12/06/2021
Below I’ve posted two images. The one on the left has been circulating social media for the past little while promoting it as evidence that head halters are dangerous and should never be used, the theory presented that we should never put pressure on that area of our dog’s muzzle.
As someone with a history of supporting and promoting the use of head halters this image has made its way into my inbox on more than one occasion so I thought I would share my perspective.
As with everything in dog training there are “perspectives” and goals that dictate our choices. It shouldn’t be a contest of who is wrong, who is right or who is the most right, although it often moves in that direction. It is what is right for you, your dog, and the goals you have for the kind of relationship you want with that dog.
I believe we can have a well-behaved family pet and an elite-level performance dog without the use of physical punishment or verbal intimidation. And yes I do promote the use of Head Halters in achieving those goals, however, what I have discovered is that I do condition and use head halters different than most other trainers as I outlined on a podcast last fall https://dogsthat.com/podcast/40/
Head halters are a management tool. They help us communicate with our dogs in order to grow their confidence in making good choices and work towards off-leash freedom.
They are a tool, much like a buckle collar is a tool, a leash is a tool, a harness is a tool, a crate is a tool, an ex-pen is a tool, a choke-chain is a tool, a Flexi is a tool, an electric collar is a tool, invisible fencing is a tool etc.
Do you see what I mean?
Above is a very short list of tools we can use in the name of "creating the best life possible for our dogs". Yes there are tools in this list I would never use on my own dogs, nor would I suggest them for any of my students, however, they may, in fact, be the first choice of tool other dog trainers would turn to.
You see that is where perspectives and goals come into play when making choices for our dogs.
The commonality between that list of tools is that if used incorrectly they can ALL cause damage or possibly death to a dog. Yes all of them including a harness, a flat collar, and a simple leash. We all have to choose which tools we will use in the hopes of creating the best life possible for our dogs.
In my opinion, the greatest place for all of us dog owners to be would one where we never used head halters, where we would never need a leash, where our dogs would never even wear a collar. By the way, this is how my dogs live almost every day of their lives while we are living here on my property out in the country.
But my dogs were not born responding to me the first time I asked, we had to get to that place through good reinforcement and game-based training.
I am not different than any other dog owner in that regard.
In order to get to that place of nirvana for our dogs, we need management tools to restrict our dog’s access to bad choices. These tools also help them make good choices where without those tools the dog’s curiosity and drives would have them making more poor choices. The most common tool we all use is a leash attached in some way to the dog.
Now back to the photo. The texts that accompanied this photo suggest due to all of the vascularizations in a dog’s nose we should never be using a head halter on a dog or puppy. That is as logical as saying “due to the vascularization in our dog’s paws we should never use a head halter on their head. "
As you can see with the big red arrow, the head halter doesn’t go anywhere near that tight vasculature area of a dog’s nose. And even if it did (as in the case of some brachycephalic dogs) the need for force should not be required if the dog has been properly conditioned and trained with the head halter.
Anyone that has to “fight” their dog while in a head halter has not put in the time to condition the dog to work with you while wearing it. This means it has moved from being an effective communication tool to a potentially dangerous tool. The same as a flat collar around your dog’s neck moves to a potentially dangerous tool the moment your dog puts all of his weight into the collar to pull towards something.
This leads to the other misleading point about this photo. The author suggests that we shouldn’t be using a training tool where there is a lot of capillaries or blood flow. But here's the kicker, blood flows pretty well everywhere in a dog’s body. Any piece of equipment you choose to put on your dog to attach a leash to is going to hit areas with blood flowing beneath it. Ironically the least likely area to be affected is around the zygomatic arch, protected by the skull’s boney structure and exactly where a properly fitted head halter sits. 🙂
So what is the conclusion? Don't put any dog training tool on areas of high blood flow areas because they are sensitive? Well as I’ve mentioned that would be difficult since blood flows everywhere, and likely the most intense area with major arteries is exactly where a dog’s collar would sit.
I think the key here for all of us is if you are using a head halter, a chain collar, a pinch collar, a flat collar, or a body harness and your dog has moments of “fighting” you, pulling against it you need to consider you haven’t conditioned the equipment or trained the behaviour of loose leashing walking well enough for the distraction level you have thrust your dog in when he decides to pull or thrash.
If you would like some help on either of those topics let me know by leaving a comment below and I’d be happy to share my ideas.
Bottom line, don’t be fooled by sensational photos or claims. Think of how science, logic, and kindness comes into play when choosing your training tools …and your training mentors.
