Having had a look at the web sites for the halti, canny collar, dogmatic and gentle leader, I am now more confused than when I first started looking!! Could anyone give me a bit of advice as to which one is the most effective but gentle. The dogmatic looks good, but is very expensive at £18.99. Is this price a reflection of its effectiveness over others, or is it just overpriced?? I have a 7 month old english setter, who generally is fine, but does pull at times, as one would expect from a puppy of this age. I just want something gentle but effective.  Many thanks.

The dogmatic is leather as far as i'm aware the others are nylon so i would say value for money.

Have you no training classes near you though that you could join? I'd think 7months is a little young to resort to any headcollar.

My pup has been on his head collar since he was about 7 months, it really is the only way I can cope with him, he pulls like a train and still pulls with his head collar on but it hurts my arm less !!

Thanks for your speedy reply!! Yes, I go to weekly training classes and we're making good progress. I agree that 7 months is quite young to be considering headcollars. I believe that it is important to train a dog to walk sensibly on the lead without dependance on 'gadgets', but equally I feel there is a place for a sympathetic reminder at times to support basic training.

Whoops, replied to wrong post.  (Bad day .... dog stole purse, demolished cash, debit and credit cards!)

Alf is also a Setter - of the Irish variety ;) .  I feel training is all well and good but he is a very strong willed dog, we go to training classes and practice regularly and he can be good (usually on the way home when he is tired) but he was making walking a nightmare and I was beginning to dread taking him out :(

I always hated the thought of using a head collar, I felt like I had failed him but to be honest its the best thing I have done.

ClareyS, Which headcollar do you use - I ask because having a setter as well, I want to find one that fits well without riding up. I'm surprised that your boy still pulls though - did the headcollar not help as much as you had expected??

As an aside, I have to talk to someone ...... I'm having such a day with my dog.  I could have absolutely throttled her yesterday - she stole my purse, trashed my credit and debit card, ripped what little cash I had, stole some flapjacks which were cooling, tried to eat our supper last night, AND with her own food on the floor! And I know someone will say 'well you shouldn't have left it all out', well indeed, but the kitchen is a kitchen and one that I use as such as well.  Cor Blimey .....! Do you have days like this as well?  Do your setters respect stairgates??

Many thanks
Karen

Hi Karen

What a day you had - but thats setters for you :D :D :D

To be honest mine are quite good, one can clear a child gate if he wants to but as a rule he will stay behind it and sulk if he is shut behind it :rolleyes: They have never really trashed anything important, just minor things like the yellow pages and various magazines.  I do often go out in the garden to find stolen socks / flannels / selotape on the lawn (or whats left of it ;) )

I use the dog alter, it is made by kumfi pet products, they have a website if you do a google search for it.  It does go up near his eyes when he pulls on it but doesnt go into them.  Its a shame he does still pull but I have so much more control over him and because of this it doesnt hurt my arm anymore.

good luck

claire

Claire,  Thanks for replying - on re-reading my post I think I sound a bit umbalanced!!! But as you say, that's setters!! The Dog Alter is the only one I haven't checked out, so that's a job for later.  I'm just off to puppy training now, so maybe I'll be feeling a bit more in control of things later today. (Well, one has to live in hope!!)

Regards, Karen

At our training class we have found that the Gentle leader suited more dogs than the Halti, it is also of softer edged wider webbing.

Oh, my life, what planet am I on?? I haven't replied to the wrong post, I'm just having a very senior moment AND the b***** dog has stolen some flapjacks I've just baked.  Shall re-read your replies in a calm and sensible fashion ......

IMO the Gen-con or gentle controller is BRILLIANT

Yes the dogmatic seems expensive but I have just had to replace one of mine as it wasn't looked after properly and it lasted 7-8months. Its leather. I find the gentle leader good for my other dog but it just rode up into charlies eyes whereas the dogmatic came nowhere near his eyes.

I have just gotten a Canny collar for my BSD and it is wonderful. I like that it doesn't give the sideways pull the other varieties of head collars give, but that you control the dog from the back of the neck, more like a normal flat collar. There are risks involved with using Halti-style headcolours, because of the strain on the neck, and you don't get that with the canny collar. That said, I also walk her in a body harness, wich also works very well on many dogs

This might be a little controversial, but I don't like head collars. It's not that they don't work (okay, they don't work that well on shar-pei!), but people tend to think your dog is vicious and muzzled when they see one with a head collar.

Have you thought of one of the no pull harnesses? The ones that are like a normal collar, but have two straps that fasten to d-rings on the front of the collar, go under the armpits and then through two more d-rings at the back of the collar? I've found they are excellent, work the moment you put them on, don't seem to bother the dog (some dogs strongly object to the head collars) and most importantly, they teach the dog to walk on a normal collar so eventually you don't need the straps - the dog literally trains itself. I think my all time record was my shar-pei about 7 years ago who needed it for about 10 days and never pulled again afterwards!

I've just got one today made by Pet Brands and is called 'Easy Walk Training Harness' but there are several companies that make the same design (the Mikki one is identical). I like these because they have a fleecy sheath where it goes under the dog's armpits to make them even more comfy. My TM puppy is a bit disgusted with me to be honest - he tried to pull, found he didn't get anywhere and turned round to give me such a filthy look! But hey, I NEED my arms in their sockets thank you very much.

If ylu plan to show your dog I would avoid these like the palgue, they can seriously affect your dogs front.

Just curious Brainless, what affect would they have? You've got me worried now.

My shar-pei wasn't a showdog due to being longcoated, but she had a very good front. Every time I've used one on a dog it's been for a short amount of time - a month at most - and the dogs never had a bad front at the start or end of using it. The only possible way I could see is if the dog carried on pulling like a train all the time when in use - in which case I wouldn't use it on that dog as it's obviously a waste of time. Or possibly if it was misused an the straps were too tight (they should be loose and not hinder the dog's natural movement in any way).

It's two weeks to my TM puppy's first show and now you've got me thinking I'm gong to make his lovely straight front like a bulldog's in the intervening time!

The dogs I've seen wearing harnesses very soon go out at elbow, which makes them pin at the front.

Yep that is exactly so.  My freind put a Lupi on one of my Elkhunds sisters and the next time I showed her (at LKA) she was going out at elbow, after some serious road walking without it she came right again, so by Crufts she was moving true again.

Brainless - can you tell me how long the elkhound had the lupi on for and if it was still pulling while it wore it? Never liked the look of the lupi as the straps rely on being tight to the body. The Easy Walker I have always used is basically a normal collar with the straps under the armpit placing no pressure and actually being slack from the body when the dog is walking without pulling, they just tighten when the dog pulls and immediately slacken again. I don't expect ot have to use it for longer than 2-3 weeks as he's much improved in the 24 hours (4 walks) I've been using it. Still -  I went out this morning with my pup and spent all my time staring at his elbows! Just want to get as much info as possible.

i LIKE it that they think its a muzzle!!! keeps the interfers away & hopefully any horrible pokey kids!

I would go for the Dogmatic everytime. Having tried various headcollars that all seemed to ride up into their eyes, the Dogmatic stays where it should no matter how hard, or in which direction they pull. I use them on my Goldies and Dobermanns, which I take out all together, and can control them all even if they see a cat!

I have tried all the brands of head collars and found the dogmatic the best for control and not riding up to the eyes. The leather however is very stiff at first and needs softening before use. Although Gabi was used to a head collar before getting the dogmatic it took some time for her to get used to the more firm material.

Dogmatics are fantastic - thoroughly recommend them - they are expensive but it's cheaper to go for one straight away than do what we did which was try a halti first and then have to give up and get a Dogmatic anyway. Also the bit that tends to wear out is the under chin strap as it is the bit which gets the most wet  (from the dog and from the grass) but if you have a good cobbler (especially one that also does horse tack) near you they can make you a replacement bit very cheaply - our boy chewed through this bit of the Dogmatic and we had a replacement strap made for £4.

Love the dogmatic too!  Got my last one on ebay for £2.20, how's that for a bargain!!

Sarah.

I tried the Dogalter on my Yankee but the nose band was too small, so we got a Halti. He doesn't like it much but it stops the pulling beautifully! Anyone know of anything that would fit a short nosed dog like a Cavalier though? Even the Yankee's nose is almost too short for the halter.

PRONG COLLAR BABY!!!!!

orrr .. gentle leader is the one i prefer , the halti seems cheap.

No thanks, I'd rather put up with the pulling! :-)

Good for you! I wouldnt.

I just try to avoid needing to walk him much on the lead - we drive to our park and he is offlead nearly the whole time, so it's just the being dragged in and out of the park gates. He behaves at the training classes, so again it's just the being dragged in and out of class! :-D

I use a figure eight head collar, and always use it with a double ended lead and a flat collar, this way i can use the headcollar when its needed and the flat collar when its not.

A figure eight is a very simple collar, two loops, one round the neck, one round the nose, and it runs through itself under the dogs chin. They dont seem to ride into the eyes, and should the dog scratch the loop off his nose (which has never happened so far), you are left with a loop around the neck like a slip lead.

Em