Head Collar Size

[krissy]

Does anyone use a Gentle Leader brand head collar on their grey? What size does your hound wear? I'm trying to order one in through work so I don't have one to try on my dog. Kili doesn't really pull forward, but right now her distraction is intense and she'll often pull sideways... and she's big enough now that this is NOT cool. I was really trying to avoid having to go the head collar route but maybe it'll help keep her sniffer off the ground so she can focus a little better on giving me her attention. We shall see. Anyway, according to the sizing chart it looks like a Medium might be the way to go.

 

Edit: Or if you use a Halti, do you use a size 3?

Edited August 21, 2013 by krissy

[GreyPoopon]

Definitely Medium.

 

GLs are very adjustable. The medium I have for Minnie fits a grey.

[GreytHoundPoet]

I think you need a medium, if I remember sizing correctly. I have helped folks fit Greyhounds before.

 

I don't use either brands since they pull the dog's head to the side. I have a dog with neck issues due to injury so that wasn't good. I use the Infinity Collar from Bold Lead Designs because It applies pressure behind the ears and under the jaw instead. Every dog I have put it on has accepted it almost immediately too. It is a nice little training tool.

[RedHead]

We used these with our last dog, who was not a greyhound. Everyone told my the GL was better, but I actually found the halti more comfortable for the dog. The GL needs to be quite snug and tight over the head and the nose band does not loosen once you adjust it. The halti is kind of like a martingale collar in that it stays a bit looser but if you pull it tightens. Again...people say the GL is better but I didn't notice much of a difference and the dog preferred the halti. I am not sure about sizing, best thing would be to take her into a store and have them fit it.

[Guest Scarter55]

We started using a harness for Lady after she hurt her neck pulling to hard on her martingale collar (silly dog!) and while she was never a big puller, this had an immediate effect on her walks. It was developed by our trainer, so you won't find it in stores yet (hopefully she'll get distribution worked out!) but can get it from her website. I highly recommend it, we had trouble getting other harnesses to fit Lady well. This one is essentially a martingale harness, tightening slightly around her chest, and is exremely effective. She is much less likely to pull and we have far more control over her. We got a medium for Lady (65lbs).

 

http://www.adobedogs.com/apps/webstore/

[a_daerr]

Let me know how it works out. I thought about using a GL for Truman, but worried it would make him freak out and worsen his leash reactivity problems.

[Guest Wasserbuffel]

I used a medium with Jayne. It worked very well. Stupidly, she'd be walking along in it with her mouth wide open and panting and people would ask me why I had my dog muzzled. Umm . . . this little strap that's not closing her mouth will certainly not keep her from biting.

[moofie]

I've a medium GL for the chunky chops foster and it does adjust fine to fit Hattie who's a petite greyhound too. I find the plastic clip under chin sometimes loosens on ours. Hattie disliked wearing GL, yet she accepted the dogmatic straight away that is bit more like a horse halter with loop under chin with loose ring that lead attaches to so it doesn't move much on the head.

The halters do make a huge difference in how controllable both girls are as can't use their strength against me so easily as a collar. I use a double ended lead with it on Hattie so can just use it when needed as she tends to lunge normally clip other end to a harness for spin control, thankfully she walks fine most of the time. Pru just use normal lead and a halti-link strap to collar for safety.

Edited August 26, 2013 by moofie

[cleptogrey]

kili, like truman is most likely going thru another phase of adolescence, it just doesn't end.....or at least it doesn't seem to end until one day you have a perfectly trained dog at the end of the leash. i personally do not like the head harnesses. i used a snap choke collar during those crazy stages. felix was in school at the time and we used to just laugh at his vast changes in personality and behavior during adolescence. sometimes it was complete aphasia, sometimes wierd aggression(like truman's), sometimes it was brain dead responses. but the swift response to the collar worked wonders. i do believe that maxx 200 has them, they can be difficult to find and need to be fitted right under the chin at the top of the neck. basically you snap the nylon collar closed and the response time in a correction is less than 1". it was very successfullly used to quick send a message of correction and after a couple of weeks put away.

 

http://rescopetproducts.shptron.com/c/dog-collars_snap-chokes

measure right under the chin, the collar should be exactly that size, no slack

Edited August 28, 2013 by cleptogrey

[krissy]

She totally is going through weird adolescence. And on the one hand I know that and I know we need to just keep on trucking through it... keep training otherwise it'll be 10 times worse. But honestly, some days are just so frustrating. I actually miss her as a puppy. Walked nicely on lead (with help and reinforcement of course), trained well, good focus, good impulse control (again, with lots of work). Now she freaks out about her nails being trimmed, she doesn't give a rat's behind about me, food motivation has gone out the window completely, impulse control is non-existent. And this is all with constant, on going work on these things. She's had her nails trimmed weekly since she was 8 weeks old. I mean... seriously.

 

It's one of those things where you KNOW it's the age and things will get better... but unless you have a crystal ball you don't REALLY know. The longer it goes on the more you think she's just going to get stuck with this personality. I can definitely say I'm never having children because there's no way I could deal with this kind of behaviour from a human teen!

 

We still haven't gone the route of the head collar. I keep waffling. She's been doing a little better recently so we've just kept trucking along. [sigh]

[a_daerr]

Have faith! Truman is coming around. His leash aggression issues have all but subsided in less than a month. In fact, last week after class, a golden rushed up and jumped on him on-leash. He did a little 'errr' but no serious reactions, and he was 100% fine afterwards. I thought for sure this was it- he turned into a mean, high-strung adult dog. I got upset a few times and cried. But just when I thought hope was lost, he went back to his normal dog-loving self. Fear stages are the worst.

[XTRAWLD]

I pulled up an old archived thread for when Ryder and I went to obedience:

 

The Gentle Leader in medium seemed a little too tight for Ryder and there was very little slack, especially in comparison to the Halti we tested (unfortunately I don't have the size of the Halti we tested). Also have a preference towards the snap together leader and not the buckle version, simply because you can just put it on and get going.

 

Bonus notes: The gentle leader fit much better than the halti and sat lower on his nose, the Halti was right at his eyeballs.

 

To be completely honest, he was unresponsive for me in when wearing it, due to fear and stress. I wish you luck! I've only had success with a harness (and wearing gloves!)

[cleptogrey]

krissy, it sounds like the crazy adolesence that sent felix back from rally-o to basic 3. he lost all of his cool, focus and became a brat. the trainer who i worked w/ (who is fantastic) happens to be deaf, she wears 2 hearing aids and reads lips. i've know her for over 20 years and her techniques are excellent(she loved your pivot video and now incorporates it in her classes). well, she couldn't believe how BAD felix was behaving and his regression. at one point i had to crate him and he started to scream....this is from the dog who lOVES his crate. she pulled the crate away from the class and commented that she couldn't believe that she could hear him screaming...her comment...."AND I"M DEAF!". he did settle down, part of it was he needed more structure, the rally-o was too free. the other part were his HORMONES! i know your not spaying kili anytime soon, she's being shown. but for felix, that donation to the "jewel box" that the vet who did neutering for the group had was the answer to bringing my boy back home. i wanted to wait until he was close to 2 for bone developement, but my sanity too prescidence.

 

this too shall pass, trust me, it will!

[krissy]

Well it's good to know from others who have gone before me down the puppy road! It's so frustrating, and I know that part of it is my fault because she is not just a pet... I have expectations of her doing agility. So of course when she won't train, has no motivation or drive for anything... of course I worry. If she doesn't pan out as an agility dog then I will have to wait until after Summit passes before getting another dog to try again. And Summit is going to live to be 16 (which is still 8 years away).

 

I'm trying to look at the bad just matter of fact (okay, she's pulling a bit because she's distracted by crows... and cars... and she's a little nervous in the low light now that the days are getting shorter again) without too much judgment or concern and simply come up with a plan (need to walk her this same route tomorrow morning as well so she gets used to these distractions). Then I make myself look at things that were good or an improvement (We actually managed to go for a proper walk even though it was not completely smooth and there were frustrations; she did really well with impulse control and sitting at my side when we saw people and other dogs today).

 

It has definitely occurred to me that her hormones... not helpful. Hopefully she will come back to me from this in the next month or so (been going on for close to a month already). My plan is to spay her in February when she turns 18 months to allow full growth but not allow a first heat. I may have to opt to do it a little sooner if she continues to have problems with focus and training.

[cleptogrey]

sounds exactly like what we went thru. but i think the males get crazier w/ their homones. my adoption rep who is a vet and also has a non- track grey who she got as a puppy chuckled all the way thru felix's adolescence, her fravorite line, "i told you so!" start focusing on things that are fun or she may have known in the past. that's why we ended up repeating the same classes w/ the same instructor. she knew what he needed and gave it to me. also, at kili's age felix's strenght and power as a runner started to increase - the dumber he got the stronger he got! extra time playing soccer, lobbing tennis balls, frisbee and just getting him exhausted were key to MY survival. i do not regret neutering him earlier than i planned. he has more bone than some of the other greys i know, yeah....i too wanted an agility dog and then ran out of money(dh lost his job when the great financial collapse kicked in). in the states training can be pretty expensive- $30 a class and that's at signing up for a full semester, joining a club and volunteering for them as well. just wait until she decides that the tunnel is a dark scary place....and you get knocked down at some tight manueuvers...it's all part of the fun and games of bring up a greyhound. but i do miss those crazy puppy days(but not the bites on my arm). give that crazy pup a good run and think of me flat on my back being knocked down on a recall and laugh all the way- as everyone at the obedience club did!! that's a gh pup for you

[a_daerr]

i do not regret neutering him earlier than i planned.

 

Truman was neutered at 12 months, and I was counting down the days. Those last few months, he was practically bouncing off the walls.

Krissy, are you having a gastropexy done on Kili during her spay? I had one for Truman since the AKC/CKC pups tend to bloat more than track greys.

[krissy]

Krissy, are you having a gastropexy done on Kili during her spay? I had one for Truman since the AKC/CKC pups tend to bloat more than track greys.

 

If I can find somewhere to do it laparoscopically then yes. Otherwise I might not because doing it open means a full abdominal incision instead of just a caudal incision. Her last surgery was quite tough on her so I don't want to have an even bigger incision to contend with. If I can find a referral practice to do it and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg I will have both procedures done by laparoscopy.

 

ETA: Actually, my other option that I am also considering is doing a gastropexy and an ovariectomy (instead of an ovariohysterectomy).... If I just remove the ovaries and not the uterus I can get away with a cranial incision only. They do this a lot in Europe and because the hormones are removed with the ovaries there doesn't seem to be any difference statistically in the risks of mammary cancer or pyometra (infected uterus) which are the primary reasons why we spay dogs. So that's an option I am also toying with.

Edited August 29, 2013 by krissy

[a_daerr]

Yep, Truman has a huge scar from his incision, maybe 8". No one in my area had the technology to do it by laparoscopy, which I agree, is the ideal choice. He bounced back a lot faster than I thought he would, though. The scar isn't that obvious unless you're really looking for it.

[krissy]

Yeah, I don't mind the scar, it's just 2 major surgeries in 12 months is quite a bit. And the size of the incision just means more pain, longer surgical time, and potentially longer recovery. She did not bounce back the way most puppies I see do. Of course, that could also be because she had a prolonged anesthetic and multiple surgeries... not just a spay like most 6 month old dogs would have. Anyway, just sucks that she needs surgery again but I did not want to spay her at 7 months old. It was unfortunate that she had to have an exploratory done and ended up not finding anything (better that than finding a major problem of course!).

[a_daerr]

She's a little trooper. I'm sure whatever you choose will be the right move. Now, if you can just get her past this bratty adolescence stage!

[krissy]

Amen to that.

[Guest jetska]

I really don't like haltis and GLs on greyhounds.

I use a harness by Wiggles Wags and Whiskers on my puller because he will attempt to collapse his trachea on a collar.... it's a US made product but I got it from my Australian supplier at dogkingdom.com.au. It has a front attachment and a back attachment. The front one works best for my mastiff boy, the back one works a bit like a martingale and gives a squeeze. I got one for my greyhound as well but she doesn't like the feeling of the harness and won't walk with it on lol

[moofie]

I have the WWW harness too, but wasn't enough alone to properly control Hattie during her cat antics, the headcollar allows me to get her attention to walk on/away quicker. The harness worked well on my previous grey who pulled but training tools rarely are a one suits all.