Using a slip lead as a head halter

pinkspore

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#1
Lately a lot of the local rescue community has taken to using standard rope slip leads as head halters. The lead is just looped figure-8 style around the dog's neck and nose and then the slide keeps it from loosening too much. Is this common anywhere else? Or just here? I'm not a huge fan of casual head halter use in general because I see a lot of dogs getting their necks cranked by inattentive owners, but the slip lead head halter thing doesn't sit quite right with me.
 

milos_mommy

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#2
I have never seen this. I can't imagine it's super safe or reliable.

My guess is that 1) it's cheaper than buying actual halters and 2) easier for volunteers to walk dogs without having actual hallters available? I can kind of see using this in a pinch (like you need to walk a reactive dog through a crowded kennel and get past other dogs with good head control and nothing else is available or someone smaller trying to move a very large dog from one kennel to another, but I can't imagine shelters or anywhere regularly using this as an approved way of doing things.
 
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#3
I have never seen that before. And it doesn't sound particularly safe or reliable (or easy to put on, for that matter), so I don't see why anyone would want to do that.
 

pinkspore

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#4
OK I feel better now. The slip lead head halter thing is often used in conjunction with a heavy backpack on the dog, and walking multiple dogs by tying their face leashes to each other's packs so the handler only has to hold one or two leashes at a time. I'm sure you can guess which television entertainer they are emulating.
 
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#5
I don't know, it doesn't seem that bad to me tbh in the context of dogs at a shelter getting taken in and out. Slip leads can be purchased in bulk for really cheap.

Maybe my perspective is skewed because I've seen this used a lot with small livestock like sheep at our State Fair, 4H, etc. *shrug*
 

pinkspore

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#6
It's not in context of people taking dogs in and out of the shelter usually. It's more in the context of pictures of fosters going on walks in their foster home.neighborhood, and pictures of group walks with adopted dogs and current fosters all wearing the face leashes. I just saw a craigslist ad for a dog wearing a thin nylon slip lead pushed up into his eyes, taken at somebody's house, and was wondering if this was a new normal.
 

MicksMom

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#7
I don't know, it doesn't seem that bad to me tbh in the context of dogs at a shelter getting taken in and out. Slip leads can be purchased in bulk for really cheap.

Maybe my perspective is skewed because I've seen this used a lot with small livestock like sheep at our State Fair, 4H, etc. *shrug*
We used to do something similar with the horses using a lead rope, but I'm having a hard time picturing not only how to do it with a dog, but also it being effective and safe.
 

*blackrose

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#8
Only time I've done something similar is what we call "blue leading" - and that is done to provide extreme control of the head/as a muzzle, not as a halter esque type thing.

I would think doing something like the makeshift head halter long term would be very....punishing? I mean, the goal of a head halter is for there to be complete slack so the dog isn't putting pressure on his muzzle. I feel like a makeshift halter would always apply pressure, as well as tightening if the dog DID pull vs just applying pressure?
 

milos_mommy

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#9
I see people using an extra lead wrapped around a dog's chest as a no-pull harness lately. Mainly people who took the dog out without the harness and had trouble or as an interim if the dog ate the harness and they were waiting for a new one.
 

Xandra

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#10
I do that with my llamas. It's very handy and secure because it tightens around their muzzle if they pull away.

The only problem I see with applying it to dogs is that it seems like it would ride up into their eyes.
 

BostonBanker

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#11
Maybe my perspective is skewed because I've seen this used a lot with small livestock like sheep at our State Fair, 4H, etc. *shrug*
Or larger livestock, if said livestock is stupid enough to lose their halter in a huge field with tall grass ;)



I have seen people in a pinch use the leash as a head halter - more of a way to get control over a surprising situation than as a solution to something long term though. Lots and lots of the leash around the belly; that seems to be the "version" we see around here.
 

pinkspore

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#12
I can definitely see the application in unexpected situations. I find it a bit weird to be doing for every dog for every walk though. Several of my coworkers also volunteer for these rescues and I see a lot of pictures of their dogs on casual walks with slip leads wrapped around their faces. The leash definitely rides up into their eyes, and the attitude of the people promoting this is that it is preferable to using an actual head halter.
 

Julee

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#13
I used to do it all the time if I needed close control of a dog in any situation. I definitely prefer it to regular head collars. Bold lead designs is where I got the idea... Their infinity lead is just that.
 

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