My partner has seen a friend use a halti on her dog (large skatty lab) and would like to use on with my dog (14 month rott). He is on a prong but the mrs does not like to give strong corrections. Have explained that constant little pops can raise drive so its better one clean firm correction for unwanted pulling towards other dogs.
I understood that with haltis these redirect the dogs attention by pulling the head towards the handler, but does not correct the behaviour, is this correct?
Has any one used one of these before or has any knowledge of their pros and cons?

Thanks
Andrew

I find the silly things don't work well at all. Halters are for horses, not dogs. If giving strong corrections is an issue I suggest either not allowing her to handle the dog or find a method that's more suitable to her style.

If the dog is pulling towards other dogs I wouldn't use anything but a prong along with a dominate dog collar. I've seen some moderate success with that dog whisperer illusion collar. In my experience excessive pulling towards other dogs is not only a training issue but a groundwork issue as well.

Pro's:

"Humane"
....


Con's:

Totally ineffective (have you ever tried to keep your dog from staring at another dog simply by standing in front of him? How'd that go for you? Imagine trying to keep him from fixating by turning his head to the right.)
Dogs learn how to counter it (all it takes is a stiff neck.)
Difficult to put on
When the dog isn't pulling against it, they're trying to get it off (pawing, rolling on the ground)
You literally CANNOT administer a correction with one on. If you do, you risk severely damaging the dogs neck

I think that's about it. Yes? Good.

Summary:

Decent for little old ladies with poodles who tug hard on the leash. Unacceptable for any dog that may seriously need to be restrained, or which could do damage if allowed to escape. Melissa's suggestion above is appropriate for a powerful breed dog, whether or not they have a history of getting off leash.

Pros: I can't think of any. I am serious.

Cons: They are not "humane" in my opinion, they can cause neck damage from twisting the head and I have met very few dogs with halti/gentle leaders that didn't have a sore spot or missing hair on the nose from the rubbing.

Easily broken.

Can cause face sensitivity/hand shyness from sore nose/mouth.

Does not redirect their attention, merely causes their nose to be forced downward. Usually for only a brief period of time, most dogs are fully capable of simply pulling harder and regaining control. As David said a dog will stiffen it's neck and pull anyways.

I have experience with people that use haltis and gentle leaders and they can be usefull for low key dogs but again are not training aids at all. It is more a "means of oppression" than a choke chain or prong collar in that you are forcing the dogs head down, absolutely nothing more. Because they are not a training aid and the dog learns nothing with one, and I have seen this first hand, as soon as that halti is off, the dog goes back to misbehaving.

What a lady spent a year trying to accomplish with a halti I fixed in 5 minutes with a flat collar. I kid you not. It was a softer dog and I was a new, confident handler, but within 1/2 an hour he heeled like a dream and in my checkups over the course or 3 months, they never have another problem.

Hehe. For the record, I was being sarcastic about them being humane. I would rather get a good correction once for doing something wrong, than be perpetually pestered but given no real deterrence.

Heh. Sorry David I should have figured that since you put it " "

I have found that a halti can be useful in introducing a muzzle. After the dog becomes used to wearing (the less restrictive) halti on their face, the muzzle can be substituted with less drama from the dog.

Of course, I don't use it for any real corrections though.

 Quote: jennifer marshal

Pros: I can't think of any. I am serious.

Cons: They are not "humane" in my opinion, they can cause neck damage from twisting the head and I have met very few dogs with halti/gentle leaders that didn't have a sore spot or missing hair on the nose from the rubbing.

Easily broken.

Can cause face sensitivity/hand shyness from sore nose/mouth.

Here is a picture of a rescue I foster. He was taken from his horrible owner for using a halti to this degree. I trained this dog and he was much harder than he looked, and so the halti didn't effect him until it was so tight it caused damage
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u151/Pasha43/DSCF0011-1.jpg

I would not use a Halti or Gentle leader as it is known over here
For 6 month old G.S Pup Goran i am using a leerburg Flat Amish Collar and Leash. and he is responding very well
Whether i will have to go onto a Pinch collar later as he gets older and stronger is not yet known, when we get down to training for ScHh, i hope i can keep going on a flat collar but i will not hold my breath on doing that
but i would not revert to a Halti even if i was paid to use it

I honestly tried not to respond to this. It is just too much for me to bear. A discussion of a halti on Leerburg, say it ain't so.

DFrost