We are bringing home our new puppy tomorrow! We had a husky in the past who we never could get to stop pulling on the leash. My aunt who breeds/raises wolf dogs highly recommends the gentle leader collar to train to not pull. I did a search of the forum and couldn't find any past discussions. What do all of you think? Is this a good tool to train against pulling?

We definitely do have past threads on head collars. Maybe try searching "head collar" or "halti" instead?

I think head collars make good training tools when used appropriately. In any event, they should not be used on a puppy. I would recommend the Canny collar over the Halti or Gentle Leader collar for training an older dog.

I use the Gentle Leader on Juneau and she is 9 months old. I didn't have to start using it on her until she was around 5-6 months - when she started to really pull me around (small frame and strong husky don't mix well).

Start training very early when you walk. Try to keep them at your side. Praise with small treats as you are walking (and they're walking properly at your side).

For what it's worth, I got the Gentle Leader on Amazon. It's a medium and still fits her. Please read the directions on proper fitting!!!

Please know that head collars bear some risk. If your pup sees a squirrel and jolts really hard for it, he/she could possibly hurt their neck and pinch their spine! Just try to keep their attention focused on you and you'll be fine.

You can also look into prong/pinch collars. Safe. Even try putting it onto your thigh. It should pinch to get attention, but not hurt!

Hope I helped.

We are using the Holt which might have been the Halti. We worked with our trainer and started when Lo was ten months or so. I've never used a head halter before so I was really glad that the trainer worked with us. It it took some getting used to on both our parts meaning dog and walker.

Thank you all for your advice. Huskyluv...I appreciate the advice on search terms. We have decided against the gentle leader. I would hate for our baby to be injured over something so easily avoided. We are just going to work on leash manners.

My husky came to me between 6-8 months old. He was dragging (and I do literally mean DRAGGING) his previous owner around on the gentle leader. People put it on their dog and expect no training I guess.lol. It took me three weeks and he was walking on a flat collar and leash- no pulling. I prefer to use the easy walk harness if we're heading out someplace really crowded. I've seen dogs whose owners use the gentle leader (incorrectly) and it cuts into the dogs face- so keep in mind, it involves training no matter which route you go. I opted for the easy walk because it seemed a lot more comfortable to my dog and I was more comfortable using it. You wouldn't believe the people I've seen here in NY walking their dog on a gentle leader/halti with an extendable leash- can you say death trap!! Poor dogs! LOL. All in all it comes down to what you're comfortable with