Sunday, February 22, 2009

Walking, halti, gentle leader, etc.

The halti, or gentle leader type collar is a second type of tool that you can use to teach your dog how to walk on a leash. It does not have to be one of these brands. The basic concept is that in addition to the collar that goes around the dog's neck there is a loop that goes over the muzzle and is fed through a small hole in the collar. The leash is attached to the loop that goes over the muzzle after it is fed through the small hole in the collar.
These halter type collars operate on the idea that the dog will follow his head. You are now able to determine how far you will let your dog go away from you. When the dog reaches this limit and tries to go beyond it the loop around its muzzle gently turns its head back toward you. Whether you let your dog walk ten feet in front of you or you don't let it lead your side as soon as the dog tries to go past your boundaries the leader will turn its head back to focus on you.
This is a tool that can help prevent your dog from becoming stiff-necked and stubborn. When your dog fixes its attention on any object other than you it is very easy to make a quick correction to refocus your dog. A quick little pull toward your body will direct your dog's head away from the object it is focused on and back to you, its leader.
The downfall of these halter type collars is that it can be very hard to get your dog to accept it. The idea of something looped around its muzzle regardless of whether or not it inhibits jaw movement is foreign and unnatural. Some dogs will toss their heads continuously, some will use their front paws to pull it off and some will chew until the leader is broken.
One way to help your dog accept a halter type collar is by associating the collar with food and treats, also start slowly. First, you can clip just the collar part around your dog's neck without putting the loop over the muzzle (how long you need to do this will very from dog to dog). Most dogs are ok with a collar around their necks so this shouldn't be a problem. Second, you can use food treats to intice your dog to put its muzzle through the loop but be sure to give a treat every time your dog puts its muzzle through the loop. After this has become comfortable for your dog you can move on to putting the loop around the muzzle and clipping the collar in place(give a reward treat) and leave the halter on for a time. At this point you can start walking for short amounts of time with the halter collar. Continue to increase the time your dog has the halter collar on little by little until you reach the amount of time you need for a full walk (you can continue above and beyond that).

No comments:

Post a Comment