I have used various things to walk my three, large, Rottweilers. From three months old until they were six months, I put harnesses on them. The harness worked until they decided to start pulling and they were 60 pounds. My arms, chest and back would get a workout every time I took Zeus and Apollo for a walk. My husband said the halti would be better to walk the dogs in.
The halti did cut down on the pulling. Zeus and Apollo were not crazy about having something around their nose, but they adapted. Three months later we rescued Daisy and she was twenty-five pounds. We walked her with a halti right away, because Daisy really liked to pull. The halti worked great to stop her from pulling, but the trick was getting it on her without her biting me. After it was on her, we had to prevent her from chewing through the halti. Giving Daisy treats after I put the halti on, this stopped her from biting me. The Bitter Apple spray prevented Daisy from wanting to chew on the halti.
After the pups were a year old and much, much heavier, the halti wasn’t as effective at controlling them during the walk. I consulted a dog trainer about Daisy’s behavior when she would see certain dogs. Any dogs that were not calm while they were out for a walk made Daisy go crazy. She jumped, growled and lunged at the dog. I needed to get her under control and the dog trainer suggested the “Good Dog Collar.”
The “Good Dog Collar” is a pinch collar, but plastic. Now pinch collars are not for every dog and if you decide to use one, you have to be careful with them. Because you can hurt your dog, you can’t just pull as hard as you can to get the dog to behave when they have a pinch collar on. And pinch collars should not be used on puppies, because you can really hurt a growing pup. Consult a veterinarian or a dog trainer about what age to use a pinch collar on a dog.
I don’t have problems with Zeus during the walk. He trails behind me and trots along enjoying the walk. Apollo will get anxious when we run into an unstable dog. I just give the “Good Dog Collar” a light tug and he calms down. Daisy is still a work in progress when we walk past an unstable dog, but the “Good Dog Collar” has helped me control her better.
When Daisy wore the halti I couldn’t even get her to sit while a dog walked by. The “Good Dog Collar” mimics a dog bite and Daisy responds to this. She’ll sit as a dog walks by; however, I have to make her not look at the dog. We will stand with are backs to the dog and wait for it to go past us. The “Good Dog Collar” is inexpensive $12.95 and I’ve only found it online.
Every dog is different and a halti works for one dog, but not another. The “Good Dog Collar” works for Zeus, Apollo and Daisy and I’m really glad that the dog trainer told me about it. Walks are so much more pleasant and my dogs are more obedient with the “Good Dog Collar.”
