Tools I’ve Tried to Stop Levi from Pulling
Introduction
Hi everyone, today I wanted to talk about some of the various tools designed to stop your dog from pulling. These tools are all meant to help with lunging, pulling, or both. Levi falls into the category of both. In his specific case, Levi is fear reactive, so he pulls to be able to see what’s going on and then lunges to deter strangers from coming closer to us. This is a particularly difficult issue for me considering we live in a very dog friendly building and I have tried multiple different tools and methods to get him to stop. Since I have given a couple of them a fair try, I wanted to talk about my experience and opinions about each of them. Also, just in case anyone is thinking it, Levi is learning the concept of loose leash walking and does in fact know how to heel, however I don’t believe it’s realistic to ask him to walk in a heel the entire time.
Please keep in mind, this is my specific experience with my dog, Levi. Every dog is different and it’s about finding the right tool that works for your dog, so you might have very different experiences and feelings about these tools.
The Tools
top left: head halter | top right: starmark collar | bottom left: front clip harness | bottom right: prong collar
The tools I will specifically be talking about today are the front clip harness, the starmark collar, the prong collar, and the head halter. I believe that all of these tools can be good or bad, it depends on how they’re being used and how the dog responds to it. A poorly fitted harness can be abusive just as a correctly used prong collar can be productive. I’ll get more into that as I talk about each tool on it’s own but I wanted to mention it now since some are considered more problematic than others.
The Front Clip Harness
The front clip harness is probably the most common method used to stop pulling. It’s designed so that the leash is clipped at the front of your dog’s chest. The front clip harness takes the pressure from pulling off of your dog’s neck. It also aims to give your dog less leverage to pull/lunge with. These are the least unpleasant for most dogs in general since they’re easy for the dog to get used to wearing. If they’re fitted correctly they also shouldn’t cause any discomfort.
I personally did not like the front clip harness. I tried it for about a month and tried various front clip harness designs. Levi is a strong puller and he just didn’t care at all about the harness. In fact, he kept pulling like nothing had changed. He would use the tension he’d create through pulling to bypass the fact that the leash was clipped to the front. I even watched him pull hard enough that the harness itself was being pulled off to one side. In terms of lunging, the harness would cause him to turn so he couldn’t get the leverage to lunge fully if it was at something far away. If he was lunging at something close to us, it didn’t really help. My biggest complaint in general was about the design when Levi wasn’t pulling. The metal clip of the leash would bang against Levi’s legs as he’d walk. Levi in particular has very skinny legs and short hair, so I always worried that the repeated hitting of the clip against his legs would hurt or bruise him. I think overall, front clip harnesses can be great, especially for dogs that pull but maybe aren’t as determined to pull. In Levi’s case, this was definitely not the right choice for him.
The Starmark Collar
The starmark collar is a “less harsh” version of a prong collar. It’s made out of plastic with links that create pressure on your dog’s neck if they pull. It’s meant to be used high on the dog’s neck and if they pull, it creates pressure, which should deter them from pulling. This is definitely a step up in terms of pressure in response to pulling or lunging but I’ve found it’s more recommended for dogs who are strong or determined enough pullers that the front clip harness doesn’t work. That said, extremely strong pullers shouldn’t use this since it is a plastic collar and it could break. In terms of using the starmark collar, it’s designed so that as the dog pulls, even pressure is applied. However, I have also seen trainers use it for quick pops meant to get the dog’s attention.
I didn’t particularly find the starmark collar helpful for Levi in the long run. The first couple of weeks he would stop pulling if the pressure around his neck increased. With time, he just stopped caring. If he wanted to pull, he’d sacrifice his neck. Additionally, the quick pops didn’t grab his attention if he was focused on something else. It definitely didn’t stop him from lunging and because it goes around his neck, he can actually get leverage. Similar to the front clip harness, I think this tool could work for a different dog, but because of Levi’s fear reactivity he just ignores it, which wasn’t helpful.
The Prong Collar
The prong collar is very similar to the starmark collar except it’s made of metal links. It also creates pressure on your dog’s neck if they pull and should sit high on the dog’s neck. This tool is definitely the most taboo in terms of stopping a dog from pulling. The biggest thing about a prong collar is using it correctly. This collar is only meant for applying even pressure as the dog pulls. Yanking it or doing “quick pops” like described for the starmark collar can be extremely problematic.
I had a very similar experience using the prong collar as I did with the starmark collar. It deterred Levi from pulling at first but then he just stopped caring. He would pull hard enough that he’d whimper because of the pressure. This collar did deter him a bit in terms of lunging but it didn’t increase the control I had over Levi. I will say though, my family’s dog, Finn, wears a prong collar for walks and it works extremely well on him. Finn doesn’t pull at all if he has the prong collar on because he doesn’t like the pressure. He’s too strong to not wear some sort of corrective tool and a front clip harness is definitely not enough for him. For Finn, the prong collar is a great tool that completely fixes his pulling problem.
The Head Halter
The head halter is the most recent tool I’ve tried with Levi. It has one loop that goes around your dog’s muzzle and another that goes around their neck. The two straps link together at your dog’s chin where it connects to a leash. Since it goes around your dog’s muzzle, it does limit their ability to open their mouth. That said, Levi can easily take treats, eat, and drink with it on. Instead of applying pressure to your dog’s neck or chest, the head halter applies pressure to their head. In terms of lunging, similar to the front halter, the dog can’t use the leash as leverage. With regard to pulling, it aims to deter the dog because of the pressure on their head created by the tension with the leash. The head halter is probably the hardest adjustment for dogs since it’s constantly in their face and applies pressure in a very different way.
I’ve only been using the head halter with Levi for a few weeks but so far it has been very helpful. Although it doesn’t stop him from freaking out about a stranger, it definitely doesn’t have the ability to gain leverage like he gets in the other three tools. If Levi tries to pull, the head halter physically turns his head from the pressure, so it forces him to stop. As he has gotten used to it, he definitely continues to try to pull, however the head collar definitely forces him to stop if he pulls too hard. In terms of lunging, it has definitely stopped him from being able to properly lunge. When he tries, he gets turned to the side because of the momentum and the location of the leash clipped to his head rather than his neck or chest. Levi absolutely hates the head halter more than any other tool. Whenever he gets reactive about another dog it turns into him angrily trying to rip off the head halter. This definitely concerns me that he’s going to break it so I tend to walk him with another tool on just in case I need to move the leash. In general, the head halter seems to remove the most ability to gain leverage to pull or lunge.
Conclusion
Overall, I think all of these tools can be extremely helpful depending on you and your dog’s needs. For me currently, it seems like the head halter is the one that’s working the best, much to Levi’s dismay. And while I know a lot of this post was talking about my experience and opinions, maybe it will help inform you about the options for deterring pulling!
Also shoutout to Levi for posing for all of these photos. He got a treat after every pose and then some extra at the end as a thank you.
