Some recommendations needed please

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biccie1

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Hello

We need to buy three things and I am looking for recommendations from you knowledgable people :D for Rocky.

He is an 8mth old pointer x cocker - his designer name (as I know how much you all love them) is a pointy c0ck and he has enormous paws. :p Totally gratuitous photo and video (of him playing ball by himself) at the end.

1) a halter device as he is strong and pulls when excited. We are working on it and are fine when there is nothing exciting going on but he goes selectively deaf when excited... :rolleyes:

2) a shampoo that is good for keeping a "fresh" smell, good on short coats (his is very short and shiny) and can be used regularly as he loves nothing more than a good dirty puddle bath on a walk so seems to spend a lot of time in the bath. He also likes to jump in horse poo and wee. :eek:

3) a "dry" shampoo thingy that we can use between baths when he is a bit pongy but he can't be bathed (for whatever reason).

photo-34.jpg


 
He's lovely!

Halterwise, I use and like Haltis but I know others don't like them. Was a recent thread with lots of info about other brands so worth searching that out.

Can't really help on the shampoo front as I quite often use washing up liquid I'm afraid!
 
We use Haltis on our GWPs, tried gentle leader but didn't get on with it. Haltis work great on ours.
Use byofresh shampoo, was recommended it after proving impossible to remove the smell of fox poo.....it worked!
Just read somewhere yesterday you should never use human shampoo or detergent on your dogs as the pH is all wrong.
Don't know about dry shampoo but I have got some pethead poof which I squirt them with when they are a bit whiffy and it smells divine!
 
Any dog can be cured of pulling by using a check chain properly,get someone to show you how. We used the Dermoline Insecticidal horse shampoo,lovely fresh appley smell. As for making him smell better..well our groomer dogs went home with a quick spray of Lynx behind their ears.Lasts for days ,so I was told!:D
 
I would always use a martingale collar instead of a halter.
I've seen too many with injured necks or escape from headcollars.

Shampoo - the pH difference is a myth. You can use human shampoo but avoid the ones like Pantene with panthenol. Tresseme is good but any for frequent use one should be ok. Be sure to rinse well as this is where people often go wrong.

For a quick freshen up cornflour (especially for white bits) or bran will work. Ruffle them through and then brush out well.
 
Head collar: canny collar.

Tried and hate what the halti and gentle leader do to the dog's eye.

Any harness I've tried just allows the dog to put his whole weight into pulling (think sled dogs pulling with al their strength!)

Slip leads make my lot choke themselves.

No idea on shampoo, I just use a generic doggy one but I've only ever bathed my lot once each.
 
I'm using a Gentle Leader on my big, strong, long-schnozzed dog.
He did piaffe and rear a bit and still tried to face-surf, but he gets a sharp tug to get his head back up again.
If you are getting him a headcollar, prep it properly, have it on him around the house, give him a treat when he sticks his head through, don't just whack it on and go walking.

Sorry, just to address something East Kent said, and it might be a loaded question for another thread - people go on about how cruel choke chains are - my dog has expressed extreme dislike of the Gentle Leader with the leaping in the air and the face-surfing (but that's tough, because my mum has to have an op on her shoulder and he can't jerk her around) and huffs a bit when he is corrected on it.
I put it on the pup to see his reaction and he went into orbit, absolutely nuts and was a bit snappy about it.
Now neither of these dogs have a problem with a large/flat/long link choke chain and accept corrections from it just fine and are controllable (just would not want to take the chance with my mother when her shoulder is very sensitive)
So why is one deemed cruel and the other not?
 
I don't know if choke chains are any worse than some of the head collars available. I've never used a choke, same action as a slip lead ifthe dog pulls? Dunno. My lot are quite used to haltis and canny collars. Call me stupid, but I took Bear out and about for some solo socialisation time today and he didn't even attempt to pull on the canny. When he's with his brother, they both pull like trains and it's obviously more difficult to correct two with good timing.

P.S. Two gentle leaders, one black, one red in boxes, medium size (spangle, border collie size) for sale! :p
 
The action is identical, the halti is just (in my opinion) flimsier and a poorer fit.
To echoe what has already been said, I rather like chokes, dogs "get it" quickly and dont bother with the dramatics a headcollar produces. I use GLs at work though and find them ok, if correctly fitted and used they shouldnt move across the eye (unless the dog has an awkward shaped face!)
 
CT, competition is definitely a reason to pull, when I had my dog's sister, they were constantly trying to get a nose in front, but were fine alone.

Re chokes vs slips - a slip lead is actually more severe than a choke chain. The general rule is, the thiner/finer the material, the more severe it is. Apart from anything, those big clanky round choke chains are useless :p the most severe collar to my mind is the very thin fabric slip collar with a large ring, fitted right up behind the ears. That's more for breaking attention/fixation than for stopping pulling though.

Sorry Biccie, off on one again :o
 
I hate making decisions!!! What to go for.... ?!? Thanks everyone for the input will go away to do some thinking and price googling!
 
Shampoo - the pH difference is a myth.
Sorry but this is incorrect, a dog has a more alkaline skin than us, this from t'internet but it was my vet who told me :-(
A dog’s skin is about 7.5 while human skin is about 5.5 (to put it in perspective, water is about 7.0). Therefore, a dog’s skin is more alkaline so ideally a dog’s shampoo should be between 6.5-7.5 or it could be irritating to the skin.
 
Dizzykizzy said:
Shampoo - the pH difference is a myth.
Sorry but this is incorrect, a dog has a more alkaline skin than us, this from t'internet but it was my vet who told me :-(
A dog’s skin is about 7.5 while human skin is about 5.5 (to put it in perspective, water is about 7.0). Therefore, a dog’s skin is more alkaline so ideally a dog’s shampoo should be between 6.5-7.5 or it could be irritating to the skin.
Click to expand...

& you can make the "human shampoo" into "dog shampoo" by adding a couple of drops of lemon juice or vinegar.
I was part of a study some years ago when many shampoos were tested.

The pH difference is insignificant and what does make a difference is thorough rinsing.
 
I use animology products on Pix. They make her smell so nice!!! And make her white patches really white!!! :) They also do a flea and tick shampo which seems really good for my mums bog retriever! ;) I also have some stink bomb spray for her which is good in between and for when someone's coming over, she pongs and there's not time to get her dry!!! Hehe! ;)

I walk Pix in a harness. She is better on a collar but because of her eye defects I like to have her in the harness. Also good for when she lauched off into a ditch to drag her out!!! ;) :) it does make her pull like a train at times if you just let her so you need good lead work in place to walk in a harness imo. Saw a lab in a harness at a car rally the other day pull its owner through some railings to try and get to another dog. :O As others have said, dogs pull sleds in harnesses for a reason!!! Lol! Gentle leader sounds like a good option for your lovely fella :)

Hope tht made sense!!! Hehe!

Elle
 
Hi

I use these Headcollars on mine as they work from the back of the head rather than twisting the neck.

http://www.agilitywarehouse.com/product_detail.cfm?id=3187

A lot of people use a harness and a headcollar with a linking lead - as then when the dog is not pulling the headcollar is almost inactive and the dog walks on the harness - then when they pull the headcollar can come into use - this can be a good method if you are wanting to eventually lose the need for a headcollar.
 
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