DOG TRAINING THE HALTI WAY

A guide to training and behaviour written by Dr Roger Mugford

The History of Headcollars

There is nothing new about leading animals by the head: the Incas had headcollars for their llamas 1000 years ago; in Ancient Egypt they were used for leading camels and riders have guided their horses by the head for over 4000 years.

Cart dogs with leather headcollars were used in Belgium during World War One and in Switzerland a figure eight headcollar was traditionally used to train Bernese Mountain Dogs as cart dogs.

I am Dr Roger Mugford who designed the Halti nearly 20 years ago. I have regularly managed carthorses, bulls and sheep with various designs of headcollars. I also suffer from back problems, so it was natural that when confronted with giant, strong breeds like an Irish Wolfhound called Ben, I should tinker with straps to create the first British design of canine headcollar: the Halti.

The Halti has been acclaimed worldwide as the most effective design of headcollar, which naturally follows the contours of a dog’s face. It is positioned well down the dog’s nose giving maximum steerage and control for basic training and all other activities with your dog: from a quiet walk to leading an unruly or potentially dangerous dog past animals or people.

The particular advantage of Halti over other designs of headcollar is that it has a unique on-off muzzle-closing effect: when the dog attempts to lunge forward or attack, his jaws are closed by the slip ring under his chin. When he is relaxed or friendly, he can reopen his mouth. At all times that the dog is behaving well he can pant easily, loll his tongue and act just like a dog. The soft material and careful design and construction gives maximum comfort and, in many dogs, creates a pronounced calming effect.

Beware of some designs of canine headcollars that are overly restrictive, whose fitting instructions unkindly emphasise that you should have a tight fit around your dog’s muzzle and neck. This can impose pressures upon the underlying soft tissues of his head and neck, with a likelihood of damage to the delicate glands and nerves around the eye orbit and the pressure-sensitive areas behind the ears and upper spine.

Halti transfers the physical load of a heavy dog to the most resilient structures of the head, converting unwanted forward motion (pulling) into a gentle turning action.