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WHAT (WALKING) COLLAR DO YOU PREFER

3K views 22 replies 12 participants last post by  nwhiker 
#1 ·
I am not fond of the choker collar and was wondering what your preference of "walking" collar is?
 
#3 ·
#5 ·
I guess it depends on what you consider a "walking" collar and what you need out of a walking collar. Based on your post, it sounds to me like you need a training collar to help you control your dog on walks until he is fully trained to walk nicely on a simple flat collar.

Your options there are a Martingale collar, a choke, a head halter, a body harness, and a prong collar - as far as training collars go. I think it's great that you'd rather not use the choke because it does have the ability to damage a dog's throat, especially if it isn't used correctly.

A head halter works for some dogs but doesn't work for others. It's certainly worth a try if you're undecided about what type you'd like to use. A prong collar is another option. For both the prong and the head collar, please have a qualified trainer show you how to put them on and use them correctly, don't rely on the folks at the pet store to show you how to do it right.

A front-clip harness is another option worth looking into.

With my dog, I've used a prong collar for training and then eventually went to a flat nylon collar, which is what she wears about 99% of the time now. I still occasionally use / bring the prong if I think I may need it.
 
#6 ·
Originally Posted By: Lola'sMommy
Originally Posted By: BowWowMeowHere's what I use. I absolutely love it: http://www.softouchconcepts.com/products/sense_sation_harness.html



I've used all of the other types of collars and this is my favorite, hands down.
Do you have good control with this collar? What I mean I guess is does it help you keep her/him in heel position without yanking your shoulder out of the socket?
I don't walk my dogs in a heel position, normally. If I need Rafi to heel then I give him the heel command and he heels but I don't do that for long periods. He walks nicely by my side or a bit ahead on this harness. I really don't mind what position he's in as long as he stays to my right side and doesn't pull. I have no trouble controlling him on this if he launches himself after a bunny or a squirrel.
 
#9 ·
As opposed to a prong??????

This is a front clip harness. It is just another tool but one that I find more humane than a collar and more comfortable for the dog. I don't like yanking on a dog's neck. And when you have a 60 pound puppy who is just seeing squirrels for the first time...well let's just say he sometimes forgets he's attached to me!
 
#10 ·
i have a front clip harness. it didn't stop luc from pulling, but it was nice to use for running. i use his new harness now though when we run. the only thing that stopped luc from pulling was the prong, though i use it on him about once every few months now, we've mostly moved past using it (we had a reoccurence of pulling when on leash lately, though he heels well off-leash....the pitfalls of over-concentrating on one thing. i've mostly worked on getting him back to good on-leash heeling without the prong, it's still a work in progress but we're getting better).

(edit to note: luc was also an extremely determined puller who'd not been walked for the first 3.5 years or so of his life....i tried flat collars, martingales, gentle leader (oh man), and 3 types of harnesses b/f we moved to the prong. i think in another dog, the front clip harness would be a good tool)

teagan is collarwise so is always on her prong. when i tried her on a flat collar, she went after a guy down the sidewalk. wasn't wearing my glasses, so i don't know what set her off there, but she was also more dog aggressive w/the flat collar. one day i'll get her off the prong, but we're not there yet....(man, i wonder what the people who had her before did with her - she came to me muzzle-trained, i wonder, did they just let her run amok? eesh)
 
#11 ·
lol at the squirrel posts, because that is exactly what Lola is doing. She chases them like mad in the back yard which is absolutely fine, but not so good on walks. We live in a cul de sac neighbor off of a busy road. I walk her 3x a day during the week and more on the weekends. The traffic is heavy during our 6-7ish PM walk and I really need to have control over her while walking on these sidewalks. She is allowed to run freely once I get her to open fields and the playground areas. Thank you so much for the suggestions, but harness' will not work for her, she needs more control as she is a wide chested lady....and man is this girl strong. She is constantely on "alert" during our walks which I am working on, and after 3 weeks of working on her walk she is greatly improving. As said in previous post, she is my 5th GSD but never had one as "alert" constantely as she is. I love her dearly but want control over her so that my 8 year old can also walk her, with mommy of course.

Thank you for your suggestions and I will check these out.
 
#12 ·
The front clip harness (that's the key--it clips in the front which means when the dog surges forward they swing back around towards you) is great for deep chested dogs. It worked better than a prong or a gentle leader for my 80 lb. (and very determined) gsd and my friend uses it for her even bigger (and very strong) gsd. All of the dogs are/were walked daily for 1-2 hours in high traffic areas.

The important thing is to teach a focus command so that they focus on you instead of the squirrel or whatever they're surging towards. Collars are great but they are really only a tool. Teaching polite leash walking is always the best course of action.
 
#13 ·
Originally Posted By: BowWowMeowThe front clip harness (that's the key--it clips in the front which means when the dog surges forward they swing back around towards you) is great for deep chested dogs. It worked better than a prong or a gentle leader for my 80 lb. (and very determined) gsd and my friend uses it for her even bigger (and very strong) gsd. All of the dogs are/were walked daily for 1-2 hours in high traffic areas.

The important thing is to teach a focus command so that they focus on you instead of the squirrel or whatever they're surging towards. Collars are great but they are really only a tool. Teaching polite leash walking is always the best course of action.
great advice thank you, thank you! I'm going to shop online and check out some local stores to see about getting one. That sounds like something I would be more happy to use knowing that it is not harmful to the throat/neck area. And I absolutely agree about a focus command, I've only had her 3 weeks now and we're making great progress, just have to keep at it.
 
#14 ·
Locally you will be able to find the Easy Walk front clip harness but I've only been ever able to find the Sense-ation harness on line. Rafi actually chewed through his shortly after I adopted him. (oops to me for leaving it in the back of the truck with him) and I was able to send it back and have them repair it!

The Easy Walk has a martingale style attachment at the front where you clip the harness. I have not tried that yet but see lots of people using them because they sell them at Petsmart now. Someone told me the Sense-ation brand are better for deep chested dogs but I don't know.
 
#18 ·
I'd be interested to hear from someone who has tried both. I got Brenna the easy walk one and she still pulls on it. She did not do well with the head collar either, it did stop the pulling but it made her very nervous and upset. She tends to pull for two reasons, excitement (squirrels/cats) or fear (people/noises). Walking nicely is a work in progress with us. lol
 
#19 ·
I love my "KC collars". In fact they are my girls every day collars. I like that they hang loose enough to not leave collar marks in their fur but when on a walk they work as a limited choke/limited slip collar. I have not been able to find the "same" collar as this so I have the Amish make them for me. It is versatile that you can use it on the live or dead ring depending on the level of listening they happen to be in that day.


 
#21 ·
I use the gentle leader with Onyx. I tried the sensation harness, but it kept turning and twisting, I probably didn't have it tight enough. The gentle leader is fine for awhile but then she starts trying to remove it and gets aggitated by it. Kacie is fine on the prong or flat collar, but will pull on the flat. I don't mind the dogs pulling when we first leave the house for a walk, they are excited. I do put them in a heel for a time and then give them freedom, back to heel, etc.
 
#22 ·
I did puchase a "walking no pull" harness of the weekend. Well this thing was so skinny that I felt uncomfortable with it because I felt that she could break through and then I'd be up the creek. It was also extremely complicated to put on her and she became annoyed that it was taking so long to figure it out. There was no clip to harness it on, you had to manipulate this thing to go on and slip over her and after 5 minutes I finally got it on. Well it did work, but I returned it the following day because I knew due to the complicated design that I probably wouldn't use it that much because it was a pain. I got this one at Pet Supermarket and will try Pet Smart next.
 
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