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Compared to Snout Loops (Halti, Gentle Leader, Heather's Heroes, etc.)

(Click to see why Humans are "the issue" when it comes to any training tool that needs lessons to be used) 

Leading from the front is the magic
The Walk Your Dog With Love dog harness and head halters work the same way – they both lead from the front. This gives The Walker the ability to steer and turn the dog, while at the same time not triggering off a dog’s natural instinct to pull. A good thing.

The differences
One of the MOST important differences is that your dog won’t hate the Walk Your Dog With Love dog harness. When dogs wear a snout loop, they often try to paw at it or rub their noses in the ground to get it off, We have all seen this. And some are even willing to rub their noses on cement to do so. Those that don't do this wear it under protest. More on that in a moment. 

  • We all want to treat our dogs kindly and compassionately… So why do we have them walk with something they hate? Taking a walk is one of the things our dogs love in life, then we make it miserable with this thing on their snout. That is like taking Chocolate or Wine, some of the most enjoyable things in life, and making them miserable.
  • One of the reasons snout halters are miserable (outside of having something on your nose) is because Mommy dogs ‘correct’ baby dogs by touching their noses. For your dog, wearing a snout loop is like being constantly corrected. That is no fun, not natural and is VERY stressful to your dog: it breaks their spirit.
  • Another important issue is that with a Walk Your Dog With Love dog harness there is no chance to twist or torque your dog’s neck and spine. This can and does happen with head halters; it is the concern of many veterinarians.
  • With the head halter your dog has to 'hold its head' up, to fight the weight of the snap bolt from the leash. This is very uncomfortable for your dog, even torturous.
  • Head halters often create a rub mark on the dog’s nose, a mark that often gets infected.
  • Head halters also often ride up and into the dog’s eyes because they are so close to their eyes to begin with. This is something that The Human Walker doesn’t see as they walk their dogs: not good.
  • Your neighbors, and insurance company, often think your dog is vicious because snout loops look like muzzles. You don’t want your dog to be thought of as a meanie in a muzzle!
  • A head halter limits a dog’s ability to defend themselves against attack by other dogs and limit their ability to open their mouths – which is how dogs lose heat.

Walking differences
If you are used to a snout loop, please know that the Walk Your Dog With Love dog harness does feel different to the human walking the dog. Because the snout loop is closer to your hand, humans sometimes interpret that its feel as more responsive.

Yet that is just a perception, not the reality. The reality is that the results are actually the same, because you are still steering and directing the dog just as effectively. Walk Your Dog With Love’s lead point is lower on the dog and further behind than when using a snout loop, and thus our harness has a ‘softer’ ride than a head halter. This is like the difference between a sportier car and the softer ride of a luxury car.

AN EVEN DEEPER LOOK: Anatomically, Psychologically. Physically.
Though they both lead '"from the front", leading from the chest is much more friendly because the snout loop produces those results by doing many things that are medically and mentally not good for a dog. Most dogs paw at snout loops trying to get the off their noses, and some are even willing to drag their snouts on cement to get them off… that should say something right there.

  • The first issue with a snout loop is that it emulates a mother dog saying NO (momma dog usually gives a quick touch to the snout to say No… and that is it. They don’t do it in an ongoing way). The issue is that the snout loop is continuously ‘saying NO’. It never lets up. It’s a dog form of cruel and unusual punishment. Imagine being a kid and getting constant correction. It’s tremendously stressful. That’s not good for many reasons. Sometimes it even causes dogs to ‘shut down’ and become withdrawn, ultra docile or even immobile during the walk.
  • It’s also very risky medical wise. While the jury is out on the exact number, a dog’s nose has a 100 times more odor receptors than a human nose (some say it could be as much as 600 times), and a much more complex and intricate maze of thin bones called turbinates. The snout loop messes with this and also with dog organs like the Lamina Transversa  and the Vomeronasal Organ (more on this is in a moment). So the snout loop is Not A Good Idea.
  • With a snout loop you can also really hurt your dog’s neck – it’s an accident waiting to happen. Then you have a hurt dog and also have an unnecessary emergency vet bill.
  • An oft over looked issue with snout loops is that the dogs have to ‘fight’ the weight of the leash’s snap bolt  - just to hold its head up.
  • It often puts a mark on the dog’s nose, which can get infected. And as noted above, a dog’s nose is not a good place to get infected – it is too important to a dog being a dog (versus, say, a toe getting infected) It can do the same behind the dog’s ears.

Inside a dog’s snout
Depending on what we believe, dogs have anywhere from 100-600 times more olfactory receptors than a human. In all cases, dog’s have an extremely sensitive and delicate snout. Imagine smelling things with more sensitivity and accuracy than we see. This sensitivity is because their longer snouts contain a complex maze of ultra thin bones called turbinates. The turbinates are lined with an epithelium. This provides a very large surface area for the air a dog breathes to pass over.

In the front of the snout the bones are called maxillo-turbinates; they are lined with a respiratory epithelium. In the back part of the snout there are ethmoid turbinates with epithelium that is for olfactory sensing. Smelling by another name. It’s this lining that contains the millions of olfactory receptors (neurons), that recognize odor molecules. The neurons need as much contact with the air as possible to detect the odor molecules. To increase the contact, the neurons have cilia – tiny hair-like projections. The latest scientific thinking (about mammals like us and dogs) says that each olfactory receptor cell only recognizes a single odorant receptor gene. After an odor is ‘recognized’, a pathway of tiny nerves relay signals to the brains olfactory lobe – which then interprets the odors.

In addition to the above, dog’s snouts (not humans) have some a special ‘tool’ called the Lamina Transversa. This is a unique plate of bone that forms a nook in the snout which is separated from the respiratory section of the snout. This recess holds an extra bit of air for the dog to smell, even when it is exhaling. Which means that a dog is getting a second opportunity at sensing a smell.

Dogs also have a vomeronasal organ (Jacobson’s organ) which is two elongated fluid-filled sacs just above the roof of the mouth. These detect body scents (pheromones) allowing, among other things, sexual and social assessment of other dogs.

The Bottom Line on all of this is the snout is very sensitive and also very important to a dog - so it should be left alone 

*****

OK, now you know too much about a dog’s nose. And why we need to be very careful with it. And you now know that a dog is living in a completely different world than you and I are because of it. A side note- it is this completely different world that makes our best friend behave in a manner that we don’t understand, because Humans are most often driven by what we See... and what we Believe

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