Halti Collar.

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Daze
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Joined: Tue May 18, 2010 2:00 pm

Halti Collar.

Post by Daze »

Hi everyone, this is my first post as I have just joined.
I have a beautiful 10 month old retreiver, and she is really good except on her lead. I took her to puppy training/socialising classes from day one (10 weeks old), and learnt lots from it. But no matter how much I've tried the excersises to stop her pulling, she would still choke herself on a normal collar and lead, and make the most awful noises from strangling herself.

So, I've tried virtually everything to help stop her, various no-pull harnesses, various types of leads etc etc. My last item is now a head halti, the type that doesn't ride up into the eyes. It is wonderful!! For the first time ever, she can't pull me at all, and I can even hold her with just a couple of fingers!!

My question is...... She has been wearing it for walks for four days now, and still sits for a very long time before walking on again, and then she's great for a few minutes, but keeps stopping and starting. Should I just always wait until she is ready to walk on by herself? or should I now start encouraging her to keep walking by pulling her on it? Or over the next couple of weeks will she just accept it as the norm and finally keep walking?

In just this short time, she is doing really well on it, apart from this constant stop starting, so perhaps I'm just expecting too much too soon?
emmabeth
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Re: Halti Collar.

Post by emmabeth »

Definitely, avoid pulling on it as this will just make her dislike the headcollar.

Ideally, get her a secure harness (not one that has a specific action, intended to deal with pulling) and use that in conjunction with the loose leash walking method as set out in an article in the Dog Training Articles section.

It will take time, and you will need to be patient and use the method for perhaps many weeks, but if you are consistent about it, it will happen!

If you need to you can use a double ended leash or two leads, so you can use the halti and the harness, but you cannot do the about turn method using the halti as potentially.. you could break her neck!

Whatever you do though you will have to teach her to remain at your side with a slack leash, whether you use a halti or not - if you need to use the halti for walks where you cannot have your full attention on her, thats fine, but ideally you break down her exercise time into 10 minute portions where you can stay calm and relaxed and focus completely on walking on a loose lead (ten minutes is ideal you wont lose the plot if you arent making much progress in ten minutes and it takes the 'omg got to get to xyz and back' stress out of it).

Another thing that may help is to read up on clicker training, and teach her to target, which is to touch your hand or a target stick (or target a specific spot on your leg) in return for a reward. You then build this up so shes touching it and walking, one step and reward, two steps and reward, three steps and reward...

Teach this inside the house first then outside and build up the time shes to do it for gradually.

If she has pulled for most of her life so far, I would use both methods to really get through that walking NEXT to you is rewarding, attempting to go ahead and not focussing on you gets her nowhere at all.
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
Daze
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Joined: Tue May 18, 2010 2:00 pm

Re: Halti Collar.

Post by Daze »

Thank you Emmabeth (and Mattie), This morning I walked her using the harness as well as her halti on her head and used two leads as you both mentioned.

I only had the lead on her harness, and I 'only' put the other lead on her halti to stop her pulling at other dogs, then when all was safe, I took the lead off the halti and continued to walk with just the harness lead.

I found using just the harness for the vast majority of the walk really did make a tremendous difference, and we both enjoyed it a lot more - Yahoooo!!! It's wonderful to feel secure knowing that with the halti still on her I can immediately attach the other lead when I foresee the need for it.

After months and months of trying out just about everything that's sold out there to stop pulling (and my God can she pull - I ended up literally flat out on my back on the floor once - how dangerous and embarassing is that! :oops: ). I honestly believe this method is going to work. I was getting really fed up and had stopped enjoying walking her and it had slowly felt more like a chore than something we should 'both' be enjoying.

I'll keep you posted as the next couple of weeks go by, and with plenty of patience and time I am just sooooo confident and feel so secure with her and totally convinced this is the only way. You can't imagine how happy and relieved I feel :D :D :D :D A BIG Thank you for all the advice.
emmabeth
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Re: Halti Collar.

Post by emmabeth »

Excellent - I leave the lead on the halti but leave that lead slacker so i can only have it exert any pressure when i need to - to make sure I dont get confused I make sure the halti leash is thinner and lighter than the harness leash (mines actually only half an inch wide and the harness leash is 3/4 inch, laced leather so its immediately obvious by feel which is which).

Devices like haltis can be really useful to help you gain the control you need to put something like the loose leash walking method into play, just remember to make them work for you and not become something you lean on heavily as they can never teach the dog to walk nicely on their own, once you take them off if your dog has no reason to walk beside you, he/she will still pull or lunge!
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
LmJanes
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Re: Halti Collar.

Post by LmJanes »

I don't advocate with halti head and have tried it a few years ago. I didn't like how it wears down on one of my elders' muzzle and didn't even grow back so I switched him back to flat collar and taught him not to pull by standing still.
Natalee
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Re: Halti Collar.

Post by Natalee »

I've always used Haltis and found they work very well,

It takes dogs a while to get used to them, when she stops just get a really happy excited voice and say "walk on" and move off.

reward her when she walks and she should slowly get used to it. a slight pull can be used just as a small encouragemet.

try putting food infront of her so she has to walk to get to it, make a fuss giving her the food when she starts walking with you.
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Mattie
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Re: Halti Collar.

Post by Mattie »

Natalee, haltis and any other head collar should always be used with another lead clipped to a harness or collar, walk the dog on the harness or collar and only use the halti/headcollar when needed. Many dogs have seriously injured their necks by leaping about with just a lead clipped to a halti/headcollar, some have even broken their necks, a friend saw this happen.
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ladybug1802
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Re: Halti Collar.

Post by ladybug1802 »

I use a halti with Dylan sometimes, for example when I am at my parents holiday place in Dorset and walk him through the little town and when I just need a little bit more 'back up control'! But I always have 2 leads and use the lead on his collar with the lead on the halti as a back up. I am amazed at how many people I see with a halti on their dog with just the one lead.....in fact I think i have only seen one person with two leads in months and months! Not good!
Natalee
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Re: Halti Collar.

Post by Natalee »

I've never used a second lead, as the halti encourages the dog to walk by your side and not jump about.

So i assume people who's dog does jump about out of control on a halti isn't using it right.

I've used them on multiple dogs with different problems and have never had a problem with them as i find they are more of a prevention than a cure.

Thats just my opinion x
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Mattie
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Re: Halti Collar.

Post by Mattie »

Natalee wrote:I've never used a second lead, as the halti encourages the dog to walk by your side and not jump about.

So i assume people who's dog does jump about out of control on a halti isn't using it right.

I've used them on multiple dogs with different problems and have never had a problem with them as i find they are more of a prevention than a cure.

Thats just my opinion x
Many people with reactive dogs use them on their dogs to give them more control when their dog is reacting, dogs leap about when reacting and can do a lot of damage to their necks, some dogs have even broken their necks. If they have another lead clipped to a harness or collar, the chances of these dogs damaging their necks is greatly reduced especially with a harness and that controls the body while the halti controls the head.

It is your choice to use one of these with only one lead, but because you have never had a problem doesn't mean that you won't have one, even the best behaved dog can be unpredicatable at times.
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Sarah83
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Re: Halti Collar.

Post by Sarah83 »

I've never used a second lead, as the halti encourages the dog to walk by your side and not jump about.
Most dogs I see on a halti are pulling with their head pulled to one side and practically walking sideways. I use one because my dog will lunge at other dogs, if he lunged and the full force of that lunge was taken on the halti there's a good chance he'd damage his neck. He jumps around as much on the halti as on any collar or harness. Double ended leash here.
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Mattie
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Re: Halti Collar.

Post by Mattie »

A friend saw a Dalmation break his neck leaping around on the end of a halti.
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jacksdad
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Re: Halti Collar.

Post by jacksdad »

Natalee wrote:I've never used a second lead, as the halti encourages the dog to walk by your side and not jump about.

So i assume people who's dog does jump about out of control on a halti isn't using it right.

I've used them on multiple dogs with different problems and have never had a problem with them as i find they are more of a prevention than a cure.

Thats just my opinion x
that's a dangerous assumption if you are giving out advice. like mattie points out reactive dogs are an example of a dog that will ignore whatever "control" something like a halti offers.

tools like haltis should never trump/replace training.

When I first got my dog I tried a gentle leader (similar to a halti) it only "worked" for a short while for pulling, but NEVER worked for stopping his reaction to other dogs. only training has addressed both. now for pulling...I grant you I might not have completely understood how to use the gentle leader...but now it's not an issue because when it became apparent he could injure him self when he flipped out over other dogs because his reaction was so violent and out of control, and not wanting him hurting him self I switched to a harness. which then forced me to train him to not pull. which converted me. I have seen the light, praise the kibble and pass the chicken :lol:

seriously, used right I can get how these tools can help. but they should never replace training.
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Mattie
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Re: Halti Collar.

Post by Mattie »

Natalee wrote: So i assume people who's dog does jump about out of control on a halti isn't using it right.
I didn't pick up on this at first, dogs will jump arround for many reasons, mine do when playing, if they can get away with it when greeting me, jumping up isn't just reactive dogs and like reacting dogs unless the dog is taught differently it will be out of control. Not all of these will need a headcollar to control the jumping, ALL of these need training to stop the jumping.

Many owners train their dogs without realising they are training them, they are very consistant in what they are doing with the dog so the dog is taught how to behave, ie. a dog is sent into his bed when someone comes to the door, eventually the dog will automatically go to his bed when there is a knock. To the owner they are not training them but just want the dog away from the door. A dog that previously jumped up now goes to his bed

With reactive dogs the situation is different, 99.9% of reactive dogs is based on fear, a dog jumps and leaps about because he is frightened, the only way you can turn these dogs round is to get it through to their brains that they are safe, there is no need to fear the other dogs because their owner will protect them.

Simply put when a dog that is frightened of other dogs goes into fight or flight syndrome, he can't run away because he is held by his owner, that may not stop him from trying to run away and he may leap and jump about to get away. If the owner let go of the lead many dogs will run away rather than fight.

These owners may not be using the headcollars wrong apart from only having 1 lead clipped to the head collar, training a dog not to do this won't work, it has to be a lot more than training, so to assume that the owner is using them wrong is insulting, many of these dogs have been made like this through no fault of the owner or themselves.
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Natalee
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Re: Halti Collar.

Post by Natalee »

I'm not saying you shouldn't use a second lead if required.

I'm simply saying i've never had to as the halti has controlled my dogs to prevent them lunging and jumping.

As a point i never actually said in response to the first post which is what we were meant to be helping with, that they should only use a halti.

Just as i didn't mention a second lead does not mean i was suggesting they not use one.
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