A friend has recently adopted a 3 year old Labrador. She has owned one previously, but this male is a lot bigger :) He is very good and has settled in well, but tends to pull towards things (other dogs etc) when out on a lead. My friend is concerned that he might pull her over and I have suggested that a headcollar might help. It's so long since I used one - has anyone a suggestion for a suitable one?

Thank you

I'm a fan of Dogmatics :)

I like Dogmatics, but one of mine refuses to wear anything on her head.

This lady makes nice padded head collars and anti-pull harnesses  http://www.fleurdeleadz.co.uk/

If possible I would try and borrow a head collar from someone first, before investing in one, that way she can decide what suits her dog best.
If she is attending a dog training club, very often they will have a few different types for people to try. She will also get some help to get more control of the dog and be able to enjoy there walks together.

Dogmatic was the only thing that worked for my GR tried everything

I much prefer the "Halti" it leads from under the chin and not too far back under the neck. The head turns easily with a Halti and the dog is kept nearer and not so far in front.
A Halti fits more like a Headcollar than any other similar design. A good fitting headcollar can lead a large horse or cow but ot would never work if the lead point was too far back under the chin as many of the head slips do.
A well trained dog should walk at heel on a loose lead, there is no need for him to walk a dogs length in front or pull.
It looks as though your friend might have her hands full if this chap has learnt bad habbits whilst out on the lead, I hope she gets on top of the problem fairly quickly.
(dont even think of a harness, after all horses, donkeys and sled dogs are trained to pull in a harness although designed slightly differently! )
Good luck.

I've tried a few and found the Gencon the best....there's no movement towards the eyes etc.

>  if this chap has learnt bad habbits whilst out on the lead

I believe that he was more used to going out with the horses than walking on a lead :) :)

Thank you all for the suggestions. I'm not sure where we go from here as everyone seems to have a different favourite :) :) I'll have another read through and then read up the information for each type and see if one stands out :) :)

Mine could get a Gencon off in seconds !! Just put there foot up and slipped the front loop off. Also they can tighten up around the dogs nose so not ideal for a dog that has learnt to pull.
I would agree about the traditional type of harness, but there are some new designs now " The Happy at Heal Harness " is one that I have had good reports about if you google it there is a video of how it works.
The link I put earlier the lady also makes an anti-pull harness, made to measure so no rubbing, and also other types very similar to the ones mentioned but a lot cheaper.
I think we all have our preferences but what suits one dog does not always suit all. One of mine walked perfectly on the Dogmatic but the other dog planted her bum and refused to budge !! Tried all sorts showing it to her, putting it on and off treating her, she just hated it. So decided it just wasn't worth the hassle in the end.
I only needed them in case they happened to see a cat and it runs, with their strong chase instinct if I hadn't seen it they would likely take me by surprise.
If the OP lives in the Manchester area I have a couple of Dogmatics they could try.

> If possible I would try and borrow a head collar from someone first, before investing in one

Good idea :) I'm not sure if she has used a training club before. It might be a good idea particularly if she can't get this problem sorted by herself :)

> If the OP lives in the Manchester area I have a couple of Dogmatics they could try

She is in Scotland :)

I used to use Gencons on my 3 Labs (the kind where the lead is all-in-one with the head collar).  They were excellent and I was 100% in control, all of the time so I would definitely recommend these for Labs.  They come in nice colours too, which I like because I don't like the general public's assumption that a head collar is a muzzle (not that there is anything wrong with a dog wearing a muzzle when necessary, but when you're trying to train steadiness in an overly friendly dog, you don't want people giving them a wide berth!) - gencons are very clearly not muzzles :-)  Unfortunately they became very stressed about wearing them, despite my best efforts to make it an entirely positive experience.  I've since found that the next best thing is a front-attaching harness, I personally use the easywalk harnesses and I'm very pleased with them.

Nando doesn't pull much however my Mum does sometimes walk him and she needs absolute certainty that if he does pull he's not going to pull her over, because of her bad back. I used a few head collars and was never 100% happy with any of them (Halti, martingale headcollar, dogmatic) and instead much prefer my easywalk harness. Even if my dog didn't pull I would use this harness as it just gives so much extra control. It has a d-ring on the front and is great. I also have a perfect fit harness with front-facing d-ring, however I dont find it as effective as the easywalk one.

Thanks for the suggestion of the harness ! All noted and will be discussed with my friend :)

Thank you everyone :)