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View Poll Results: What type of leash, collar, harness do you use?
Regular Leash 20 68.97%
One of those leashes that pulls out of a plastic handle 4 13.79%
leather bluckle collar 4 13.79%
buckle collar that is not leather 5 17.24%
platic clip or clasp collar 5 17.24%
velcro collar 0 0%
head leash 2 6.90%
harness 10 34.48%
muzzle 0 0%
Other 10 34.48%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 29. You may not vote on this poll

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  #1  
Old September 13th, 2006, 02:18 AM
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ChancesMom ChancesMom is offline
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Head leash/leash collar question

Hi!

I noticed in another thread that a couple of you were talking about using the head leashes... I thought that it would be interesting to hear what types of leashes and collars or harnesses we use and how they work for us.

Chance uses a leather collar and regular leash but also has a one piece walking harness that he does wear occassionally to make walking him easier for my son.

He also has a one piece leash that makes like a "slip collar" that appears when we put the end of the leash through the ring.

Take care.
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  #2  
Old September 13th, 2006, 04:59 AM
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angeldogs angeldogs is offline
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I use a harness.The lead clips to the front ring at the chest so he doesn't have full pulling power.My leash has a handle at the top.And a handle at the bottom.About 2 inches from the end to keep him beside me.
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  #3  
Old September 13th, 2006, 05:19 AM
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I used to use a harness until I tried the gentle leader. Now it is my best friend . Hunter is much better behaved when he has it on, so our walks can be much more relaxed.
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  #4  
Old September 13th, 2006, 07:40 AM
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BMDLuver BMDLuver is offline
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For my Berner youngster I use a plastic clip collar and leather leash as he's still developing and walks sedately on leash, nothing else has been needed.

For my old Berner gal, I use a martingale collar and leather leash as she tends to start the walk off at too brisk a pace. That way I can switch the collar over once we've gone a few blocks.

The rescues I use whatever is needed depending on the dog and it's activity level and ability to walk politely on a leash. Probably the only type I never have used is the GL, which quite a few dogs have arrived with in their bag. I did take an obedience course using one so that I was completely sure of the proper technique but honestly I find them awkward most likely due to my height.
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  #5  
Old September 13th, 2006, 07:48 AM
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greaterdane greaterdane is offline
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For the danes and my shep mix, I use a martigale style collar or a 2" flat nylon buckle collar.

For the chis, I walk them with a harness. The step in kind that clips behind their neck.

Here is an example of the martigale style collar.


Last edited by greaterdane; September 13th, 2006 at 07:54 AM.
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  #6  
Old September 13th, 2006, 07:58 AM
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OntarioGreys OntarioGreys is offline
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Winnie - nylon collar with plastic side release. and nylon leash

Nikki - leather buckle collar, with matching leash

Sunny - martingale collar, nylon leash

Maya - martingale collar connected to a harness with a short couplers as a back up to prevent potential escapes, and nylon leash
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  #7  
Old September 13th, 2006, 09:34 AM
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Esaunders Esaunders is offline
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Amos
Leash: 6' leather or 18" traffic lead depending on situation
Collar: Rolled leather buckle or rolled nylon slip collar depending on level of distraction in environment.
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  #8  
Old September 13th, 2006, 11:57 AM
SnowDancer SnowDancer is offline
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My choices did not show up in Poll! We use a regular leash and a combo Safey Harness with seat belt attachment for our Eskimo - and we also have a Martingale collar for his ongoing non-treat based training.
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  #9  
Old September 13th, 2006, 01:42 PM
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Charley always wears a collar with his tags. If we're going out he wears one of two walking harnesses (to protect a weak trachea). I use nylon leashes, the 6 in 1 is my favorite.
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  #10  
Old September 13th, 2006, 01:43 PM
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technodoll technodoll is offline
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we use flat nylon martingale collars on both akitas, and regular nylon leashes for day-to-day activities. for some walks, they each have their fancy leather studded collars & matching leather leashes. maika walks like an angel, dakotah is a pain in the @ss with pulling, lunging, sniffing, etc. grrrr. no collars are effective on that hard-head.
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  #11  
Old September 13th, 2006, 02:13 PM
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Maia has a plain buckle collar and leather leash. She knows 'heel' and usually walks perfectly unless she sees a dog in the distance. Then she jumps around and whines, but eventually listens. She doesn't pull on a walk. She really is an angel.

Sam has a plain buckle collar and a newtrix halter. He wears the halter until we get to the park where he gets to run around off leash and play fetch. Once the sillies are out, we just go with the buckle collar. He has a nylon leash with a loop at the bottom for extra security. He is just too strong to go without some kind of tool in case he decides to pull. Normally he walks with a completely loose leash but when he sees the park there's no holding him back!

Sometimes I walk them both on a joined "y" leash.
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  #12  
Old September 13th, 2006, 07:05 PM
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My dog has a flat nylon buckle collar for "play". A flat very soft leather buckle collar for out & about. a Black Dog head harness for walking in public (where he's most excited). and I use a regular nylon leash (I have one for home - the dirty tattered one, you know, the one that gets dragged through the mud regularly, and a nice clean one for out in public.)

my cats each have a harness (step in kind) that clips on the back, and matching leashes. (only used for trips to the vet)
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  #13  
Old September 13th, 2006, 07:24 PM
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Sneaky Sneaky is offline
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I use a harness for my little dog.
(Chihuahua - 10 lbs).
I tried a gentle leader in her specific size,
it didnt work, she would pull her head back and it would
slip off her muzzle, or she would paw it off,
and when I would pull back on it, it would go up
into her eyes.
Stupid thing.
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  #14  
Old September 13th, 2006, 10:12 PM
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rainbow rainbow is offline
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It's difficult walking two large dogs and I've used flat collars, harnesses, and the Gentle Leader which never helped. I now use the Newtrix Easyway Headcollars and love them.
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  #15  
Old September 13th, 2006, 10:21 PM
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erykah1310 erykah1310 is offline
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Puppy- leather collar ( didnt click the option though.. )
Meik- regular collar
Kita- alternate between chain ( not choke) and regular collar

Leashes.... just normal ones. They dont pull much. And we rarely use leashes anyway. ( Feild walks and good recall for Kita and Meik... Puppy lolly gags behind)
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  #16  
Old September 14th, 2006, 07:39 AM
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ChancesMom ChancesMom is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by greaterdane
For the danes and my shep mix, I use a martigale style collar or a 2" flat nylon buckle collar.

For the chis, I walk them with a harness. The step in kind that clips behind their neck.

Here is an example of the martigale style collar.


Greaterdane, I like the look of this collar. if I was not happy with the one that he has I would definitely be getting one of those!

It looks like there is a wide variety of leashes/collars/ect here. It is nice to hear what others are using.

I am glad that no one uses one of those retractable leashes with the plastic handle... Those are a pet peeve of mine... not so much on the little dogs as when people use them on the larger dogs.

Take care.
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  #17  
Old September 14th, 2006, 08:08 AM
Sariss Sariss is offline
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Honey (Chihuahua) is walked on a harness due to collapsing trachea.
At the moment, Niku (Chihuahua) is on a regular flat collar, but we will be moving her over to a harness.
Daisy (Aussie) alternates between a Halti and a regular flat collar.

As far as leashes go, I have regular nylon leashes for all of them. Honey is usually on a flexi lead because she loves to be 'ahead of the pack'. We have a flexi lead for Daisy but I don't trust it and therefore, don't use it.
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  #18  
Old September 14th, 2006, 08:27 AM
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phoenix phoenix is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ChancesMom
I am glad that no one uses one of those retractable leashes with the plastic handle... Those are a pet peeve of mine... not so much on the little dogs as when people use them on the larger dogs.
.
This double standard is a pet peeve of mine....

Nothing I hate more than a brave little yipper/nipper running up out of control into my larger dogs' faces.

I used to use flexis but I found that my dogs pulled way too much with them... and they were easy to break...however if you have a big guy who needs exercise and a 'no off leash' bylaw they can come in handy. Now I prefer a horse lunge line to use for this.
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  #19  
Old September 14th, 2006, 08:37 AM
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ChancesMom ChancesMom is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by phoenix
This double standard is a pet peeve of mine....

Nothing I hate more than a brave little yipper/nipper running up out of control into my larger dogs' faces.
heehee!

I probably should have been more specific.

The reason why I do not like the plastic handled leashes on the larger dogs is that the retractable mechanism can break... Also, if a larger dog all of a sudden decides to lunge or pull really hard, the plastic handle is much easier to be ripped out of the hands of the pet handler than a soft leash that can be wrapped around the hand.

The little yippers/nippers can be a big problem if allowed to be out of control, however a handler can retract the leash if needed and easily handle a little dog with the plastic handle as it is doubtful that the dog will have enough force to break free.

Take care.
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  #20  
Old September 19th, 2006, 02:33 AM
TooDogCrazy TooDogCrazy is offline
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Thumbs up Head Harness (Gentle Leader brand)

I dearly LOVE this product for energetic (or strong) dogs. I first heard about it back in 1996 and have used one ever since on my dogs. Its very humane and puts the human back in control (and doesn't hurt the dogs in the least). This is the greatest product, bar none, for dogs IMHO. I like Gentle Leader much better than the Halti thing. I did see someone once at a Virginia dog park who had a European version and it was even better (the strap that goes across the nose just has to be very small) and I wish that I had gotten the name of the company where they got theirs.
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  #21  
Old September 19th, 2006, 03:17 PM
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dogmelissa dogmelissa is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sneakypete79
I use a harness for my little dog.
(Chihuahua - 10 lbs).
I tried a gentle leader in her specific size, <snip>
Stupid thing.

Since we're talking about Pet Peeves, this is mine: head-control devices on small dogs. Why they even make them for a dog who's head is at least 2 feet below the hand controlling it is beyond my understanding. The idea of a head-harness is that it controls the dog in 2 ways; applies pressure to their nose to reinforce your dominance (ie "listen to me") and pulls their head down and to the side so that they can't focus on the thing that's distracting them (averting their gaze). How this is supposed to work when the head of the dog is *well* below the hands of the leash-holder is not something I could ever understand. It wasn't even an option for me, but I've seen a pile of people who wasted their money on these only to find out they "didn't work" for their dog. SneakyPete, your reasons are exactly why. But I suppose the makers of these need to earn a living, too. *sigh*

My dog (Maltese) wears a plain buckle nylon collar which his leash is *extremely* rarely attached to. He has a tendency to pull (or run to the end of the leash/line) and will choke himself if it's attached to his collar. When we're walking, or at agility class, he wears a figure-8 harness: http://tinyurl.com/ov4sw which doesn't circle the throat (like most "standard" harnesses for small dogs). Agility requires a non-flexi leash, so that's fine, but when we're walking, he's *always* on a flexi-lead (yes, the evil ones that get longer and shorter based on the dog). My reasons: Cube *loves* to dart ahead and sniff things. He takes his time in deciding whether or not to pee on them, then it takes time to lift his leg and get it done before I catch up to him. Even on the longest available leash that's not 3" wide (he only weighs 10 lbs, can't break a nylon leash!), he's so close to the ground that it only allows him about 1' in front and 1' in back of me before the leash is tight. Since I don't expect him to heel, and he isn't about to break the leash lunging at things, I don't want to restrict him to a 2' range beside me. He has learned not to pull, and also knows a command "hurry up" to avoid being yanked at the other end of the leash.

Please don't assume the worst about the flexi-type leashes. In most people's hands, they're fine, it's just the ones who have strong dogs who are unreliable about pulling, easily distracted etc on the big end that are worrisome, and the ones at any size range who have dogs that are likely to lunge/bite/nip at other people/dogs who are also worrisome. What's worse, IMO, are the ones that don't even bother to leash their dogs at all!!

Melissa
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