What Collar Is Best to Stop a Dog Pulling?

What Collar Is Best to Stop a Dog Pulling? None.

Collars do not teach dogs to stop pulling.

Training does.

That answer may sound too simple, especially when pet shops and social media are full of equipment promising miracles.

A collar, harness or head halter can change how pressure is applied, usually via a leash. If that pressure is unpleasant or uncomfortable, this could combat the benefits of pulling and reduce or perhaps eliminate pulling with some dogs.

This is probably better described as management.

It may give the handler more leverage, initially reduce the amount of pulling while it is being worn, or make the dog easier to manage. Those things can make a difference, particularly when your dog is large, powerful or reactive.

But management should not be confused with training.

We teach your dog where to walk, where the reinforcement zone is and what mindset they should adopt.

If we rely on the dog finding pulling unpleasant through a certain piece of equipment, the effort the dog applies will be based on the dogs motivation to pull.

So, higher drive dogs will just push through equipment discomfort and learn that is the price they pay to access the things they want to get to.

Lower drive dogs may not, but I do find that all dogs pull sometimes when we leave the job to the equipment.

Instead of “What Collar Is Best to Stop a Dog Pulling?” a better question is, “how do I teach my dog how to walk next to my leg?”

Why do dogs pull?

Dogs pull for a very simple reason: it works.

The dog wants to reach a smell, another dog, a person, a patch of grass or simply the next part of the walk. The dog leans into the lead and the handler continues moving forward.

Pulling works and gets reinforced.

Repeat that pattern hundreds of times and the dog becomes very good at it. Very good means “hard to stop”.

Pulling can also be affected by:

1. Excitement and poor impulse control.
2. Fear, frustration or leash reactivity.
3. The dog’s age, size, temperament and previous training.
4. Too much distraction too soon.
5. No engagement with the handler.
6. The dog’s physical condition.
7. A mismatch between the dog’s natural walking pace and the handler’s pace.
8. Opposition reflex, is the natural tendency of an animal to push or pull against physical pressure rather than immediately move with it.

This is why changing the collar without understanding the dog so often produces disappointing, or short term results. The equipment has changed, but the reason for the pulling and the dog’s learned strategy have not.

Equipment can influence pulling, but it cannot teach

Different tools have different purposes, advantages and limitations.

A flat collar may be perfectly suitable for a dog that is well trained, but it offers no help to a person with a powerful leash puller. The flat collar distributes the pressure over a larger surface, often allowing the dog to pull harder, placing most of the pressure onto the dogs trachea.

So often coughing and choking can be heard from dedicated pullers. As much as people think flat collars are harmless, I don’t think they are a good collar for an untrained dog.

A limited slip or martingale collar can help prevent escape when correctly fitted, so they do have their benefits.

but it does not automatically create loose lead walking. No tool does.

A harness spreads force across the body and may be useful in many situations. It can allow dogs to pull hard into a harness that spreads the load over a large area, and if your teaching a restrained recall, your dog is pulling a heavy weight, your creating frustration to increase drive, these are great.

A front attachment harness can reduce leverage and turn the dog’s body when it pulls. This can initially make a dog easier to manage, but the dog still needs to be taught what to do instead.

I often see dogs on the front attach harness try to get to their goal destination and when the harness defeats that, they turn on the handler in frustration.

They jump and bounce off their handlers and some will nip or bite. No, not all, but some.

I also do not love the way the front attachment twists the shoulders of the dog.

Also, the fit is important, because poorly selected or fitted harnesses may restrict movement or cause rubbing.

A head halter can provide substantial mechanical advantage, but many dogs hate them and never accept them.

Technically this means no matter how the dog walks or where, there is no relief (reinforcement) from the halter, so pulling remains.

Sudden pressure applied to a dog’s head and neck can cause injury.

Specialist training collars like prong collars can help the handler develop clearer communication with the dog and develop better walking behaviour.

I don’t think they should be used as a self-operating solution.

I really don’t think any collar should.

The tool affects the mechanics. The handler teaches the behaviour.

What actually stops pulling?

Nothing. But, a  good loose lead program teaches the dog a position, a benefit to keeping the leash loose and to enjoy the walk in a relaxed mind set.

The exact method should be adjusted to the dog, but the essential process is consistent:

1. Define the behaviour. Decide where the dog should walk and what “loose lead” means. Walking politely does not have to be a competition style heel.
2. Begin where the dog can succeed. Start in a low distraction environment before expecting good work near dogs, wildlife, traffic or crowds.
3. Make the correct position valuable. Reinforce the dog for returning to the handler, maintaining slack in the lead and moving at the handler’s pace.
4. Stop rewarding pulling. If pulling repeatedly carries the dog toward what it wants, the behaviour is being rehearsed and reinforced.
5. Teach clear transitions. A dog can learn the difference between walking with the handler and being released to sniff and explore. Both belong in a good walk.
6. Progress gradually. Add distance, duration and distractions one at a time. Do not move from the backyard to the busiest local park and call the dog stubborn when the behaviour falls apart.
7. Train the person as well as the dog. Lead handling, timing, reinforcement and consistency matter. Mixed signals create mixed results.

The goal is not merely to restrain the dog. The goal is to teach the dog how to move through the world with its handler.

So, which piece of equipment should you choose?

Choose equipment that safely contains the dog, suits its anatomy and behaviour, and allows the handler to carry out the training plan effectively.

There is no honest universal answer. A small, calm dog, an adolescent working breed, a fearful escape risk, a reactive 45 kilogram dog and an assistance dog handler with limited mobility do not present the same problem. Pretending they all require the same equipment is not good dog training.

It is ideology.

Equipment selection should consider:

1. The dog’s size, strength, health and conformation.
2. The cause and severity of the pulling.
3. The handler’s strength, mobility and skill.
4. The risk to the dog, handler and public.
5. Correct fit and conditioning.
6. The environment in which the dog must be walked.
7. The law where the equipment will be used.

If pulling is severe, involves lunging or aggression, has caused falls or injuries, or prevents the dog from being exercised safely, get experienced professional help.

That is no longer a simple equipment shopping question. It is a training and risk management problem.

The bottom line

The best collar to stop a dog pulling is no collar because collars do not teach dogs not to pull.

Get professional help, it will make the process so much easier for you and your dog.

Select equipment responsibly.

Use it competently.

Then train the behaviour you actually want.

When the training is clear and consistent, the lead becomes a safety line rather than a towing cable.

Steve Courtney