Doggy Headcollars - Which one to pick?

The Halti Headcollar Halti is made by the Company of Animals and was the first headcollar that was commonly seen on dogs. It works in a similar way to a horse's headcollar, with the point of attachment to the lead being under the dog's chin. The idea is that it's easier to turn the dog's head than when the lead is attached to a collar, and so when the dog pulls it can be steered back into position.One concern with the way the halti was initially designed was that with the lead connection under the chin, as the lead went tight and the halter activated, the nose loop could ride up into the dog's eyes. This has been minimised in later designs, but is a product of the way the headcollar is built so can't be eliminated completely.
Pros: easily available, good control, easy to put on
Cons: webbing can be a bit stiff (older types - newer types have got padded straps), nose loop can ride up into eyes. If the dog pulls suddenly out to the end of the lead there is the possible risk of neck damage as its head is pulled around sharply.

The Dogmatic
This is a more complicated version of the Halti, which still has the under chin attachment, but has extra straps to prevent the nose loop riding up.
Pros: good control, available in leather or soft webbing. Won't ride up on nose, and gives a point of control under chin
Cons: needs to be ordered direct from site, so best guess on fit

K9 bridle 
This is intended to work in a similar way to a bitless bridle on a horse. When the dog pulls, there is downward pressure on the bridge of the nose, and pressure behind the head. The attachment point for the lead is behind the animal's head, between the ears.
Pros: no risk of damage to neck as the head is not turned, manufacturer claims that incidences of aggression can be decreased because downward pressure on the nose can break eye contact. The point of attachment is immediately and centrally behind the dog's head so pressure is applied symmetrically to the face. The nose loop runs into a ring rather than a clip, so doesn't need adjusting to lie flat against the neck
Cons: can be fiddly to put on, only available from website so best guess on fit (the K9 bridle does have an adjustment, but no clear instructions on site as to how to get fit completely right)

Gencon 
Similar in mode of action to the K9 bridle, this headcollar also puts pressure on the nose and behind the head. However, it is slightly simpler to use and fastens under the dog's right ear. The collar runs in a figure 8 aorund the dog's muzzle and then around the back of the head, with a plastic clip under the chin holding the two loops of the 8 in the correct orientation. The Gencon can be bought as an integrated head collar and lead - probably best for use with a separate lead attached to the dog's every day collar in case the headcollar slips off.
Pros: easy to put on (similar to halti), available online and through retailers. No risk of damage to the neck.
Cons: Point of attachment is off centre, so pressure applied slightly unevenly to the face and neck.
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Gentle Leader
The Gentle Leader is a hybrid of the halti-type and the K9bridle-type of headcollars. It is fitted in a similar way to the halti, with the point of attachment being under the chin, but is effectively two loops, one around the muzzle and one around the back of the head, so that when the lead tightens, pressure is applied both to the muzzle and the head.
Pros: easy to get hold of, easy to put on, uses a combination of steering from under chin and pressure on scruff and nose to reduce pulling. Very cheap in comparison to others (except Halti)
Cons: As with others that fasten under the chin, there is a risk of damage to next if pressure is applied suddenly

Canny Collar

Similar in action and structure to the Gencon, this collar fastens behind the dog's head, and is a simple figure 8. It puts pressure on the bridge of the dog's nose and behind the head.
Pros: no risk to the neck, simple mechanism
Cons: slightly fiddly as needs the clip under the chin to lie flat for the collar to work

A different kind of cone

This post is a few days out of sync, but is from when Cybi was neutered. He destroyed two buster collars from the vet in a matter of days, so we went for a slightly different third approach. Unfortunately, it wasn't an option to leave the collar off completely, as he kept going in for a sneaky pull at his stitches so we had to find an alternative. I considered a few possibles -

A variant on the "traditional" buster collar:

This version is made by the Company of Animals, and is a translucent cone with padding on the inside and outside edges. I decided it was too similar to the ones he'd already wrecked, so probably wasn't worth a third attempt. Reviews of the cone on one of the sites that sells it (e.g. Pet Supermarket) show that it seems to be good for some dogs, but not collie proof.

This one is also Company of Animals, and fastens via a drawstring round the dog's neck. Given quite how much of an idiot Cybi is, and the fact that I'd have to take my eyes off him sometimes I just didn't like the idea of having a string round his neck. I also thought the solid colour would make it tough to see things and probably increase his frequency of crashing into..everything...
From its apparently quite wide fan shape and the flexibility of the material, it's also likely that a wiggly and agile dog like mine could work around it to get at his stitches. I think it'd probably suit a more mellow type who was distressed by the jarring of crashing a buster collar into walls but didn't mind actually having it on as it's flexible and lightweight. (Also found at Pet Supermarket)

The third cone "variant" I considered was the James Pet Health one, called the comfy cone.

 The side-opening velcro, the padding, and the ability to adjust the cone shape from long and narrow to wide as your dog's anatomy or activity determines is pretty useful. It isn't cheap though, and it's still a cone that extends some way beyond the dog's head in order to be useful, so based on the cost, lack of ability to see through it, and my pup's ability to headbutt anything I opted against this one too.




Non-traditional cones:
Three main candidates here, all variations on a theme. These cones are effectively an inflatable inner tube in a tight "C" shape, which then velcroes across the open part of the C to create a ring.

Option #1 is the Buster Inflatable Collar, an inner tube covered by a strong, nylon weave.
Next up, the Pet Project Comfy Collar - also an inflatable inner, but this one covered in vinyl.

And finally, the Kong Cloud E-Collar (link via Amazon)

Given these three similar products to choose from, I based my decision on the covering, opting for rip-stop nylon over vinyl because it had to withstand the other idiot jumping on it/attempting to chew it. I haven't been able to ascertain what the Kong one is covered in, though it looks furry. Other factors were price (the first two are fractionally cheaper than the third) and my own personal biases - the only place it seems to be straightforward to buy the Kong Collar in the UK at a sensible price is via an Amazon seller called "Pet Supply Company USA", and this company also advertises prong collars for sale in the UK. I rarely believe in absolutes when it comes to dogs and training, but I firmly believe there is no place for the use of prong collars in the modern day, and so will not support a company that sells them by purchasing anything from them.

So, a rush order of the Buster Collar it was. I'll post some photos of Cybi wearing his new collar and give my thoughts on how we coped with it rather than the traditional Elizabethan collar style. It was a largely affair, and my shins and calves, and the doorframes, all benefited from him being able to see better.
See how we got on here.