Halti vs. a collar vs. a harness.

What tools are available? 

First off to begin this discussion we need to realise that in the dog world, we really only have three broad categories of tools to use when it comes to training your dog. These are as follows: 

1) Chest/Body harness

2) Neck collar- be they a martingale, choker, or normal collar.

And

3) Nose halter.

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What do I recommend: 

Spoiler alert - the video above shows why I recommend haltis around the nose rather than leads connected to collars or chest harnesses. I've chosen to put my preference at the start of this article for transparency, so you are aware from the start of what my preference is - though I don't expect you to take my advice without proofing it yourself. In fact, that's what my philosophy is all about - providing education, information and guidance in a manner which allows those I train to make their own informed choices. I am, after all, a teacher by trade long before I became a dog trainer. So read on below for my breakdown of each of the different types of tools available and why I recommend a correctly used halti for *most* dogs.

But before I provide this breakdown, back to the video for a brief moment. Essentially, the video demonstrates what’s inside a dog's neck. - All the delicate structures that exist in a dog's throat, neck, chest, and body. This video will be referred to throughout this article. 

Brief overview of body harnesses: 

Now, lets start with a chest/body harness. Why don't I use these in my course? Simple: Think for a moment if someone grabbed you by the chest and tried to pull you backward. Consider the amount of energy you would be able to exert to counter that force and pull forward. If you were particularly strong, or bigger than the person pulling you, they'd have a hard time getting you where they wanted you, and in order to do so they would need to use a lot of force and pressure. All of this force and pressure would be directed smack bang onto your lungs, chest, stomach and heart. This is akin to when people use a body harness on larger and medium sized dogs. In fact, most big dogs would have a field day with you on the end of that harness because they could take you wherever they wanted. And the large dogs that didn't, were probably taught to walk on that harness when they weren't large (ie when they were a pup). However, usually by time people get to me, if they have a large dog, it's already large. When they're in my course I need to know they have control of their dog AND have the stamina to proceed with the rest of the training (ie they're not using all of their energy just to stop their dog from going and seeing all the other dogs).

Now for little dogs - have you ever seen the little dog on a harness that's front legs are pounding the air (yes you read that right - the air)? They're pulling just as hard on that harness as a bigger dog it's just lucky that their owner is stronger. Now all this pulling on the harness is still pressing on your dog's internal organs. Which still isn't great!

But for arguments sake, let's say you reply with: but my dog walks nicely on the harness. Brilliant! I'm glad. But two things:

1) You probably aren't about to pay $660 if you're dog is already great. (Though you're welcome to! but mostly dogs that already walk brilliantly and listen to their owners are not the dogs I get in the course).

And

2) During the stage when your pup was learning to walk on that harness there would have still been  a lot of pressure going on that chest area because no dog puts a lead on and immediately walks without pulling - no matter what the apparatus you are using. In short, I want you to understand that during the learning stage there will always be pulling. 

Hence, I still say no to a body harness whether a big dog or a small one.

 

Brief overview of collars: 

The next option we have is the collar- choking, martingale or other. Let me explain why I don't like them. First off, imagine the same scenario above, but now someone is trying to pull you backward by placing their hands around the neck. As you fight it, pressure is going on your airways, and eventually, you are going to be severely injured. It's the same with your dog. Whenever a dog is taught to walk on a lead with a collar there is a period of time where they don't know how to walk and so they pull. This pulling causes issues with the internal structures of their neck. And injuries are more common than you might think when using a collar - regardless of type. Trachea collapse is a common one. In fact, every method of teaching your dog to walk on a lead has some pulling occurring before they walk nicely. So yes, down the track your dog might walk nicely with a collar, just as they can be taught to walk nicely with a harness, just as they will walk nicely with a halti, but again, the process of getting to that "walking nicely stage" can be quite dangerous for your dog's neck and spine if teaching them on a collar.

 

Brief overview of haltis: 

Which brings me to our last option - a nose halti. Once more imagine back to the person pulling you from behind. With the body harness you had the ability to pull against them quite well; with the collar it was less than the harness, but still somewhat there, but imagine if they were pulling you by your nose. How much ability do you have to pull away? Let me tell you: next to none. You see, body harnesses and collars actually promote pulling before they teach not pulling. This is because a dog's natural instinct is to pull forward (just watch a team of sled dogs- there's a reason why they're in body harnesses to pull that sled behind them!). But haltis stop the pulling game from the start. Why? Because your dog realises they have so little ability to pull, and when they are pulling it's unpleasant WITHOUT the increased risk of causing injuries like when using a collar tool. This is because the force created from a pulling dog on a halti is not pulling directly onto the airway or other sensitive organs, as well as the fact that you need to use so little force on their nose compared to a harness or collar.  

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Which dogs shouldn't use a halti?

I need to caveat my preference for haltis by saying there are some breeds of dogs that haltis are not suitable for. These include most Brachyscome dogs, including but not limited to French Bulldogs; Pugs; Cavalier King Charles Spaniels with a short nose; and Maltese. Also, dogs that have a personal health history of breathing difficulties. These dogs should be careful regardless of what type of training tool is used (harness, halti or collar) as each apparatus can cause reduced air capacity if used incorrectly. 

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So as a short summary, why do I recommend using a halti during my training?

1) For yours and your dog's safety. 

I train dogs in group settings. Most of the dogs that attend I haven't met before, so I don't know what their personality, temperament or reactivity is like. I need to know that all of my participants and their dogs are safe at all times in the course. This means, I need to know that owners have the ability to restrain their dogs and stop them from bounding over and invading other dog's/people's personal space. 

2) For your ability to focus on what I am teaching rather than using all your energy to control your dog.

Most dogs I train are not obedient prior to the course starting. Many dogs are also large breeds. If you're spending all your effort and physical strength holding your dog back from the other dogs, chances are you won't have the ability to listen to the information being presented or to do the activities as well as you otherwise could. 

3) For your dog's wellbeing.

A popular component of my courses is teaching your dogs to walk nicely on a loose lead (a lead that hangs by your side without being taut). In order to get to this place, I teach using three activities which facilitates a bond of trust between your dog and you (check out my article on teaching loose lead walking for more on this). During the training process there will be periods where your dog pulls - again, this would occur regardless of whether you were using a collar, harness or halti. The pressure exerted by your dog's pulling power (not yours) when using a halti goes directly onto their nose. If we were using a collar, the pressure would end up directly on their neck causing risks to their internal airway structures. Your dog would also have more pulling power - as they can pull forward with more force when you are holding them back from their neck rather than their nose. If we were using a harness, the amount of pulling power they had would be a lot higher and we would need to use a lot more strength and force to counter their pulling, than when we use a halti. 

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Public misperceptions:

Unfortunately public misperceptions around haltis abound.  There are a few reasons for this.

The first is that haltis are often incorrectly associated with a muzzle. The belief exists that a dog cannot open their mouth, drink, eat or bite if wearing a halti. This is incorrect on all levels as a dog that is wearing a halti correctly can do all three of those behaviours at will.  Nevertheless, incorrect comments are regularly heard such as "why does your dog need to wear a muzzle?" Or, "Oh just take that thing off his nose." However, the reality is, a halti is actually kinder, less forceful, and less injury-causing than a collar. It just isn't as common and so when ill-informed people see a halti they assume muzzle. 

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The second is the mislabelling of the halti as an aversive tool. I had one lady contact me after completing my course with the following message:  "So I just made a comment on a Facebook page I follow for cattle dogs and I got deleted. All I suggested was the halti how it worked on my boy in his training and it was the best thing I used and this is what they sent me (she sent a photo of the message - it read "we are all here to help with enriching you and your dog's interaction. The use of aversive tools like bark, prong, choke, slip, shock collars is unacceptable and cruel. Please note we do not allow suggestions or discussions about the use of head collars such as gentle leaders or halti types due to their potential to be aversive.".

Unfortunately this is not an uncommon query I receive from people when they first sign up to my training, that of whether the halti is aversive. So here's my answer to the lady which I feel explains this public misperception: 

"I wonder if they realise that everything has the "potential to be aversive"... a hand that pats for a reward can also be a hand that hits out of frustration; a voice that speaks love and praise for affection can also be a voice that yells and causes fear through intimidation. The halti is not in and of itself aversive. Just as a hand is not in and of itself aversive. It is the way it is used. If you use the halti in a manner that it is always tight, pulling non-stop, and in a manner that applies so much force it hurts the dog, then yes, the halti in that context is aversive. So too, a collar. But this is why with every halti sold it explains that there needs to be a U shape in the halti toggle and the lead, it's why from the very start of the course I correctly fit every halti and teach people how it should hang. It is correct, a halti has the potential to be aversive when used incorrectly, but it also has the potential to be the least aversive tool dog trainers have available to them if used correctly." 

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The third is the misunderstanding that haltis create 'shut down dogs'. 

This 'is a load of rubbish. The halti is a tool - just as a collar is, just as a harness is. It doesn't create dogs that are 'shut downed' it can do nothing of the sort. Shut down dogs - ie dogs that act depressed, closed, etc, occur because of a few reasons: 1) abuse - a dog that is fearful of you can fall into a pattern of depressed submission; 2) learned helplessness - a dog that refuses to try because their prior attempts have been inappropriately corrected or not rewarded; 3) confused - a dog that doesn't understand what it is you are wanting of them, will be less inclined to try because they are confused. All three of these reasons comes back to the owner and how they are interacting with their dog rather than the tool they are using. If a halti created 'shut down dogs' then I wouldn't explain over and over again on my Facebook pages the importance of owner consistency, and practice. Why? Becuase apparently, the halti would do it all for you and immediately create a calm (albeit for the wrong reasons) dog. No, instead I am not shy to say that my training courses 100% train you as the owner, as well as the dog, and rely on your commitment to the training in order to be successful. 

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Last comments:

In the end, a wish I have for the common public is to realise that haltis are not muzzles, and are instead intended for the purpose of keeping your dog injury free while you train them to walk nicely on a loose lead. It is of course important to know how to walk your dog on a halti -I.e. the halti shouldn't always be tight (while it won't harm your dog, it also won't be enjoyable either). Hence: a halti is still no replacement for proper training when it comes to walking on a lead, but, in my opinion for the reasons outlined, it is certainly a better intermediary than a collar or chest harness.