If you have tried a harness and that’s not enough to safely walk your dog, the Comfort Trainer head collar is a great way to reclaim your walk from your pulling dog. The collar portion of the Comfort Trainer head collar should fit fairly snugly, but not as tight as you might fit for the Gentle Leader. You want the collar on tight enough that if the nose portion does come off, the collar itself stays on.
First size the collar, as above, leaving the nose loop off of the dog. If you have the EZ Comfort Trainer, which is what we sell, there’s a black clip on the collar part, as well as a metal buckle.
Start with the black clip attached and open the metal buckle. Size the collar using the metal buckle – just poke the buckle right through the fabric. From now on, you’ll only be using the EZ clip to take the collar on and off; the buckle stays attached. When putting it on the dog, you’ll come up with your own style, but I usually hold the nose loop (the tan part) with one hand, and a treat in the other. Feed the treat after the nose goes through, then attach the back part using the EZ clip. The leash attaches to the bottom part, under the dog’s chin – in the picture with the Golden Retriever, the leash is the metal you see at the very bottom of the image.
But don’t rush into it! We have another blog post on getting the dog comfortable in a head collar, including the Comfort Trainer, which you should read before you put the nose loop on the dog. Please also read our article on Loose Leash Walking so you can train your dog to walk politely with any gear, like a harness or flat collar.
If your dog is an escape artist or reacts aggressively, you may want to buy a safety attachment, to make sure that if it does come off, for some reason, you’ll still have your dog on leash. It attaches to the back of the Comfort Trainer and also to the collar or harness.
Sizing Suggestions for the Comfort Trainer head halter:
- Size 1 – Dogs 1-10 pounds
- Size 2 – Dogs 11-25 pounds
- Size 2b – Dogs 11-25 pounds, with a thin noseband for brachiocephalic dogs
- Size 3 – Dogs 26-55 pounds
- Size 4 – Dogs 56-80 pounds
- Size 5 – Dogs 81-100 pounds
- Size 6 – Dogs over 100 pounds
NOTE: Never POP the leash with a head collar (or any collar or harness, really). It’s particularly dangerous to pop something that is attached to your dog’s neck.
