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  1. #1
    Senior Dog ChoppersDad's Avatar
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    Use of Head Collars

    Chopper just finished his second class of obedience training. He is doing great so far with one exception. When I get there, he is so excited to see the other dogs that he pulls like a freight train. The trainer recommended that I get him a head collar. I have never put one of those types of collars on one of my dogs. For some reason, I associate head collars as muzzle collars for aggressive dogs that are subject to biting. It just seems like overkill to me with a normal lab. Chopper would never bite anyone.

    When I walk Chopper and there are no other dogs around, I can get him to walk on a loose leash on my left heel. When he sees a dog, everything goes south. He loves to play with other dogs. I must say he has greatly improved over the last two weeks. I've been working on the heel and stay command with dogs around on our walks lately. He is starting to improve. I think I can get him to listen to me with additional training without the aid of a head collar. I do not want to appear as though I am one of those dog owners that does not listen to the advice of their dog trainer. Therefore, I wanted to get a few opinions on the subject.

    Should I get a head collar, properly introduce him to it and start using it as a training aid or stick with the current program and get around the issue with a flat collar and additional training?

    Thanks in advance for your help.

    ChoppersDad

  2. #2
    Senior Dog ChoppersDad's Avatar
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    Let me add that I do not want Chopper to lose that attitude and excitement that he has regarding his will to run free and have fun. I eventually want him to be a waterfowl retriever and I am looking for a balance between excitement and obedience.

  3. #3
    Best Friend Retriever xracer4844's Avatar
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    Head collars have nothing to do with dogs that bite. They are not a muzzle and the dog can still bite and open their mouth. I don't use any type of harness or head collar or anything like that ever(I use deval chains). Mainly because I`m strong enough to not be pulled. I stand like a tree and correct with an ah-ah. If pulling continues, I'm not afraid to give a dog a correction for it. Pulling is dangerous. I make sure that I'm in control of the dog at all times regardless of excitement.

  4. #4
    Real Retriever Archie's Avatar
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    Head collars for dogs operate on the same principle that halters do for horses - you have more control over the movement of the animal if you can turn their head.

    If you do use one, it's really important to make sure it's fitted properly, and that you never tug on it because you can hurt them.

    I use one in very crowded situations where I need lots of control, and I've found it useful. But, it's still important to work on proper behaviour training and not just let the tool do it for you.
    Laura, Archie & Quinn
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  5. #5
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    I bought a prong for that situation. One class had a long narrow corridor to reach it and we'd be passing the exiting dogs as we entered. The prong just helped us get in. I don't need it now.

    Our class was also shown how to wrap the leash around the dog's body for a little extra control temporarily. A little! Hah! Tremendous control with the suitcase wrap. In it the leash sits just in front of a boy's penis and a hard yank backwards could hurt him. Careful with it.

  6. #6
    Senior Dog Jeff's Avatar
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    I had to use one for Hemi for the same situation. Basically he would lunge when got really excited and if I wasn't expecting it it would about take my arm off. I didn't use the head collar for walking or anything but in situations where the excitement would make him loose his mind. I went a little beyond just the head collar. I actually had 2 leashes. One on his collar, one on the head collar. Basically the first one he felt pressure on was the neck collar, if he went further then the head collar would engage and turn his head. It took a lot of time it really did maybe 4-6 months because as you know it is like when he first gets to class and is all excited and so on. So your not encountering this every single day.

    So to answer your question, I guess, they are not for everyday use. It is something you want to use as a training aid to get to the behavior you want. When we got to class and got seated and he sat down nicely then it came off. If he stood right back up again and was like on point like ok lets do this thing then it went right back on. He learned he had to behave and then he got what he wanted which was to work.

    Time and patients. Time and Patients.

  7. #7
    Senior Dog WhoopsaDaisy's Avatar
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    I love my head Halti. I have control and I'm not hurting Daisy at all. It's an excellent training tool. She hardly needs it much anymore but I still use it for training/crowded places.
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  8. #8
    Senior Dog sheltieluver's Avatar
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    I like the easy walk harness. I feel the dog can do more damage when trying to pull on a halti collar. I tried one on Benelli and found I had much more control with the easy walk. I aso have a martaingal collar for him.

    I

  9. #9
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    If you are going to do field work, you'll need to train him. However, if you need the extra control in the meantime, Haltis and Gentle Leaders are good tools. You cannot use them if you compete in field work and you should not use one doing field work at all as they can easily hang up on brush. If your dog is wearing one, they must be wearing a leash with you at the other end.

    When Sam was a pup I used one from time to time. He was a very large puppy -- over 50 lbs at 4 months -- and would suddenly leap toward people and dogs, just completely out of the blue. He was and still is a social butterfly. I worked with him while we used it, however, and did not lean on that tool. I only used it for safety and only for several months.

    Work a lot on attention, which is key. There are lots of exercises you can try.

  10. The Following User Says Thank You to Labradorks For This Useful Post:

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  11. #10
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    Not a fan of head collars ... in that situation I would have used a prong if I needed an additional training aid. That said, have you tried putting an exceptionally wonderful treat in front of his nose as you get him out of the car and tried keeping him focused on that (feed and immediately produce another) as you go into class? It has to be something very high value, and you have to get him focused on it BEFORE he gets excited, but it can work if repeated over and over.
    Annette

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  12. The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to Annette47 For This Useful Post:

    Charlotte K. (02-11-2015), ChoppersDad (02-13-2015), Labradorks (02-11-2015), sheltieluver (02-11-2015), SoapySophie (02-12-2015)

 



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