dee lee Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 Sorry if you have all been asked this question a million times, but im desperate! I am finding myself getting increasingly frustrated and angry whilst walking my 8 month old staffy x- she is always totally distracted and hellbent on pulling pulling pulling! Too much of a social butterfly. obviously training her to walk nicely at heel is not an overnight process but my arms can take no more and i need that extra bit of control. How i would love to be able to enjoy walking her!! And be able to keep up with my 3 and 4 year old girls when we do go walking!!! (you know the drill- walk 2 steps- she pulls- i stop- start again- ad infinitum) So can anyone help me to work out the pros and cons of the various collars and halters? ive heard of the halti collar and the sporn halter- what do you think of these? and can you recommend anything else? Much appreciated, Dee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavNrott Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 The Sporn harness you can use without being trained in its use. With the Halti you need a trainer to show you how to use it properly. A Halti is for close walking on a loose lead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 (edited) Dogs will learn to pull on any head collar or harness, the training you do in the immediate sessions after fitting the equipment is the most important. My favourite is the Blackdog head halter, the infin8 coming a close second, halti, and in harnesses the easy walk no pull harness which is still fairly new. If you are in Vic I am happy to meet up for a fitting session and you could try both a halter and a harness. I fit and do a short session with all the dogs I fit from the clinic. Mel. Edited August 17, 2007 by Staff'n'Toller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dee lee Posted August 17, 2007 Author Share Posted August 17, 2007 Thanks Mel, its a great offer but im in sydney sadly. Hmm, more complicated than i thought. i am leaning towards the halti as ive had quite afew people suggest them at my local dog park. i guess i'll give my dog trainer a call. Dee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 If you are chosing to go with a Head Collar - as to which brand depends on which one fits your dog the best. Each brand comes with a variation to design, so this needs to be taken into account. Personally, I'd be inclined to seek the help of a trainer who will most likely be able to help you train for that loose lead. But if having a Head Collar will mean more interaction and walks with your dog then that at least is a place to start, if you wish. It is extremely important that you fit the head collar (whichever one you buy) correctly to the dog and also extremely important that you use it properly and with awareness to the possible physical risks to your dog if you don't. If you're not sure about this, then once again I'd recommend you engage the services of someone who can show you them and also explain the differences between them and correct use. Perhaps it would be good if you engaged a trainer who has a broad knowledge of many of the different available equipment and their proper use. He/she would be able to demonstrate and explain all of them to you and you would then be able to make a clearer decision as to what is best for your dog and for you. I'm not a fan of harnesses for training, Sporn or otherwise. However you do need to watch for any chaffing by any harness you use and I understand the 'no-pull' harness is not designed for running dogs (because of the inclination to chaf). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavNrott Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 The Sporn harness has Sherpa covering around the parts that go under the legs so it can't chafe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle. Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 I have an Australian Shepherd puppy who pulls like nobodies business and it drives me nuts. It got to the stage where ANY walk with him was more hassle than it was worth because it was such hard work just to get him to walk without pulling TOO hard. I bought a Gentle Leader head collar....instant success! He immediately stopped pulling, although he did a lot of pawing at his face cos he hated it. Then I bought a Sporn harness, and he doesn't mind that at all. He still pulls a little bit in the harness but I can keep it well under control. Now I use the head collar for when I'm wanting to do some training on our walks and when I want better than usual puppy behaviour (such as in crowded areas, walking by the road etc. when I need him to walk CLOSE to me and pay attention to me) and I use the harness for leisurely walks when we're out for a fun stroll or on a Sunday outing....when I want him on a lead and expect basic good behaviour but want to allow him a little bit of leeway and more lead length. It's worked out to be a great compromise for both of us. His pulling is well and truly under control plus I have the control I need in all situations. The head collar is so small and light that I can tuck it in my pocket and take it with me just in case I need to swap him out of his harness. He does obedience training in his head collar too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 The Sporn harness has Sherpa covering around the parts that go under the legs so it can't chafe. Have had a few people notice chafing - at least one of those was with the Sporn harness ....... so don't know what they did with the "Sherpa" covering? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle. Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 When I was looking into a no-pull harness for Benson, I got the feeling the Sherpa covering was a new addition......can't remember why I thought that, maybe it's in the literature or something but I have a feeling the older harnesses didn't come with the Sherpa fleece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 Deelee2 .................. has your dog school instructor given you advice in relation to your training for a loose lead walk? Generally speaking it's not too difficult with the knowledge of the right strategy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvawilow Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 My black dog pulls like a demon if I walk her using a flat collar, I tried a halti but it distressed me too much watching her face plant (I know it would have stopped eventually but I didn't think this battle with the halti was worth fighting cause I know there are other products available) I got a sporn harness for her and I think it's great! She pulls a little bit from time to time but only when there's MAJOR excitement (i.e. cats, ducks running in front of her). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavNrott Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 When I was looking into a no-pull harness for Benson, I got the feeling the Sherpa covering was a new addition......can't remember why I thought that, maybe it's in the literature or something but I have a feeling the older harnesses didn't come with the Sherpa fleece. I bought two of them, a small and a medium and they both have the sherpa sleeve around the loops that go under the legs. By the time the Sporn harnesses arrived I had already trained the dog to walk nicely without pulling so I've never used either of the harnesses. Still sitting in the boxes. I also bought a 'Sensible' walking harness. Had it sent over from the USA and I have never used that either. I did put it on the dog to see if it works ...it does amazingly! However again the dog was trained to walk properly by the time the harness arrived here so I never used it apart from the dress rehearsal. I will put them in buy, sell and swap if I ever get my act together and rescue can have the proceeds. Had I known these products were going to take so long to arrive I wouldn't have ordered them...darn dog was trained by then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonymc Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 I must agree with Erny,there is no subsitute for the right training. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 I have seen dogs pull on every training device you'd care to mention... halti's, sporns... the works. One of these will give you more control because initially the consequences for pulling are adverse. If you don't train your dog not to pull, you'll be back at square one before you know it. If your dog learns to pull on a halti, it may do itself injury doing it. Agree on consulting a trainer and getting some lessons on teaching your dog to walk on a loose lead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rottgems Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 When I was looking into a no-pull harness for Benson, I got the feeling the Sherpa covering was a new addition......can't remember why I thought that, maybe it's in the literature or something but I have a feeling the older harnesses didn't come with the Sherpa fleece. I bought two of them, a small and a medium and they both have the sherpa sleeve around the loops that go under the legs. By the time the Sporn harnesses arrived I had already trained the dog to walk nicely without pulling so I've never used either of the harnesses. Still sitting in the boxes. I also bought a 'Sensible' walking harness. Had it sent over from the USA and I have never used that either. I did put it on the dog to see if it works ...it does amazingly! However again the dog was trained to walk properly by the time the harness arrived here so I never used it apart from the dress rehearsal. I will put them in buy, sell and swap if I ever get my act together and rescue can have the proceeds. Had I known these products were going to take so long to arrive I wouldn't have ordered them...darn dog was trained by then. Hey CavNrott I need another Sporn Harness I have a lge one that I use for biking my male rottweiler & with the sherpa sleeve does a nice comfortable 3-4 klms ride for both of us I do need a medium size so I can walk my male & female together with out stress. If you want to sell me yours I'm very interested Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dee lee Posted August 21, 2007 Author Share Posted August 21, 2007 Have been a bit put off a harness from some of the comments now and in the interim (my dog trainer is away at a conference for a couple of weeks) been trying to increase my onlead training sessions (alone and with no time schedule so i dont get frustrated.) i did always suspect i was just being lazy and impatient! small improvements will hopefully lead to big ones... hopefully it will all come together (along with the now rebellious behaviour at the dog park- she is not as keen to come back to me now the cheeky bugger the new walking regime aint so fun!!) . Have also been recommended the gentle leader by a couple of people too so will put that to my trainer as well. Ta all, Dee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 I have used haltis/gentle leaders in the past but I'm not a fan. I've also used check chains and martingale collars. At the risk of repeating what others have said, the most successful "tool" I've used to stop my dogs pulling (and one of them is a husky so you can imagine pulling is a strong instinctive trait) is training. When my husky pulled on the lead, I would instantly change direction so he would have to catch up to me. I also have a beagle and I use food to reward the right behaviour. I also walk both of my dogs on a martingale collar so I can give them a correction if I need too - the martingale is my favourite training collar as it will adjust to fit behind the dogs ears and won't move, unlike a check chain which will slide down the dogs' neck, so it is very effective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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