Hey there, Sammy.
Again, we share our condolences regarding your situation with Laika, and I understand that you were hoping that David would respond. But I wanted to jump in really quickly and just mention that we usually try to steer owners away from spiked/prong collars. They often make things worse and can damage the relationship you have with your dog.
For our money, head halters are definitely the way to go.
Best of luck!

Hi. You left your comment on K9 Of Mine in 2020 regarding an article on head halters, and different kinds of leashes. I also left a comment, a few days ago. It is late November 2023. I had a bad back with 2 big dogs for 15 years, and successfully used choke collars for what was to bee at first, but then. left them. They never came into use, but the weight and sound of them seemed to keep us functioning as a no-pull 3-piece unit. I would walk them with one leash, that split into two bifurcated connections for the collars. We also went to the dog park most every day. My darlings passed at 15 in 2017. By 2020 I hadn’t recovered from the loss, but my back and overall health were severely compromised. In the thick of Covid 2020 a sick, tortured puppy, dying from a terrible mill was left with me. I was still getting around well at this time, but quicker to fail. I thought it only fair to restore her to health and to find her a young active family. But she was a different breed than my previous Border Collie sibling mutts, 65 and 80 lbs, sister and brother, easier to train. Laika is allegedly 50% Mountain Cur, 25% Black Mouth Cur, 25% Greyhound and was 65 lbs by year one. She may vacillate between 65 – 70 lbs as an adult. Training her not to do certain things or to do others has been met with great difficulty. By this point we trust one another from being an imminent source of danger to the other. Her starvation, neglect, and abuse was so bad everything came slowly and with great difficulty. I don’t know if any of it is breed-specific. This third year she will finally eat in front of me, next to me, out of my hand, this is a relief, as Ive never tortured her with food, but apparently her previous owner had, and it was very bad. With walking: I tried the same kind of leash, but it had no effect on her. She is an extremely powerful animal with a very powerful neck. I tried the “stopping every time she pulled,” but this just left us at “stop, pull like crazy, stop….”. We made success nonetheless. But my back was getting worse. And the intermittent pulling, even as it got less, walking her in the neighborhood or to the Dogpark probably helped bring my back to the point of failure, as I’m mainly bedridden now and in the process of seeing a spinal surgeon. I had someone walking her most every day. Now this option is gone. I’m not conveniently located, and have spent down most of my savings as I have been unable to work from various autoimmune conditions. I have a huge yard and a doggie door, and an inside agility / ramp-jumping type workout I created for her using a laser light as motivation which she loves. But basically I now have a dog that doesn’t get walked. And the knowledge of this loss in her life, is killing me. So I’ve started new intense “meat-grinder” pressure point therapies on myself. And I looked into head halters for her. I also read great things about the K9 Bridle. But when I Googled it I found two things: A UK site that said it was Permanently Closed. A UK site that was not a symbol for a brick and mortar place. (That was what said Permanently Closed). The website looked potentially open. All web chatter about this company was posted 2020 or before. I sent them an email asking if they were open about ten days ago, and have not received any reply. My question to you: Do you think the K9 Bridle might help me more with my strong 65-70lb dog, than does a spiked collar. My second question: if you suggest the K9 Brindle: did you buy it direct, or from a US seller? And if they unfortunately closed due to Covid? What do you suggest? I’d like to start to try walking again. But I cannot take any more pulls to my back. Thank you. Sorry so long.

Hey there, Sammy.
We’re so sorry to hear about the struggles you’ve had walking Laika, but we applaud you for everything you’ve done (and continue to do) for her.

Unfortunately, we don’t have a simple solution to offer at the moment.

Yes, a head halter should make it easier to walk her. We’re not familiar with the K9 Bridle, but we’ll look into it. At a glance, it looks almost identical to some of the ones Kayla recommends above.

You may also want to consider broadening your search for a walker. For example, if Wag and other dog-walking businesses don’t have any contractors in your area, you may want to post a “help wanted” sign at a local college campus. You may also want to inquire with your vet — surely he or she has some young techs who could use a few extra bucks.

Finally, and forgive me if I’ve missed it in your comment, but it doesn’t sound like you have a fenced yard. There are “invisible” fence options you can check out — some are surprisingly affordable.

We’ll keep thinking and update this comment if anything else comes to mind.
Best of luck!

The two sibling dogs I had for 15 years weighed 65 and 80 lbs. They passed in 2017. I was in better shape and they were relatively easy to train. I took them walking or to the Dogpark every single day.

In mid 2020 a bad man running a small outrageously abusive puppy mill, showed me pictures of poor puppies tethered to very short leashes that were starving and exposed to the boiling and terrifying outdoors defenseless 24/7. He lied and said he rescued them and had no yard. I immediately sent him the last $1,500 I had for food and to immediately have a yard with shade for protection from coyotes, fear, sun, and being tethered to a stake and a three foot chain living in their own excrement.

Within hours he appeared in my town with a dying puppy as a gift with over 300 active ticks feeding on her, and crazy diarrhea. He demanded more money. I realized he was the abuser and had special words that included “no” for him. He fled and left, leaving me the six month old puppy. This was fine except my back was already a problem. I knew my activity with Laika would be more limited. I followed what the Vet said, got all the ticks off of her, made her dinner then she slept with me. She is a happy young adult now, except I could never accomplish training her to walk without pulling severely.

She quickly got to her weight of 65-70 lbs which was normal for her breed by year one. I had tried to find her an active younger family but it was the thick of covid and no one was adopting. I tried a choke chain but it had no effect whatsoever on her. Neither did standard walk training measures. Then one day we got stranded before making it home. She tugged too hard and my back gave out. I collapsed finally sitting on a step up from the ground. Mercifully, a woman driving past with her daughter identified the look of extreme pain on my face and pulled over and gave us a ride home.

I live near no dog walkers and eventually hired my mailman to walk her. She pulled too much while I could still drive to get her from my vehicle to inside the Dogpark. I invented a lively inside game with the laser light and creating an indoor track with jumping and running over things, She enjoys this very much but she is no longer getting walked outside and as a dog owner this is killing me inside.

I’m seeing a spinal surgeon in two days, if I am helped with surgery, or can be temporarily put on pain medicine so I could drive her to the Dogpark again? I need a solid solution for walking her. Are these head halters my best option? The best one I thought I found on line was from Britain and worked very differently like a bridle for a horse. The product and company are called K9 Bridle. Can you please have a look and see if this alters your recommendation? They advertise for disabled people. I’d like to know your suggestion for a disabled person for the best ethical control. Thank You.

I want to point out that somehow the arriving was never fixed to change the description of the Gentle Leader to show it doesn’t have a safety strap to connect it to a regular neck collar. Please fix this as I would have chosen a different model when I bought mine if I hadn’t seen on this and other websites the incorrect information.

On the whole the GL has worked as far as helping me train my dog. After a month of a few minutes at least once a day (about 85 % of days) my Heeler never liked wearing it, but he tolerates it. He feels the same way about his regular collar and car harness so I think he just doesn’t like wearing anything.

I am thinking of getting one with cheek straps as he can get this off of I don’t keep watch constantly. I’m not sure how he’ll do with more facial coverage, though.