# Half Check Collars



## SEVEN_PETS (Aug 11, 2009)

Hey

I've been walking Ollie in a halti harness for about a week now and it is going well. He doesn't pull anywhere near as much as he used to on harnesses/collars, but I have one issue. Because Ollie is a scavenger, it means that I need as much control of his head as possible, and because I can't use a headcollar anymore, I'm thinking about using a half check collar. He pulls like a train on a normal flat collar, but thought that a half check may discourage pulling and also allow me to have more control of his head on walks too.

Is it easy to train dogs not to pull on a half check? How do they work? What is the correct way to fit them?


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## theevos5 (Dec 24, 2009)

I have the same problem,with our beagle Alf,he too is a scavenger,I haven't used a half check,but I do use a slip lead,I have tried lots of combinations of different leads,collars etc and I always go back to the trusty slip lead,I feel that I do have total control,when using it,and he walks beautifully to heel when walking on it.


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## kaisa624 (Mar 5, 2010)

Half check - Make sure that when the chain is taught, the collar isn't pinching at all, so you can still fit a finger through, but isn't choking him, if you get me.

I wouldn't say how to use one properly, as we generally just tighten the leash nearer roads, and use corrections when she starts to pull, but she's normally fine on a half check.


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## Blitz (Feb 12, 2009)

If you are using a half check make sure you have it set up correctly so that it acts as a check and the rings dont meet. And remember it is only going to check the dog you give the correction right, otherwise it will just be the same as a flat collar but with a tendency to choke the dog more.


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## lemmsy (May 12, 2008)

I wouldn't use a half check or any collar if (and assuming) you plan to use corrections (and I wouldn't do that either). Quite frankly there are far more sophisticated and kind ways of teaching a dog to walk to lead. 
I have family friends who walk their dogs on half checks but they use them as they would normal collars so that rings meet. The chain bit just provides the dog with some slack on the neck (but it cannot be backed out of) and in this sense I suppose the slackness of the collar whilst the dog performs a slack lead behaviour may help to encourage the dog to remain on a slack lead. (In the sense that on a tight lead the dog's natural instinct is to pull, in the same way, a loose slack lead and collar may encourage the dog to remain that way :confused1. That said the dog does need to be taught to walk on a loose lead (as my friends labs have been).

Personally I like the halti (or two point of attachment/ front fastening harness- snugglepets ones are best). However any such aid needs to be accompanied by good positive reinforcement training.

Also do you use a double ended lead with the halti. What about having one end of the lead at the shoulder D-ring and the other end attached to his collar? No need for half check.

Have a read of this article:
300 peck pigeon- the key to teaching duration and distance

Hope this helps


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## Blitz (Feb 12, 2009)

What exactly is unkind in a tweak that brings the dog back onto a loose lead. And what point is there in buying a half check collar then fitting it as an ordinary collar. You always have the risk that the rings could get caught up on something and the dog could be strangled so it seems rather odd to put one on a dog if you are not using it as a training aid. I am afraid I find it very unkind to allow a dog to pull on any sort of collar. It is up to you what method you use to train your dog not to pull but unfortunately the vast majority of dogs are never taught and could be so easily if the owners were shown how to do it properly.


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## lemmsy (May 12, 2008)

Tweaking/checking the dog's lead and consequently its neck is a very invasive way of training. I dislike the use of such aversives. The dog never actually gets told what he's supposed to do.:confused1: You check, and if as you suggest the dog's lead slackens (what you're aiming for!), does this get reinforced? Do we let the dog know what he should be doing, rather than what he shouldn't? Far too many times trainers who have decided for some reason that an aversive is needed never even return to rewarding the right behaviour! Many also fail to identify triggers that predict pulling (and so set the dog up to fail) and some end up repeated checking the dog, increasing tension in the dog's neck and often as a consequence, increasing the dog's desire and motivation to pull. Is the any consideration for proofing to more challenging high arousal environments?

In a fearful dog, checking can also significantly increase stress and make a potentially feared situation a heck of a lot worse. 


Why would you check when you can teach the dog to trust it's person (who isn't going to yank their neck unpredictably because they haven't taken the time to teach their dog how they DO want them to behave) and teach them the right behaviour over a gradual process which sets the dog up to succeed at each stage? 
It's a no brainer for me


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## Blitz (Feb 12, 2009)

If you are checking correctly then of course you praise the dog when the lead goes slack. Funny how a dog taught correctly this way is walking well on a loose lead after a few lessons but many dogs that are taught by other methods or taught incorrectly are pulling and choking and ending up with bruised necks for the whole of their lives. The whole point is that the dog never pulls because the correction is immediate and for a fraction of a second only. The problem arises using this method only because so many handlers have no sense of timing whatsoever so the dog never learns what is being asked of it.


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