Nikki my samoyed is back to her normal self after the spay, thanks for your help. She has always pulled on the lead, and we now have a gentle leader. the walks are much better for us but horrible for her. She snorts and it obviously irritates her, and after using she has a mark across her nose. We've checked and it fits correctly. Help please.

If your handy with a needle you could sew a piece of soft material round the nose part to pad it out a bit, I did it on a halti years ago for my GSD, it helped to stop it marking his face as much.
Fashion tip~ dark fabric looks better, stands out like a sore thumb otherwise! :D

Julie in her case a bit of sheepskin sewn over the noseband will blend nicely with the samoyed colouring!

There's a German version of a halti style harness out in the stores. It's designed for short muzzled breeds. Soft kid leather w. padding is sewn around the straps where they make contact with the dogs head. Really really soft. No sharp edging. You could always try to make it similar to this :)

I recently heard about a new, very gentle, harness which has had very good reports. It has been designed by a dog owner who, over the years, has tried almost everything on the market to stop her dogs from pulling. I have just ordered one so will let you know if it's as good as the reports say.
Joyce

If it is the lether one seen in the dog papers, dogmatic,then you may still need to pad the noseband.

Even after treating with neatsfoot oil my friends doberman has managed to get two sore spots rubbed on her muzzle. We have now sewn some sheepskin (great sacrifice of a pair of gloves), and are waiting for the sores to heal before using it again.

The Walkezee harness has just arrived. Have done two walks and, so far, I am very impressed.
If anyone is interested I can give further details.
Joyce

Dear Joyce,
I've just ordered a walkezee harness, can't wait to see if it helps.
Thanks to everybody else but i'm no good with a needle and cotton - buttons just drop straight off again.
By the way eoghania, can I buy the german style harness in this country.
I know I sound pessimistic, but I think sams will always pull!!

Thanks a lot,
Paula

I will be interested to see how you get on, Paula. I thought nothing would stop Buddy from pulling, apart from old age and senility ! But, touch wood, it's looking very promising so far.
Good luck :)
Joyce

Now I don't wish to offend anyone, but isn't it easier to train the dog not to pull, rather than using a range of contraptions?

Ideally, yes, Dave. But it does depend on how much time you can devote to the training. And if you find something that makes things that bit easier, why not use it ?

Goodness yes Dave, in an ideal world. ;)
But, when you have v.excited IW's hellbent on starting their walk, or saying "Hi" to everyone & anyone (canine or Human) they meet on the way it is nice to be in complete control. As no matter how well trained they are they can all forget their *manners* when they are excited. :D
It is also v.useful for our 9 year old son, he can walk them without getting pulled about.
Nicky

............. but surely everyone with a dog should allow time for training - 'tis part of responsible dog ownership after all :)

5 minutes two or three times a day is not exactly strenuous

Christine

............. but surely everyone with a dog should allow time for training - 'tis part of responsible dog ownership after all :)

5 minutes two or three times a day is not exactly strenuous and then hopefully all the gadgets can be phased out?

Christine

I used a halti with my last dog and it did work, although this time with Nellie I have decided to go it alone and I am pleased to say touch wood we are getting there.
She is getting stronger and bigger by the day but my method has been we dont walk on if you pull and she has learnt very quickly she doesnt get anywhere by pulling.
I can walk her anywhere now and the lead is loose the only problem we have is when we see other dogs she really pulls to see them but I have started taking a squeaky toy and distracting her.
I decided from the start I was going to train her to do things because she respected me and she wanted to not because she had no choice. Its been really tough and sometimes ive stood on the park nearly in tears exsasperated but then we have a good day and it really makes up for all the bad ones but we still have a hell of a long way to go.
At the end of the day its up to each individual dog owner how they train their dog and what methods they use and how much time they make available. I dont feel there is anything wrong with haltis as some big dogs can be very hard to handle and some people may not have had the dogs from pups to train them but personally I have decided to do it the hard and long way.

Kassie (GSD) who's now 5 months old is coming on leaps and bounds walking to heel:D I'm really quite chuffed and it wasn't actually too hard;) It seemed as though I wasn't getting anywhere with it but then all of a sudden she finally clicked onto what it was I was asking. Don't get me wrong she still pulls if it's an unfamiliar journey but given time that can be cut out too:)

Stacey x x x

Nicky said "It's also useful for our nine year old son"
Wow you had me going for a minute there Nicky, surely not I thought and how on earth do they get it on and keep it on. Thankfully I was jumping to conclusions :-) ;-)
Anne

Very good Anne! :D
Can just picture Jack (9 year old in question) wearing a dogmatic.
Now there's a thought...............
Nicky :D

I agree they can make things easier, but it's only masking the problem, not curing it. When you take it off they go zoooom, and disappear into the distance. Surely it's no more difficult to train walking to heel than house training or sitting and staying?

My parents used to use a Dogmatic on their cocker spaniel as she pulled like a train and my mum couldn't walk her (mum had surgery for breast cancer and it damaged the nerves in her arm). They tried all kinds of head collars until they settled on the dogmatic as it didn't rub on Ebonys nose.

I had Ebony for the weekend a couple of weeks ago and refused to walk her with a head collar on. I walked both her and Holly at the same time and by the time Ebony went back to my parents she was walking nicely to heel and wasn't pulling. I also had her recalling really well, something my dad hadn't managed to achieve.

Dad was amazed at the difference and wanted to know how I'd managed it. He wasn't amused when I told him that it was simply a case of 'telling' Ebony to heel and not asking her. I spent 2hrs solid in the car park at Sainsburys turning into her when she pulled and sharply reprimanding her if she didn't obey.

My mum is thrilled now as she can walk Ebony without people thinking she's a viscious little thing who has to be 'muzzled'!!

I'm thrilled because I've got one up on my dad!!

Fiona
x x x

Hi Dave, I had a very strong young male wolfhound a few years ago, not naughty at all, but just a big strong teenager. Although I tried my best to train him to walk to heel, the problem was I couldnt hold him, he was just too strong for me ( and Ive had wolfies for 20 years now) For the first time ever I resorted to a Halti, and although he didnt like it at first, as soon as he got used to it, I could walk him as easily as a toy breed. After about a week with the halti on AND the training, he walked perfectly to heel when on an ordinary lead, so I think they do have a purpose on occasions such as these.

I had the same thing with my youngest Boxer so got a Halti and never had much more problem. If he did act up Iwould put the halti on sometimes not even connected to a lead and he settled down right away
Anne

Anne,

I had a Boxer also and I always used the halti it was a god send..if I didn't walking was hell..

She was good with everything else..she just wanted off the lead al the time.

She would walk by my side with it on and no lead , I am sure she alwas thought she was still on the lead.

Pam

Hi everyone,
I just got back from a nice weekend break up in the Maastricht/Bokrijk/Tongerin areas of BeNe parts of the Benelux :) :) Lucked out with the weather and had a nice relaxing time (when not swimming in the seas of humanity -- Grand Prix weekend :rolleyes: )

Funny you're all talking about halti style harnesses again. I have to swear by ours with one of our dogs. The other --- nah, it's not for her. :rolleyes:

I found a perfect soft thin velvet leash for Chienne in one of the markets. It's about 3 ft long. I loop it around the belt loop on my jeans (next to my left hip bone) and it fastens to her halti. She had about a foot of slack, but no more wrapping herself up in a six foot leash. :) It worked out great. My hands are free. She regulates herself on a perfect heel. And if another dog appeared suddenly in her face, I could take hold and keep her muzzle towards me whilst the owner would try to gain control of his/her dog. Her halti might be a gimick, but it's one that is appreciated by us both...especially when the temperature drops and she'll be wearing her coats/sweaters :D :D :D

When the crowds got too thick, I could just reach down and she'd put herself into my arms -- Tongerin had a huge antique market full of crowds and other dogs. A good training experience, but not for the faint at heart. :) :)

I did have a scary moment during our short break. I was walking back to our hotel, up a dark winding road at night. No shoulder and cars gunning down the short steep hill. Almost to the hotel, there a large dark spot between street lights. I'm pressed against the hill as is starting to pass me. All of a sudden, I feel a "pop" from the dogs' leash. Chienne had slipped out of her reg. buckle collar for the first time in her life!

I just prayed as the car continue to go by. Turned around, and here she was about 2 feet into the road. A black dog on a dark night on blacktop asphalt!!! Another car was speeding down the hill, I called to her to come, bent down, tapped my arm for her signal and she scrambled up in my arms, shaking. I think it had freaked her out too. I managed to breathe as the next car went by. After that, I ran the 15 feet to where the hotel was and hooked her back up. All I could envision was my dog being dead. Even Samma the bold, seemed a bit shaken up after that walk :( Bad situation all around. I came close to losing Chienne right there. :( Good thing her training and constant reinforcement kicked in properly.

At least all's well that ends well, right? :) :) I try to think of it like that, at least. :rolleyes:
Have a great week, y'all.
toodles

Hi toodles, Glad you had a nice break, but how lucky were you!!!! A case of good training paying off, thank god :D