I did a lot of reading in past threads about prong collars and the halti and gentle leaders because im trying to find the best rout to solve our pulling problem. Kiba pulls very hard and consistently. My back and shoulders hurt and walks are awful (i know its my fault for not working harder on leash manners)

She's almost 8 months old (and 30lbs). If i were to properly use a prong collar, how do i fit her correctly for one? Can dogs slip out of prong collars? On the other side, with using a head collar how do you prevent them getting out? and how would i properly fit her for one of those?

Thanks!!!

*side note- I'm not interested in trying a front clip harness as she pulls through them.

You will find that a lot of people here do not like the gentle leader as it hurts the neck area. I am the exception as I have used it with success.

Meeka was in the same boat as Kiba, constantly pulling all over the place. Initially when placing the GL, she will go nuts as they are not used to having something around their muzzle, Meeka got over it fairly quickly in 10 minutes and she basically almost after the first day stopped pulling.

I have been slowly transitioning back to her regular collar for walks, and still will go back occasionally to the GL to give it some use.

As Kiba is around 30 pounds, if you decide to go the GL route, I would suggest a Medium size. If fit and used properly she will not be able to slip out of it. The GL will come with a CD with tips on how to walk your dog with the GL.

I tried both prong collars and a gentle leader for Tasha, a pulling machine, and the prong collar worked fairly well. She hated the gentle leader and couldn't walk 2 steps without trying to scrape it off on something or paw it off. I really worked with her on it too, she just never could get used to it. So, I went for the prong collar. It totally ended her pulling, the only issue I had with it was that if the angle was just right and she wiggled just the right way, it would come apart, and off she'd go. But I noticed as long as I replaced it when the prongs felt like the were getting loose, the escapes didn't happen very often. A balance, which I also used was a martingale collar. It kind of helped with the pulling, but there is no way for them to slip those. For our golden, he would just pull and pull and choke himself, so the prong collar wasn't an option for him.

Both are very effective tools when used and fitted properly. For fitting I would have someone help you who knows how to fit them properly.

I personally prefer the head collar. But if you consider a head collar I would recommend the Canny collar which has a much better/more effective design than either the Gentle Leader or the Halti. The Halti and Gentle Leader pull the head around to the side if the dog pulls whereas the Canny collar pulls the head back like if you were to pull the reigns back on a horse to get it to stop.

I would make your choices between the Prong collarand the Canny collar.

Never heard of the Canny collar but i imagine that design would work very well.
Honestly i hadn't heard that the GL could damage the neck area before. My gut reaction is to think the prong collar may be inhumane but i've read that when properly used, its not inhumane at all. I also watched this guys youtube video about using it and it seemed to work well.

with the prong collar, can they just pop off if she pulls hard enough or is it only when the prongs need replacing? and for the gentle leader or canny, can they back out of it? or are they pretty hard to slip?

She has "okay" recall outside the house but it goes out the window when there's a squirrel so i do worry about her slipping any collar

We recently got Nanook a prong collar and it's worked wonders! I haven't had any issues with him pulling since I got it, or with him being able to slip it. As soon as it goes on he's a different dog. If he does pull he immediately stops which is nice. We got it mostly because my wife is in the same boat as you are with the pulling (Nanook is about 40lbs now). I don't see him being able to slip out of it, but I can see how it might be possible if the links were going bad. They do sell replacement links that you can use to either resize the collar or replace links. I I think we got him a medium and tested it at the store to make sure it'd fit (sales associate let us open the box it was in).

It did't pop off when she pulled, it would pop off if the prongs worked themselves open. It's kind of hard to describe but if you look at the way its constructed, the two prongs on the links go through two small holes on the next link. Sometimes they would work their way out and pop off. It seems like the outward tension of the prongs on the holes helps keep them in. After a lot of use that tension lessens and then the prongs slip out of the holes more easily. Tasha was never in pain from the collar, believe me, she wouldn't be shy in letting me know. The only time it ever hurt her, is if it got tangled in her coat, which, especially during winter would happen from time to time.

Have you looked into the harnesses that have the clip in the front like on their chest... I dont have problems with koda pulling so i never tried it but i heard about them. Its supposed to make it very had for the the to pull cause if they tried it would actually turn their body around.. But i never used it and doesnt know how well it works..

Yes I have and in fact, we started with a front clip harness that she promptly broke. I think it was probably a mix of poor construction and her just lunging and things. I think they probably work but im wary to try one so that's why i was more leaning towards the prong or head collars. But thanks for the suggestion. I certainly think that would be the easiest and least painful suggestion.

Head collars are safe to use if used properly. Whether you use a head collar, prong collar or choke chain they can all cause injury if not used properly. All are safe and effective when used as they should be.

Prongs can get loose and pop off, that's not unheard of but it shouldn't happen on a regular basis. Whether you use a prong or head collar I would advise attaching a clip from the training collar to the regular collar so that you have a back up should the dog manage to slip out of either. I have seen dogs slip out of head collars not fitted properly (my own included) but I have never heard of or seen a dog slip a properly fitted head collar.

I've used a prong collar and a Halti head collar at certain points and I personally prefer the head collar but that's just me.

Edited to add: I think all head collars have a clip that attaches to the dogs regular collar as a safety precaution in case the dog ever slips the head collar.

Great idea with clipping the training collar to the regular collar. I don't think they could slip a prong collar either, mine was an issue of the prongs loosening and popping open.

Yeah they should not be able to slip a properly fitted prong collar either. All the cases of dogs getting loose while on prong collars that I'm aware of have been due to the prongs getting loose also.

Well knowing that they can be clipped to the regular collar in case of a prong popping off makes me feel much better about about it. Since i bought a new regular collar with a metal clasp, she hasnt broken it and i've never had her slip it.

I think ill just do another examination of both when i can get a chance today. seems like a pretty equal split with both sides having success using either. All of this feedback is wonderful though. thank you!!!

after deliberating about it i bought a Gentle leader type of harness. However, im returning it today to get the REAL Gentle Leader. Let it be known that when you buy a lesser version of this, its probably not worth the discounted price you paid lol. I think that the Gentle Leader will work well based on the trial run we did yesterday with our knockoff but the value brand was extremely difficult to adjust and size correctly. If the GL doesnt work i'll probably just return it and end up with a prong collar but i feel very hopeful about this!

We use a prong on jack and it has neve come off. To fit it you will need to have it sit above where a collar fits, just under the ears. You will have to remove links, we got the med sz one for him. If you use the prong please look up how to fit it, there is info out there, its not hard.
You could also look into getting a walking belt so you don't have to hold the leash, it works wonders for saving your upper body!

Good suggestion! i do have a walking belt but i tend to only use it when we are on trails because i feel a little silly with it around my neighborhood. its just stupid vanity- i know. But your absolutely right about them because when she pulls on the belt its very rare that it bothers me. i'm hoping to really get to the root of the issue though and just train her not to pull.

When we first got Bodhi, we used the prong collar for walks, because he was rambunctious.
I don't use it any more, but my wife does.
We had the problem of the prong collar popping open too.
Here is a photo of a simple back-up I made:
https://www.itsahuskything.com/t3638-prong-collar-popping-open?highlight=prong+collar

[quote="wpskier222" the only issue I had with it was that if the angle was just right and she wiggled just the right way, it would come apart, and off she'd go. But I noticed as long as I replaced it when the prongs felt like the were getting loose, the escapes didn't happen very often. ... [/quote]

OMG the exact same thing happened to us and Maya where she would shake her head and lo-and-behold the prong-collar had disconnected! Because we really like the way she walks with that collar (which for us is really only needed for the first 20 minutes) I added a small loop of rope between the lead and her real collar as a safety, but as someone suggested, if you check that the links are snug before the walk you'll be fine and since I started checking, the collar has never disconnected.

I, personally, don't like prong collars. I'm a Vet Tech and have gotten tangled in many of them with scars to prove it. Personal vendetta.

I also think the head collars are more effective. In my experience, the prong and choke collars will still allow the dog to pull once they get used to them. We use a Gentle Leader on Murphy and it works well. It took her a while to get used to; she hated it at first.

Another think you can do is run the leash under a front leg. It then pulls the head down and slows the pull. If, like Murphy, they figure that one out then you can loop the leash around the abdomen in front of the hips. When they pull, it lifts their hips up and is uncomfortable (imagine tightening a belt tight). There are leashes designed with an extra ring for this.

Michael that little thing you rigged as a safety in case it pops off is perfect! We did end up going with the Halti specifically because it attaches to the collar in case of it coming off. i needed that peace of mind with walking her. I have to tell you all that im absolutely amazed by this little gem! Yes, initially she wasn't terribly pleased to have it on her head but once we started walking she forgot about it and walked like a perfect lady. My back and arms are saved!

So this is a little bit old now, but I wanted to just give some feedback about my experience:

I personally will never use a prong collar, just seen too many animals hurt by them plus tightening on the neck of any type as they pull does not give the natural stop queue to a dog, so I stay away from them.

For Maya, we tried the gentle leader and front clip harnesses, but even from a young age she was not phased by them, she just kept pulling. My trainer told me I was doing it wrong and had me bring Maya by for a proper fitting (as he said this was why it didnt work) and it turned out it was fit correct and Maya could just keep pulling and it didn't even turn her head one bit to discourage the pulling. So anytime I didn't have treats she was a pulling machine. This didn't change until she turned 6months of age (age recommended to wait before you start using e-callars) when with a single 15min training session with her e-collar she does a perfect lose leash walk or heel when asked to be right at my side (with or without a leash attached) a little bit of work here and there over the next month or so to further reinforce, and now a year later shes still never pulls when on leash and still stays at my side when I don't leash her and ask her to.

We ended up with a holt because I liked the fact that it clipped to her collar as security. So far it's been amazing!! We've hiked and walked and she no longer jumps at people or lunges at squirrels and knows better than to pull. Didn't take much for her to figure it out. Well probably work on training so that the holts not a permanent thing but its saved my back and shoulders. Thanks for the feedback about the e collar. I hadn't even thought about it because I don't have experience with them. This forum definetly broadens my horizons!

I have the easy walk on my two right now and will try that for jaspers training class in september or my trainer suggests the prong. I thought about an e collar im just not quite sure how to use them and im not comfortable with them. Ive thought about board and training also but i dont quite trust people with my fur butts enough.

A pulling Husky is a great thing and should be encouraged! A harness, pair of ski's or roller skates and were off to the emergency room Such great advice has been given I had nothing to add so I went for a laugh.