Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

We have a 120lb 4yo purebred German Shepherd male. He is by no means overweight and is much larger than most in his breed. Our problem with walking him is that he loves to chase birds and squirrels. A head collar gives us more control and diverts his attention back to walking when he gets excited and wants to chase something during a walk. I know the Halti is supposed to be a temporary learning tool, but our dog will need a head collar forever because he is so much easier to control this way than trying to keep him from chasing something with just his collar. We have been using a Gentle Leader with him for a long time and it has seemed to work great. My fiancé loves the simplicity of it and control it gives us with our easily excitable dog. I recently became aware of the Halti head collar and wanted to try it out vs. our Gentle Leader. We opted for the large Halti due to his size (by breed Halti recommends a medium). Gentle Leader Cons: thin straps with no padding that leave a mark (not a sore or cut, just a visible mark) on my dogs snout- doesn't seem to hurt him, but worries me. He can occasionally slip the nose piece off by rubbing his head on the ground (same with Halti). The snout strap comes really close to his eyes when he pulls in the oppsite direction of me (I would say more so than the Halti). Gentle Leader Pros: more control. Comes in many colors. Our dog cannot move the clip that adjusts the snout piece. Halti Cons: our dog can move the clip that goes under his chin to adjust the snout piece by opening his mouth really wide. Although I think this is just due to the face that for him to comfortably pant and drink it needs to be all the way down anyways, I still think this is something Halti needs to fix. This clip needs to be stronger. He also rubs his head on the ground and can get the snout piece off (same with a Gentle Leader too though). Halti Pros: by far outweigh the cons and the features of the Gentle Leader to me. Being 5'1" and not outweighing my dog by much the additional strap around the neck and backup clip that attaches to the collar gives me more control and reassurance. It has a much wider and cushioned strap on the snout that I feel is probably more comfortable for my dog- it does not leave a mark like the Gentle Leader. I also like the sliding pieces the connect the snout strap to the head strap. They also add support and control and help keep the snout strap away from his eyes (the strap still goes close to his eyes if he's being crazy and wants to chase something, but for regular walking works great- Gentle Leader does the same thing). While I think my fiancé would prefer the gentle leader, being smaller and more simple, he also is bigger and stronger than I am to be able to control our dog. For me, I think the Halti provides more control and requires less effort for me to feel confident and in control if our dog decides to try to chase something while walking. This is the longest product review I've ever written, but with a large breed dog with lots of energy it is hard to find good products and good reviews to help me make decisions on the best products for my dog. So I hope this helps someone else!