Dogs And Halti's???

Penny_Watcher

Jellicat wrote: »

If Haltis dont work for you, you could try a Lupi harness instead. These work particularly well on really large, strong dogs.

It's just my experience , but I found that if I put a body harness on my biggest dog it just made him pull harder. Instead of him pulling using his neck (which must have been uncomfortable judging by the strangling noises he used to make :eek:) he could now pull against his chest without any discomfort like - a sled dog. Like I say, this is only my experience and others might find a body harness cures the pulling.

He doesn't like his Halti, but now that I can walk him safely he's becoming more accepting of it.

LillyJ

I couldn't physically walk my dog without a halti, I mean it would be literally impossible. The dog and I weigh about the same amount and he is a puller (to the extreme - rescue dog) so this has been a godsend for us.
He, however, has other ideas and absolutely hates it. He used to run away when I went to put it on and then kept running back - he wanted to go for a walk so was excited but didn't want the halti so was running away! He confused himself!
Even 6 months on he still tries to pull it off his head and runs his head on the ground so he will never get used to it, but we have no alternative at the moment!
I am going to try a body harness at some point but as he is so strong I think he might just be able to pull more.

Raksha

They can be a quick fix, but I prefer to spend time teaching my youngster (an 18 month old Labradoodle) to walk nicely on a loose lead.

If you do decide to use one, better to teach him to wear it in the house for short periods, especially when doing something he enjoys, like eating or playing with a ball, so he makes good associations with it first, before taking him for a walk. If he tries to get it off, distract him with a favourite treat or toy, get him to 'sit' and then reward him for the sit (other wise he may think he's being rewarded for trying to get the Halti off and do it all the more......)

Haltis? They have their place, but not all dogs take to them, not all dogs actually fit them (there is very little adjustment on them) and it can take some time to go through all the headcollar or harness combinations to find what suits you and your dog.

One thing I would say, if looking at harnesses, there are very few which work by not causing the dog some discomfort/pain, particuarly the type which have thin lines which go under the dogs 'armpits'.......

LillyJ

I agree that it is good to try to teach a dog to walk on a loose lead, however our dog has aggresive tendencies to other dogs so is on high alert at all times in the park (due to his past problems in his "other life" as we call it before he got rescued). When we are in a rural place we can try to walk him on a loose lead but it is physically impossible without the Halti in anything other than a totally secluded area.
I think that for some people it is the only way that the dog can get out of the house.

shelovestobuystuff

proudmum wrote: »

Hello,
I tried one on my Labrador a few years ago but he was having none of it! He cut his face trying to get it off, and spent most of his walk with his nose along the ground trying to remove it! It might be better with a smaller dog though.
I now have a harness which goes under the front two legs and around the collar with the lead attatched to it. Although my dog is now elderly & doesn't need it, i found it to be great particularly as am 5ft and weigh 7 stone. My dog is considerably larger than me & used to take me a walk! I can't remember the name but i am sure the large pet stores sell them.

We had the same experience with our labrador too.He stratched the fur off his muzzle and I had to ditch the halti to give his fur a chance to grow back.I found it cut in under the dogs eyes too when he pulled.The halti is a terrible design.I have found a great guy for dog training aids,recommended to me by a dog trainer at the labrador rescue trust.Goerge Grayson runs www.kumfi.com and as a police dog trainer for years has designed his own range.Its fantastic.We have bought a few thing from him for our dogs and the stop pull harness has worked for our dog where the halti failed drastically.

shelovestobuystuff

LillyJ wrote: »

I couldn't physically walk my dog without a halti, I mean it would be literally impossible. The dog and I weigh about the same amount and he is a puller (to the extreme - rescue dog) so this has been a godsend for us.
He, however, has other ideas and absolutely hates it. He used to run away when I went to put it on and then kept running back - he wanted to go for a walk so was excited but didn't want the halti so was running away! He confused himself!
Even 6 months on he still tries to pull it off his head and runs his head on the ground so he will never get used to it, but we have no alternative at the moment!
I am going to try a body harness at some point but as he is so strong I think he might just be able to pull more.

The stop pull harness from www.kumfi.com worked for us.It is wide straps so doesnt dig in and even has fur covers on the underarm straps to stop chaffing.Our dogs are rescue dogs too and the one we use the harness for pulls like a sled dog,he lunges everywhere,but not when he,s in the harness.He doesnt feel the lead being pulled so much as he did when it was on his colar,so he doesnt pull against it now.

tobykim

The stop pull harness

Thats the one we use although got ours from vio-vet (as posted above) same harness but cheaper, I think half the price, delivery is also excellent, I notice our local vets sell them that's where I noticed them first, of course much dearer

shelovestobuystuff

It is cheaper,£14.36 instead if £15 and both charge a tiny £1 postage.I thought buying form the man himself would be cheaper.Thoroughly recommend the harness and buy from vio-vet,its cheaper:cool: .The kumfi site has great info on using the harness.

DKLS

My old Akita snapped his halti on the 2nd use, was not impressed at the build quality, might be useful with small yapper type dogs, but the one I had was useless with a strong dog.

LillyJ

DKLS wrote: »

My old Akita snapped his halti on the 2nd use, was not impressed at the build quality, might be useful with small yapper type dogs, but the one I had was useless with a strong dog.

Our dog is 10 stone, 18 months old and a serious puller. He couldn't be walked when he was at the rescue centre cos no one could hold him. He is part rottie and part lab (and we think part great dane). He has had his halti for 6 months now and although he doesn't like it we haven't had any problems with the quality. Did you get the right size? As they do have different sizes for different dogs.