Although my dogs have all been to obedience classes and know how to "heel," sometimes youthful enthusiasm gets the better of them. I tried a number of different types of collars, but certain stimuli such as a wayward grouse compels Tika (my hyperkinetic Golden Retriever) to try and yank my arm off in pursuit.
However, I recently discovered a new way to walk my hounds. The "Gentle Leader" head halter is not really a collar at all. Unlike a regular collar or harness, a head halter controls your dog from its head, not its neck. These collars use the same principle as a horse halter: where the head goes, the body follows. After all, no one leads a horse around using a chain around its neck, so the obvious question is why do we do this with dogs? A loop goes over the nose and another loop goes under the chin and buckles at the back of the head. Although it looks somewhat like a muzzle, it’s not. A dog wearing the Gentle Leader can open its mouth, pant, drink, and eat.
According to the Gentle Leader documentation, the halter works with the dog’s instincts. The nose loop corrects in much the same way a wolf pack leader would grasp a subordinate wolf by the muzzle. And the pressure at the back of the neck from the second loop simulates how a mother dog handles her puppies. The result in many cases is a calmer more focused dog.
Just as it takes a puppy a while to get used to a collar, it takes a while for a dog to get used to the loop over its nose. However, once the dog realizes that something good is going to happen when you bring out the halter ("oh boy a walk!"), it becomes a very positive thing. With Tika, the transformation is nothing short of miraculous. As astonishing as this may be to anyone who has met her, walking Tika is now a pleasure. Sporting her stylish green Gentle Leader, she calmly and quietly walks along next to me. If a troublesome grouse appears, a gentle pull on the halter is all it takes to return her focus to me. No more yanking and no more pain in my arm.
(For more information about the Gentle Leader, you can call the manufacturer at 800-933-5595)