I've never looked at halti's before, I just wrote them off as useless before anyone gave me their opinion on em, someone explained what they did, I automatically called it junk <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Looks like I'm right huh!

I'd like to try and raise my next pup as positive as I can while she's young to really build drive n enthusiasm for her work, so was curious about various anti-correction peoples methods since none of them involve corrections. So far no products I've heard about seem useful in the slightest.

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....Hey Mike......I think we would have to take a field trip to our local retail chain training classes to really get the answer to that one. After all, they are the experts?

What a great daydream: A group of trainers from this forum descend on a Petsmart en masse, with their dogs, to ask about the types of collars. And maybe to ask for training demos, while they're there! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Some years ago I tried a halti for my dominant dog, and it had some value in keeping her from pulling, until of course she broke it while in one of her red rages. I have been told I didn't use it correctly, but even my vet finds them unreliable. I see a lot of people in my neighborhood using them, and their dogs walk calmly, so I guess it works, but of course it teaches nothing. Most people actually don't care if their dog is really trained, they just don't want to be pulled down the street. It is more important to them to be "nice" then to be in control. I kind of prefer my dogs both love and respect me.

I got a Gentle Leader to use on my ACD since he didn't respond to the choke, and I had been (temporarily) inducted into the "all positive, no prong" way of thinking (only lasted a year and a half).

At 8 mths, Aussie had had no training whatsoever, and we were in an apt so he needed to walk on a leash...so I got the Gentle Leader. Bad Sabrina, after five minutes of walking I decided the instructions of "don't pop the leash like a collar, only pull gently" were bogus. I was careful--always a light pop, and always horizantal movement so as not to snap his neck or something, but he spent about 15 or 16 mths on that thing. I finally read Suzanne Clothier's article on them, realized that every single time I put it on him his ears and head went down and he just kind of shuffled around (and that we hadn't gotten anywhere), and the next day went and got a prong collar. One walk (yes, I said walk) later, no more pulling, no more lunging at cars, and no more barking his fool head off at dogs behind fences, AND everytime he sees it, he goes into his happy dance <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> The Gentle Leader got tossed into the dog tool box, and the only time I've taken it out since was to control his head while trying to clip his nails.