Head Collar Vs Body Harness

[MrStompy]

Ive been getting conflicting advice regarding head collars or body harness for our 9mth old great Dane

(I will try to add some images)

Both work on him ie settle him down when walking.

Tonight I went back to the body harness after relying on the head collar for the past couple months and he was a perfect dog.

I'm thinking of using that instead of the head collar now till I am confident he can walk on just a lead

I'm still not sure why one would be better than the other based on the breed of dog. No one has ever given me a clear reason why

Is it just a personal preference or am I possibly doing the wrong thing by using either of these leaders.

Thanks for the advice

[persephone]

Hi :)

What trouble do you have on an ordinary collar ?

What training classes have you attended?

How often do you practice obedience & stuff each day?

[MrStompy]

Hi :)

What trouble do you have on an ordinary collar ?

What training classes have you attended?

How often do you practice obedience & stuff each day?

Depending on the time of day or what distractions are out he can get over excited and pull on his normal lead.

I train with him all the time. On every walk. Usually have treats to reward him for doing the right thing but sometimes he isn't interested in them. I'm trying toys and things now to keep his attention.Around the house he is a very good dog. Does everything we expect of him. It's just out and about that I want to be sure I have complete control of him.

I have done the puppy school stuff and recently started the group obedience classes. we went to a private lesson with a trainer and she got us onto the head collar.

We will do more of that in the future too but I like the group obedience classes as there are heaps of other dogs there so hopefully he will get used to ignoring other dogs.

We are very inexperienced dog trainers though.

[persephone]

here is some reading for you ..it may help understanding what's happening ..obviously it does not specifically apply to you , but you may pick up some ideas. :)

LINK

LINK

LINK

LINK

..training begins at home in the yard ..so that by the time you encounter other dogs , your dog thinks of YOU as the only thing worth paying attention to :p

[MrStompy]

Thanks for the links and info.

I will probably avoid using the head collar again for the reasons you mentioned snook.

From reading the links that Persephone shared I realise that I'm probably not too far off track with the training but I need to be more consistent.

I will try a few of those ideas tmw.

Like I said though around the house he is a really good dog - don't want to sound like I am complaining about him.

We love him dearly. Even if he can be a little naughty sometimes.

Just want to make sure we are being good owners

[Red Fox]

Ive been getting conflicting advice regarding head collars or body harness for our 9mth old great Dane

(I will try to add some images)

Both work on him ie settle him down when walking.

Tonight I went back to the body harness after relying on the head collar for the past couple months and he was a perfect dog.

I'm thinking of using that instead of the head collar now till I am confident he can walk on just a lead

I'm still not sure why one would be better than the other based on the breed of dog. No one has ever given me a clear reason why

Is it just a personal preference or am I possibly doing the wrong thing by using either of these leaders.

Thanks for the advice

It has nothing to do with the breed of the dog and everything to do with the dog/handler combination.

Choose the tool and method that you are most comfortable with. It's really not a question of what is 'better', but rather what works for you and your dog. If you are confident and in control it will come through in your training, if you're unsure, nervous or worried your dog will pick up on it. So yes, in a way it is personal preference.

Personally I think a front attaching harness is a 'safer' option. But would choose a prong collar and proper training over either any day.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

I met someone with a Great Dane that could not get a front attach harness to fit her dog, because of the shape of it's chest. She was using a prong collar with great success and control. But the handler needs to be taught how to use one of these correctly.

The head halter is great for controlling where a dog is looking - ie getting it's attention back if it gets distracted. When I used one (gentle leader) I found I had to put the lightest lead that I could find on it - because anything more put too much pressure on my dog's nose and she'd shut down. Which meant I also travelled with a second lead - attached to the front attach harness or flat collar - just in case - because I didn't feel the light lead was strong enough or chomp proof - ie it wouldn't last long against my scissor mouthed dog.

The idea with both the head halter and the front attach is to train the dog to walk with loose lead under the most extreme distractions you can think of, and then phase them out.

[DeltaCharlie]

It also depends on the dog and what they are more comfortable in. Some really despise the head collars and are much happier on a harness, others couldn't care less either way. Whip will still pull really hard on a halti so sometimes he wears both LOL

Out of our 9, we have 5 that use a gentle leader head collar and 4 that use a no pull harness. For time saving/convenience, we regularly walk 8 dogs at the same time (between 2 people) and it is impossible to correct one dog for pulling without affecting at least 3 others. Are we going to bother putting the time into walking each dog individually and then expect it to come together when they walk as a pack- no. They don't get walked often enough to warrant it anyway and they are all perfectly happy to walk with their various training aids so we don't consider it worth worrying about.

Find what works best for your dog, what you are both happy and comfortable with and go with that. Everything has its pros and cons, you just have to go with what is best in your situation. Nobody here knows that better than you.

[Danois]

A lot of Dane owners do not use head halters on young Danes due to the potential for neck damage. Remember they have a much longer neck than many other dogs.

Body harnesses are not commonly used on Danes simply because you can't control a 50kg plus dog on one if it is hell bent on going the other way. Front attaching harnesses can be good if you are having issues with leash manners.

Have you considered a martingale with a chain link - look at the ones on K9 Pro's website/shop. Almost every Dane owner I know uses one of those, a check chain or a flat collar (once leash manners are established)

As I think I mentioned before - come into the Dane thread under the Breed Subforums as you can get breed specific advice there from experienced Dane owners.

Edited May 22, 2012 by Danois

[Mason_Gibbs]

I use a prong head halter on my young lab i can walk him alone on a collar but his pulling gets too much if i walk both my dogs together. I find it the best out of all the head halters

ETA it's a Sporn Pack Leader head halter, long day lol

Edited May 29, 2012 by Mason_Gibbs

[MrStompy]

Ive gone back to only using the harness.

I must say the last few days walking him have been a joy.

I have also been using the advice i have been given here.

I take treats and bribe him till he loses interest in them - i also keep a small squeeky toy in my pocket and that gets his attention back quick smart.

Once he has lost interest in the treats i use the toy

Changing direction often has been good too as he never knows what is going to happen.

Tonight we walked past barking dogs but as i squeeked the little toy he was not interested in the other dogs like he would have been normally.

I am looking foward to this weekends obedience school to see if he can control himself with all the other dogs there.

Im sure he nearly got expelled last week :laugh:

[Erny]

I use a prong head halter on my young lab i can walk him alone on a collar but his pulling gets too much if i walk both my dogs together. I find it the best out of all the head halters

A "prong head halter" ??

Edited May 29, 2012 by Erny

[Mason_Gibbs]

I use a prong head halter on my young lab i can walk him alone on a collar but his pulling gets too much if i walk both my dogs together. I find it the best out of all the head halters

A "prong head halter" ??

Sorry Sporn!!! Long day

[Jade~Harley~Bella]

I use a head halter on Harley, he gets excited when he see's it because he knows he is going for a walk. Bella refuses to wear it though, so I just use a harness on her. Personally I prefer the harness on her as it give me better control.

I don't think any one is better than the other (although lots of people say head harnesses are bad for the dogs neck etc). Its just personal preference.