one look pleased to be wearing one. I guess this is why you see so many rubbing their faces on the ground or with their paws, trying to get the things off and why you see so many others looking relaxed and relieved when the thing is removed.

There is no replacement for training; without it take the gadget off and the dog will revert to pulling. No amount of gadgets will train a dog to walk nicely with you, but if you absolutely have to have something to give you more control while you're still training, I'd go for a body harness which has the lead attached to the front of the chest (like a Mekuti), so when the dog pulls forward, it's front end is guided towards you without any pain. Any device which causes pain or discomfort can have a knock on effect on the dog's future behaviour and not often in a good way.

 

Re: does any one use one of these , figure 8 dog halter , head collar and lead,

My brother and sister-in-law have a Eurasia (medium sized Spitz type dog) which has pulling in it's DNA as you might expect. Their sons walk her in a harness attached at the front so she doesn't pull them over. It's very successful and doesn't seem to cause her any consternation.

 

Re: does any one use one of these , figure 8 dog halter , head collar and lead,

jules, i would never ever do any thing to cause jasper any pain, he as been on this lead for 2 1/2 hour walks, most of that time he was running free, i was just asking did any one use one of these, its all trial and error for me, i go to puppy classes, to help jasper and my self, i have bought a harness, at the moment that is slightly to big for him, the harness was what i planned on using, these figure 8 have come recommended, i guess jasper is very young to be using one of these, but as with every thing my idea was the younger you start the more he would get use to it, can any one tell me if they have used one of these on a puppy? , I WOULD NEVER EVER CAUSE JASPER ANY PAIN :'(

 

Re: does any one use one of these , figure 8 dog halter , head collar and lead,

I think Jules makes a fair point. We were guided by an experienced trainer with regards to the type of lead to use, and be dealt with a lot of dogs with behaviour problems particularly GSDs. Some dogs didn't like it at all. We found it worked well when we needed it. If you are being pulled off your feet you try anything really.
I guess this might be something that divides opinion.

Jac

 

Re: does any one use one of these , figure 8 dog halter , head collar and lead,

jac, was a bit upset tonight over jules comment, how ever we tried the halter, didnt like any thing upsetting jasper, today we went out bought him an harness, he seems fine,we are only trial and error, we would never suffer pain to jasper, my son would be very hurt , here all these verhorror ste orys , on herehe is we only got. going on 5 month old, he as been amaizing, out of the crate for 3 weeks now, so we can dithch the crate,
he is a amazing, a very clever dog, and onldinhg his puppy waysall in all i was just say how big my dfog h

 

Re: does any one use one of these , figure 8 dog halter , head collar and lead,

Lynne, I'm quite sure that Jules did not mean that you personally would ever do anything to cause Jasper any discomfort or pain. Everyone here can see how much you adore your lovely boy

Head halters differ widely in their design. Some dogs do very well with them. Some don't. So, as you say, it is a matter of trial and error to find out what works with your dog and what is comfortable and easy for you to use as well.

You are doing a wonderful job with Jasper - he is going so well. I am sure that you will find an approach to walking that involves both training and a comfortable halter/harness/lead arrangement that works very well for all of you.

 

Re: does any one use one of these , figure 8 dog halter , head collar and lead,

It's difficult to know what's best and for some things you get a different answer or opinion from everyone you ask!
Means to me that there is no right or wrong.
(Apart from prong collars )
We all love our dogs on here ♥
Don't feel bad.
Jasper is gorgeous

Jac

 

Re: does any one use one of these , figure 8 dog halter , head collar and lead,

awh thank you for your replys, i have ditched the head halter, decided on a harness, i no he is just a baby and wants to explode every thing, hence the pulling,to be honest my son didnt like the head halter, he is the main walker, he said he didnt pull yesterday in the harness, said jasper is that clever he wont pull as he dont want to wear that halter hehehe, he is doing well with every thing else, love him to bits

 

Re: does any one use one of these , figure 8 dog halter , head collar and lead,

[quote author=Oberon link=topic=1483.msg10381#msg10381 date=1368144219]
Lynne, I'm quite sure that Jules did not mean that you personally would ever do anything to cause Jasper any discomfort or pain.
[/quote]

No, I absolutely did not and I'm sorry you took it that way. It's just that I see SO many dogs in these head halter things and they all look so damned miserable. Then I see so many dogs with aggression issues towards other dogs and sometimes even humans, yet no one ever seems to put two and two together. I've even seen Trainers suggesting that young pups wear such gadgets before they have even tried to get the pup walking nicely without. It makes me despair, sometimes.

The trouble with every so called "anti pulling" device (from slip leads to prong collars) is they all work by giving the dog some form of discomfort or pain when the dog pulls (Positive Punishment I believe it's called) and they are supposed to learn from this that pulling results in bad things. However, a dog's mind is a complex thing. If it is focussed on another oncoming dog, for instance, and lurches towards it, then immediately receives some form of pain stimulus, you are gambling on whether the dog associates the pain with pulling, or with the other dog. Now with an older dog who is well established socially, you can probably get away with it, but with a young puppy......well, I wouldn't risk it.

Trouble is, no maker of these gadgets ever points this potential problem out to the buyer, do they, and as we all know, some trainers (and especially the whisperer sort) often do more harm than good, for the sake of a quick result.

So no, I never meant to upset you, I just meant for you to be fully informed and it sounds as though you are on the right track now anyway .

 

Re: does any one use one of these , figure 8 dog halter , head collar and lead,

thank you for reply jules, yes we are, no , no longer using the halter, i use the harness , my son uses a lead, we will train him not to pull, hes only a baby yet xx

 

Re: does any one use one of these , figure 8 dog halter , head collar and lead,

Does he only pull sometimes? Some days Amy is a dream to walk and others she pulls all the time. When she pulls I try to stop and wait for her to relax again. I have noticed she pulls more when she needs to do her toilet business as she isn't comfortable doing out of our garden yet. Also she will heel, I give her treat and then she will pull again. So I am not treating as often now. Do you practice heel off lead too? Sorry for all the question/ writing. I have lost my voice for the first time ever so must be making up for it typing! Also, I give her our meat for treats when out.

 

Re: does any one use one of these , figure 8 dog halter , head collar and lead,

sorry you have lost your voice jade, the pulling is when he sees another dog, also if my grandson is in front of him he wants to catch him up, i have just walk him this morning in the woods, early, no one around and he never pulled once, we do try and train him heel off the lead, hes not got it yet ,just took him to the race for life, my daughter was running it, over 200 people there, he was fine aprt from when he sees other dogs, then he just pulls and pulls

 

Re: does any one use one of these , figure 8 dog halter , head collar and lead,

Lynne, I'm sure you know this already but it's important not to let him pull you towards other dogs. He might pull, but don't budge If he knows he can get to other dogs by dragging you there, he will do it his whole life. Also, other dogs can react badly to that kind of very enthusiastic behaviour and can respond with a bite.

Our rule for saying hi to other dogs on lead is that Obi has to look at us and sit for a treat first. Initially he had to have a treat right at his nose but that's ok. No sit, no saying hello. If he sits and looks at us he is given his release cue to say hello. If he pulls we don't move or we turn around and go the other way. It took quite a lot of practising this at a distance from other dogs (far enough away that he was able to tear his attention from the other dog and focus on us).

 

Re: does any one use one of these , figure 8 dog halter , head collar and lead,

thank you for the advise, wee dont let him pull us towards dogs, i do stop when hes pulling to get to another dog, i will try that getting him to sit before he says hello, thank you

 

Re: does any one use one of these , figure 8 dog halter , head collar and lead,

Great You might need to do it at a distance for a while - close enough so he knows the other dog is there but far enough away that he can manage to still give you his attention. You might need to do a few 'sit and waits' before you can get close enough to actually say hello. Sometimes we have to approach other dogs a metre at a time

If it's an off-lead area and other dogs are off lead I just get Obi to sit and wait once and then let him off his lead (at that point he usually stills runs over to the other dogs like a freight train).

 

Re: does any one use one of these , figure 8 dog halter , head collar and lead,

In addition to the great advice already given - I know this might seem like an impossibility right now, but our trainer gave me the advice to train Poppy to walk to heel without a lead as soon as possible. Seems a lot of pups find it easier to learn to walk to heel WITHOUT a lead, as they otherwise often move as far forward as they can until they can feel the check of the collar on their neck - I know this has been an issue with Pops, and to this day she actually walks better to heel without the lead than with one!

I realize at times it is simply too dangerous to take a young, enthusiastic dog out without a lead, but I think it might really be worth doing work with Jasper in the garden or somewhere else safe to practice his 'heel' work without a lead.

Good luck anyway, and let us know how you are getting on with your lovely boy!

 

Re: does any one use one of these , figure 8 dog halter , head collar and lead,

we let him off the lead all the time, he never goes far away from us, hes always looking over his shoulder to see if we are still there, may be this is because me and my son use to hide behind the trees, he finds us also if he sees another dog off lead, he lies down , waiting for them, hes so funny