[NAGDU] For Bob, Head Halter a comment

[Bob Hicks]

Thanks Peter.  Susie is a pretty stout girl, but I promise that I will be
gentle.  Thanks again.

Have a great day, 73

Bob Hicks, KC8CR

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Peter Wolf via
NAGDU
Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2018 7:45 PM
To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
Cc: Peter Wolf <pwolf1 at wolfskills.com>
Subject: [NAGDU] For Bob, Head Halter a comment

Hey Bob,

Here's my input on head halter.  I know of two brands, one is gentle leader
and the other is halti.  My dog, being a Silken Windhound, being long and
sleek, (22 inches at shoulder, and nearly 3 feet long) actually slips her
narrow air blade of a snout through a halt, size zero!

Metukah didn't want to use it at first, but training this was really easy.
Simply call her forward with a "Come" command, and treat.  Do it with the
halter in your hand.  A day later, raise the halter, put the treat in front
of it, and let her take it on fulfilling "come".  Then just inch the treat
into the halter nose loop.  Do this gradually, until about five or six
sessions later in a couple of days, the treat has to be taken through the
loop.  Then begin slipping it on the same way.  But do it, quickly and
seamlessly transitioning from a slipping on to a dog praising for having
done the same thing.  Soon, the treat will only be for successfully putting
her nose through to then enjoy the treat.  Done!

I echo the danger warning.  These halters are self correcting.  Don't ever
jerk.  All you need to do is retain the position or motion that was
intended.  The action of the halter is to self-limit.  The pressure exerted
by the dog's own body and weight is sufficient (and the maximum) that should
ever exert on her neck.  Remember, this isn't just head pressure; it is even
further forward, on the snout.  So turning leverage is much more than even
if you could have grabbed her by the head itself, which is much further
back.  This is literal:  I use only the pressure of one finger tip pad
against my leash with Metukah, on loops that I have hand-sewn at intervals.
We walk with this fingertip only pressure.  

There is one exception.  If she is blowing it with a curious nose, I simply
keep walking.  This happens when either she finds something interesting that
she wants to stop for, or she wants to sniff a pee spot, when it isn't on
our schedule and is only being scent curious.  The pressures of my keeping
walking are more forward, inline pressures.  I have no issue about pulling
her forward, which is the direction we were on anyway.  That is only
straight ahead pressure.  She knows exactly what that is, and if she's being
a momentary bone-head, she knows to quit it or the pressure will increase
because I won't stop.  I give her the balance of respect by letting her stop
just a little more frequently for this.  Hey if she's going to get pulled
at, twitched, direction changed, and moved around my agenda all day, this is
the least I can do to let her run her nose a little more often for
satisfaction.  So in essence, halters won't cure a curious nose, but they do
help a lot!
Cheers,
Peter


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