Bulldogs World

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of collars depending on the situation.  I have never and will likely never own a harness. I had a puppy come back to me that was trained with a harness and she is absolutely the worst dog to walk on leash.  All she did was charge at the end of that thing and pull.  I did some tough love training for a few days while I had her and got some of it corrected, but it was going to take alot of work.  Also if you are using a retractable lead...get rid of it.  Those are worthless for regular walks and training.  The purpose of those is to allow the dog to have some space when taking them out to potty if you don't have a yard.  There is no control with all that in your hand and I've know dogs to break the stop and try holding on to that cord.  Those things can cause severe ropeburns on hands and legs.

There is no way I could ever stop Kohl if he was on a harness and decided to pull.  I would be flying behind like in a comic strip.

IMO you have to train your dog correctly and once you have done that then you will be able to walk them on anything.

I use martingales collars (check chokes) on a daily basis.  All of my dogs are trained on chokes as well.  When you show you typically use a choke.  This is my favorite martingale/check choke collar.  I especially like the quick releash on this one.  I have 2 that don't have that feature and they are more difficult to get over a big bulldog head and have it fit correctly around the neck.

My next purchase will be a Starmark.  I like the option of using a prone if needed for training purposes for a dog that is too much of a puller and these are a far more human prone type collar then the metal prone collars.  What I caution is don,t use a prone or choke unless you know how to correctly use one.  You just can't pull on a choke collar or training collar.  You have to utilize short quick corrections at the right time along with treats or a clicker.  So go to a training session to learn how to correctly use the collars.  Not all dogs need a training type of collar.  If you have a puller and you are using a harness it will always be a pullerbecause ther is no way to correct the pulling with a harness.  That why they use harnesses for pulling dogs and sled dogs.

Good luck!

Hazel has a martingale that is all cloth it works well when she's training.

I use No Pull ones.  They can be walked on anything, neither one of my dogs are "pullers" ....I just prefer the harness.  Plus if I put a "regular" collar on Farley he plops down and won't move. 

it works just fine =)

I NEVER go out of the yard without my kids on a choke.  Now all my kids are in the show ring.   I just feel you have no control without it.  You need to be able to correct them when needed.  I have walked through the PA farm show complex with all my show gear in one hand and three bulldogs in the other and had not trouble.  My kids know they are to be good when we leave the house.  

Ok thanks for the input! I definitely need to get her out of the harness.  It actually is "no pull" one but it doesn't work.  I guess my concern was that while training her to use the martingale I didn't want her to choke herself all the time and possibly damage her neck or throat. She seems oblivious and will just keep pulling even as she gags. Shes doesn't pull all the time, mostly when she sees something of interest like a squirrel or gets really excited but she is soooo strong. Thanks again! 

.... an easy walk harness on Tucker. The D ring is on the front. He was trained on a leash just with a collar and walked great but one day my brain malfunctioned and I thought we should get a harness. Well that turned Tucker into a horrible puller! Someone suggested we try the easy walk and it works great for us.