Should of done this in the beginning.

Hi
As the title says i should of done this before recommending anything and in this case its the Halti head collar.
With most of the dogs i've trained with it, only a little correction is needed just to direct the head towards you when you stop to correct pulling or to look away from a distraction.
I would never recommend the head collar be used as anything more than a short term tool, its not what i would class as full time walking aid.
The halti head collar is not a miracle worker and it is only with training that it will work correctly and to your advantage, using it incorrectly, pulling or jerking a dogs head with it will create discomfort and you don't want this with any dog or he'll start to not want to wear it or go out for a walk.
This tool has worked with all my dogs (three oldest) just knowing they have it on calms them down when on a walk (not used it for my girls for years) but my male gets excited around family members and pulls and as soon as i pop the halti on him (not daily) he simply calms down, he doesn't get fearful or scared, he just calms down. like he does when he wear his back pack.
An example of someone and some dog that should not wear a halti is my sisters staffy cross 26+ kg she pulls like crazy and when the halti was put on her she simply walked with her head turned to the side the entire way still pulling no matter what, this is dangerous to the dogs neck just as much as it is for a collar on the windpipe when dogs pull and it can do serious damage to the dogs neck and spine, if your dog reacts this way to the halti, it should not be used at all.
If your dogs react like mine did, just calmed them down and only needed a simple light correction then they are safe to use, especially if your a light weight and your dog can pull you over on a simple lead or harness but again training is key not just this tool.

You make some good points there Amelie.

A dog that pulls and has its head turned to the side is quiet obviously not suited to a halti.

I'm fortunate that my girl doesn't pull at all anymore but if someone else is reading this, what would you recommend instead ?

We tried several harnesses before we found what my Flo was comfortable with and now the slightest tension on the lead makes her slow down.

I would recommend harnesses that turn a dog towards the owner, unbalance them, these have worked wonders for larger dogs that are simply to big for their owners, no fault of either party of course, most other harnesses i've used just make it more comfortable for the dog to pull but again, any new harness or collar is going to feel odd for the dog so in the first few days don't think you have found a cure because once the dog gets used to the sensation off he goes pulling again so really training needs to go hand and hand with tools the owner is confident in and the dog is comfortable in.

Yup agree with the training.

I think the key thing with my girl was a harness that had the clip ring much further down her back for some reason. It could be that if she pulled then the whole harness felt more snug rather than just towards the front legs but I'm guessing really.

I have recently been using a Halti on Katy as she pulls a lot, didn't like having to use it. Been using it on & off for 2 weeks, now I take her out without it on but in my hand so if she pulls I show it to her & she stops pulling 90% of the time If she doesn't I put it back on, they learn fast