Head/Halter Collars 

What They Are And How They're Used

The head collar, or halter is a dog collar that is used primarily to control the dog's head. The premise being that the dog's body has to follow its head. The collar consists of a loop that goes around the dog's neck attached to another loop that goes around the dog's muzzle. The loop that goes around the dog's muzzle does not restrict the dog from drinking, eating, or biting if it is predisposed to do so.

Although it looks somewhat like a muzzle, I does not perform the function of a muzzle. There are different brands of head collars, such as Halti, Gentle Leader or Promise, Control Ease, Holt, and Infin8 Halter. They all differ slightly in the way they are made with each of the brands advertising why they are better than all the others.

When the leash is pulled, either by the handler or the dog, this type of collar turns the dog's head and pulls it towards the handler. It also puts pressure on the dog's muzzle. Proponents of the head halter describe it is "scientific", in that it supposedly mimics the way higher-ranking wolf shows dominance by grabbing a lower-ranking pack member around the snout with his jaws. Some research indicates that there is no hierarchal structure in a wolf pack.

Most dog owners ho have reviewed any of the head collars say it is very helpful in controlling otherwise difficult-to-control dogs. However, it is not a really a training collar. It is used in conjunction with a training collar, if the dog is in training. Frequently, it is used on otherwise untrained dog to keep the dog from pulling on the leash.

For more information on head collars and training collars, click on training collars.

A trained dog is a happy dog and has a happy owner.

For information on dog training, click on Dog Training.