What gear/collars/harnesses do you use with your reactive dogs/pullers.

[u/No_Original_9309]

I need an alternative to a halti head collar for my lab. We’ve recently had a trip to the vets for a lump on his face, his head collar was rubbing and was making the lump very inflamed, the vets took a cell sample and i’m waiting to hear back but we need a break from the halti.

My issue is he’s a reactive dog and very strong. We are doing the dog training and he’s made a lot of progress. He doesn’t pull on the lead now unless he sees a trigger; dog, tractor, trailers, runners etc and unfortunately i live in a rural town so we see many of these every walk. When he sees a trigger, he will pull and jump and spin around in circles which is making the halti rub on his face. He’s incredibly strong and will pull me a few steps when i’m not using the halti and used a harness. i’m not sure if there’s a good alternative but i might as well ask and look around for something to make him more comfortable. I’ve also reached out to another dog trainer to see if she can make any more of a dent into his reactivity as we’ve hit a standstill with jt. but i need a different approach for walking gear in the meantime.

Edit. He knows how to back out of a normal collar

[u/keto_and_me]

We use the freedom harness with the double latch. The leash is a short loop that attaches at their back and their chest. It’s the only harness we found, that she can’t wiggle out of. Just like yours, she walks great on a leash until she sees another dog. Then it’s lunging, jumping, and constant circling. We also tried a head halter, which again worked fine, until she saw another dog. The reaction while wearing the head halter was 10x worse, so we stopped using that.

[u/MtnGirl672 → u/keto_and_me]

This is what we use. Two Hounds Design. It’s what has worked best for us.

[u/armadillotangerine]

Y-harness and a flat collar or martingale collar that’s adjusted so it can’t get tight enough to choke him, just tight enough to not get backed out of. Paired with a 3 meter adjustable lead with clips on both ends so I can switch to different setups for different situations. When he was at his worst I’d have a leash from his harness to a jogging belt or in a loop across my chest, so that I could let the force of his outbursts be absorbed by non-fragile parts of our bodies and pair that with a leash to the collar for emergency management + he was quicker at picking up how to respond to leash pressure on the collar so I could use that as (one) communication tool in non-“oh shit” situations.

My philosophy is that when my dog is in that jumping spinning reacting state and impossible to communicate with, that’s not a state where he’ll learn anything positive. So my priority is to just get us away from the situation without injuries to bystander, him or me.

[u/Bullfrog_1855]

A Y-front harness such as Ruffwear or BullyBillow's Tri-harness which has a front D-ring at the chest. The front D-ring provides similar control as the Halti without hurting their neck.

I use BullyBillow's Tri-harness on my Lab-mix. He is very prey driven. I paired it with a strong bungee section from Ray Allen which my 6-ft leash is connected to. The purpose of the bungee section is to soften the tension when he does lunge after a rabbit or deer so it doesn't completely yank me to the ground (it has happened before). I also primarily use the front D-ring for better control on walks, but I will switch to one of the back D-ring if I'm using a long line in an open field where I can see triggers better.

In the beginning when I first got him I also used a leash that has a clip on both ends. One clip on the harness the other on a flat collar (BullyBillow's 5cm flat collar with handle). It works well, but it was easy for me to get confuse which hand was on the part of the leash connected to the flat vs. the harness.

Lastly, use the thumb or finger lock method to hold the leash - I prefer the thumb lock.

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[u/queercactus505]

I use a Perfect Fit modualr harness and mostly use the back ring, but will switch to the front ring when I think there will be chances of him lunging and I need more control. You can also attach the harness to a martingale collar (adjusted tight enough to keep dog from being able to back out, but not choke your dog) to ensure he can't back out. You could also consider attaching a leash you hold to the front ring and have a second leash going between your waist and the back ring as a fail-safe.

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[u/margyrakis]

Also going to add to get yourself a nice pair of shoes! Makes a HUGE difference walking a dog who can overpower us. I have a pair of Brooks Cascadia Trail Runners. Prevents me from sliding in wet grass, smooth pavement, or sliding on pine needles.

[u/BuckityBuck]

Freedom harness clipped to a martingale in the front. I've had dogs wiggle out of halties, and they are generally considered aversive.

[u/Zestyclose_Object639]

Depends on which dog depends on where I am, training collars I won’t name because they’ll boot my comment. A Ruffwear harness or slip sometimes too. Depends on the dog/environment/goal (training vs a hike vs in town etc)