GENERAL QUESTION -
HEAD COLLARS - DO YOU APPROVE?
| I have a question I wondered if you could help me with. After reading a discussion on Facebook concerning headcollars(some people were saying they weren't good for a dog's neck or shoulders) I wondered what your opinion is please? I use a headcollar on my Mini Aussie when I am walking her from my car to work as its a built up area and she lunges and barks if she sees a cat (and there are lots of cats around) and I don't feel I have enough control of her on a harness. I use one of the fleece lined ones from SWAG that work from the back of the neck like the Canny Collar. She doesn't ever pull if she's wearing it unless a cat appears. Do you think this is likely to be bad for her neck? I can use a harness if I am walking her for her regular walks but keep the headcollar in my pocket if I should need to pop it on quickly. Thanks, Helen |
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Hi Helen - I myself do not stock any of the head collar products because quite a lot of pet owners see them as a quick fix and put their dogs on them all the time so that the dogs have no opportunity to use their sense of smell to lower adrenaline levels and "read face book" with messages from their own species. However, although they can cause damage to eyes, neck and back muscles they do have their place in situations as you describe that you are doing at the moment, where your dog's adrenaline levels and concentration levels are too high to listen to your training and commands. I think keeping it in your pocket for emergencies is a very good compromise and I know many other dog trainers and behaviourists use them for just such circumstances. By the way, by far the best design of head collar is the Dogmatic type. They do far less damage to the eyes and fit really well. If people do need a head collar I recommend they use Dogmatic ones. Hope that is of help, Best wishes Sally |
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