Several years ago I made the mistake of trying to take one of my dogs out to a fun run/walk fundraiser held by the Humane Society. He had always been a dog who pulled and after several miles of tugging and yanking I just couldn’t take it anymore. I’d been trying so hard to keep him in control that for several days after the event I couldn’t lift or move my arm without waves of pain shooting out from my shoulder.
At that point I started looking for anything that would make walking less of a battle and more enjoyable. I’ve tried a variety of different collars, harnesses and leash attachments and here is what I have to report back on.
The Front Lead Harness from Bebop USA (www.bebopusa.com, $17 – $27) is by far the winner. It’s ideal for walking, simple to use and surprisingly effective. This one is different from typical harnesses in that the leash is meant to attach to a hook in the front near the dog’s breastbone instead of on the back between the shoulder blades. The way it works is that if the dog starts to pull they are forced to turn around instead of continually going forward. It worked almost instantly – as soon as I put it on my dog Yogi the pulling stopped.
Headcollars have become popular enough that by now most people have heard of or seen a dog wearing one. There are a variety of headcollars on the market today, but it is Dr Roger Mugford who designed the original headcollar for dogs based on the same idea as a horse’s headcollar: that when you take control of the head the rest will follow along. I tried several brands of headcollars and Mugford’s Halti Headcollar (www.companyofanimals.co.uk or www.coastalpet.com, $18 – $20) is also the only one that Yogi didn’t immediately tried to get off with his paws. The Halti is idea for walking or running and it got extra points because it has an extra “Halti Link” attachment that connected to the regular neck collar – acting as a backup incase something goes wrong.
When I pulled the Sporn Training Halter (www.sporn.com, $22 – $25) out of the box it looked like a complex jumble of loops. After a minute of studying the instructions and trying to figure out how it worked, it was actually pretty easy to put on. The concept here is that there are two padded loops that go under each of the dog’s front armpit areas that are then connected to the collar, which then connects to a leash. When the dog pulls, the armpit loops tighten. Despite being an interesting concept, this harness did not seem to deter Yogi one bit. This one might work on your dog, but definitely try this one out in the store before you buy it.
Prong collars are those metal collars with inward facing prongs, making them look more like an ancient torture device than a dog collar. They can be found at most every pet store and work by causing an uncomfortable pinching sensation when the dog pulls. For years the notion of using one of these horrified me – they just looked so painful. A couple years ago I was fostering a particularly feisty dog and so I broke down and decided to try one and I was impressed. The dog immediately behaved and stopped pulling, without appearing to be in any discomfort or pain. While this collar is definitely effective it is not a long-term solution – think of it more as a training device that can help you work towards teaching your dog to not pull when on a leash.
The best thing you can do is to head to your local pet store and try a bunch out. Getting the right size is incredibly important, so bring your dog and take a variety of harnesses and collars out for a test walk around the block before buying one to see which one works best for you.
