Halti OptiFit Nylon Dog Headcollar

I had never had such a pleasure in walking my big girl. She is a majorly anxious ball of energy, and also pretty leash reactive. We've only been using the headcollar for a week or so and even on our first try-out around the block it was like she was a totally different dog - there was loads of positive reinforcement with tons of stinky delicious treats of course, but we feel that she was so focused on this new practice (a job!) that she didn't pay any mind to barking dogs (her biggest Thing right after dogs in view). On our first try on our journey round the block back home we clipped her leash onto her regular flat collar (without taking the headcollar off) and no pulling, a little tug would I had never had such a pleasure in walking my big girl. She is a majorly anxious ball of energy, and also pretty leash reactive. We've only been using the headcollar for a week or so and even on our first try-out around the block it was like she was a totally different dog - there was loads of positive reinforcement with tons of stinky delicious treats of course, but we feel that she was so focused on this new practice (a job!) that she didn't pay any mind to barking dogs (her biggest Thing right after dogs in view). On our first try on our journey round the block back home we clipped her leash onto her regular flat collar (without taking the headcollar off) and no pulling, a little tug would prompt a "walk with me" and she'd immediately fall into step. Wow. Just wow, from both a human who's never been so relaxed and on a walk and a dog that I'm sure would say the same if she could! The headcollar itself seems comfy, nice extra padding on her muzzle and it looks pretty rad, it is also fully adjustable and secure! Color me impressed guys, from an owner that thought we'd just have to deal with the pulling, i highly recommend! … more

The regular Halti would slide on my dog's face and bother his eyes. This one fits much better and has a slightly padded nose piece. I have a BIG dog and a Halti is much kinder than a choke collar while still offered good control.

I was always hesitant about these but, holy cow! I used to not be able to control my dogs, they're huge and strong and I am fairly small. I've been dragged by them multiple times, down grass, concrete, stairs. I had given up on taking them for runs after they dragged me thirty feet to chase a duck. Now I have complete control of our walks/runs. We pass by people, dogs, cats, etc with NO ISSUES. It's amazing and I regret waiting so long to try this out. My wolfhound mix has a skinny snout and can easily paw the muzzle piece off, but I think that's more of a training issue for her and she just needs to adjust to it. Once we get going she stops messing with it.

This product does not work for a lab. Inside the box it says it’s perfect for dog with short, wide nose. I did not see that information here online. My dog can remove the head collar in record time.

This harness is very light weight and broke only after 3 uses. My do is 45 lbs and not a big puller unless she sees another dog- it broke when she saw another dog

On the good points, the Halti DID keep my young, strong German Shorthaired Pointer from pulling/yanking on me (as much). I gave the padded model a good long trial, but "Bonnie" will not stop trying to rub it off. She rubs the back of my (bad) knee or in the grass. ALSO I constantly have to flip the leash back over her head: it gets wrapped around as she sniffs along. Bonnie is a forelimb amputee and I'll be getting a full body harness for her instead.

I wanted to try this instead of a choke collar, but it broke in 5 minutes when the were trying to take it off. It's probably good for smaller dogs.

Very nice and affordable, but my 7 year old weimaraner was able to get it in his mouth and chew it up. might be an error on our part. But it laid on his snout very comfortably the only problem we had was when we passed another dog and he would wiggle it into his mouth to chew on it. Perhaps its true that you cant teach an old dog new tricks

COVID has, and will continue, to change our lives. That may be the understatement of the century. For us, I started walking our 5 dogs daily. We have 4 Standard Poodles and a mutant Golden Doodle. All but 1 of our pack are rescue/rehomed pups and came to us with little or no leash manners. We started walking with flat collars, 3 of the pups progressed to martingale collars, then choke collars and finally to pinch collars. They would still pull, but it was manageable. I don’t want manageable, I want enjoyable. I did some reading on-line and decided to try a head collar and could not be happier! It took 10 minutes on the first walk and 5 on the next, before the pups stopped struggling with the COVID has, and will continue, to change our lives. That may be the understatement of the century. For us, I started walking our 5 dogs daily. We have 4 Standard Poodles and a mutant Golden Doodle. All but 1 of our pack are rescue/rehomed pups and came to us with little or no leash manners. We started walking with flat collars, 3 of the pups progressed to martingale collars, then choke collars and finally to pinch collars. They would still pull, but it was manageable. I don’t want manageable, I want enjoyable. I did some reading on-line and decided to try a head collar and could not be happier! It took 10 minutes on the first walk and 5 on the next, before the pups stopped struggling with the harness. It is a different piece of equipment. I chose the Halti Optifit because of the additional padding across the nose and a very favorable price. I can do without the extra safety strap, that ties the head collar to your flat collar. It creates a loop that the pup can & will put a paw through and get tangled. Closely follow the fitting instructions. If it’s too loose, it’s easy for the pup to “paw” the nose loop over the end of his snout and then it’s caught in his mouth and he’s not very happy. Follow the fitting instructions, give your pup a few minutes , and maybe a few high value treats, and your on your way to a much more enjoyable walk. … more

I did not like this. I got the smallest size and it didn't work for my dog. She has a small, narrow snout and so it kept sliding off. I bought this one so she can breathe but doesn't stay on. I just wasted my money on the product. The thing is also too thin, it looks like it wouldn't last that long either.