10 Best Dog Collars for Pulling – Reviews & Top Picks 2024

Your dog pulling on the leash is more than just inconvenient for you. It can be scary for the people you pass, and potentially dangerous for your pooch, too. If your dog pulls hard enough to yank the leash from your grip, what’s to stop them from running into traffic or lunging at another dog? No one wants a dog that’s unruly on the leash, but fixing it can be a difficult problem. If you’ve ever tried a dog collar that’s intended to stop pulling, your experience may have been hit or miss. These collars are not created equally, so we’ve tried as many as possible to see which ones are worth investing in. The following ten reviews will share all that we learned while training our dogs with these collars, so hopefully, it will help make the decision easier for you.

A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites (updated in 2024)

The 10 Best Dog Collars for Pulling

1. Frisco Solid Nylon Martingale Dog Collar – Best Overall

Some dogs have a seemingly natural ability to escape their leash and are notorious for pulling on it. Choke collars and prong collars are considered too harsh by a lot of owners. The double loop design of the Frisco Solid Nylon Martingale Dog Collar has two loops. The first works like a traditional collar and includes a slide mechanism that enables you to get the ideal fit for your dog. The second loop is what prevents your dog from pulling. As your dog pulls, in either direction, the loop tightens slightly. It is less harsh than choke collars, but when combined with effective training techniques, it can turn your puller into a calm walker.

Made from high-quality nylon, the Frisco Solid Nylon Martingale Dog Collar helps prevent your dog from pulling forward or backward. It also has a separate ID ring so that you don’t have to pack the leash ring with other tags. You can choose from multiple sizes, and there are various designs so that you can get the one that best suits you and your dog.

The collar works well and is durable, and its competitive price makes it the best overall dog collar for pulling, in our list, but even the small size will prove too large for small and toy breeds, and likely too large for most puppies. All in all, we think this is the best dog collar for pulling available this year.

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2. StarMark TCLC No Pull Dog Training Collar – Best Value

If metal pronged collars seem too harsh and aggressive to put around your furry loved one, then you may consider the StarMark TCLC Training Collar instead. Rather than using metal spikes, this collar employs soft plastic points that will get your dog’s attention and make your message clear without causing them any pain. It features a Martingale design that tightens up just enough to apply pressure without choking your dog, as long as it’s sized properly. The nylon Martingale strap is thin and doesn’t inspire confidence with larger dogs. Luckily, they won’t be pulling on it hard so it should last. In our experience, it didn’t break or fray, but it’s thinner than we’re comfortable with. These dog collars also wasn’t as effective on our dogs with thick neck pads like Pit Bulls and Bulldogs.

For proper fitting, each link can be removed and more can be added to adjust this collar to whatever size you need. That said, it’s very difficult to resize and getting each link on and off was a pain! One broke in the process, so make sure you’re careful when you attempt it. Altogether, we think it’s the best dog collar for pulling for the money.

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3. Sporn No-Pull Dog Collar Halter – Premium Choice

Protected by a lifetime guarantee, the Sporn Step-in Vest Collar Halter is our premium choice recommendation. Many pet owners are justifiably concerned with choking their dog or impaling their neck with hard metal spikes, as are we! The Sporn collar halter has a step-in design that allows the pressure to be exerted around their front legs instead of the neck. We were a bit apprehensive about its effectiveness at first, but after using it our doubts were quashed.

There were two things we didn’t love about this collar. First, if you don’t get it properly fit then your dog may wriggle out. The tightening clip itself isn’t the most durable though and is the weak point of the whole harness. This didn’t bother us too much since the lifetime guarantee will replace it if it breaks. This collar is available in sizes to fit dogs from 5 pounds up to 130 pounds. When we pulled the leash, it would immediately cause the dog to stop and wait. Overall, it was one of the best dog collars for walking, which is why it’s our premium choice.

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4. Country Brook Martingale Dog Collar

Affordable, durable, and stylish, the Country Brook Petz Martingale color is made from nylon with no chain so it’s more comfortable for your dog. Since it is a Martingale design, it will still tighten up with the pull of the leash to signal to your canine companion that they need to stop pulling. The pressure is gentle yet firm and it won’t choke your pup.

For those who like to stand out and be unique, these dog collars is available in 20 different colors for you to choose from. However, be careful using it on dogs with light fur as the color will wear off onto their coat leaving a bright-colored ring! You may be able to avoid this by washing it first, but it’s a noticeable problem and the staining it left did not want to wash out of our dog’s fur. There’s no buckle so it’s a bit more difficult to put on, but that also means there’s less chance of it breaking.

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5. Halti Head Collar Suited for Dogs That Pull

The Halti Head Collar helps gently steer your dog when you pull on the leash by gently applying pressure to their snout. Because of the design, it doesn’t choke your dog or even tighten around their neck, instead, using a head collar that wraps around the head and snout to relay the message. You don’t have to pull hard to make your point, either. After prolonged use, it will need repeated tightening. If you forget, you may find your dog wriggling his way out of the head harness.

For your dog’s comfort, this harness is constructed from nylon. It’s supposed to be very durable, but that wasn’t our experience. Our collar started fraying where the nylon rubs against the metal ring after just a few walks. Eventually, it had weakened so much that one of our dogs lunged after a stray bunny and snapped the nylon. We like the concept of this collar, but wish it provided better longevity.

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6. Coastal Walk’n Train Head Dog Halter Collar

Unlike collars that stop pulling by choking your dog, the Coastal Walk’n Train steers your dog by their snout. It features an extra clip in case they wriggle out of the head halter. If you’re worried about appearances, this halter looks a bit like a muzzle, which may be a turnoff for some people. Since it is designed to go around the snout, it doesn’t work well with dogs that have very short snouts.

Some of our dogs didn’t seem phased by this halter and just kept pulling. Our other dogs responded well, but they didn’t enjoy having the harness wrapped around their mouths. It also tended to migrate back and cover their eyes, so we had to make continuous adjustments while walking. It is a very affordable solution, but the hit-or-miss performance with our pups means it won’t earn one of our top recommendations.

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7. PetSafe Gentle Leader Dog Headcollar

With eight colors to choose from, the PetSafe Gentle Leader Headcollar is an affordable and stylish way to train your dog to stop pulling on the leash. We like the concept, but the execution isn’t quite there. There’s a plastic clasp that holds the collar on, but it’s very weak and broke on our second walk. To make matters worse, the nylon used to craft this collar is too thin and can break on its own if the clasp manages to hold up. Since it goes around your dog’s snout, they’ll likely try to chew through it. To that end, PetSafe offers a 1-year chew damage replacement, but that’s not enough to earn this collar a higher spot on our list.

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8. Dazzber Dog Collar

Constructed of durable and soft nylon for your pet’s ultimate comfort, the Dazzber dog collar is a Martingale design that discourages pulling by tightening around your dog’s neck. Since there’s no metal, it doesn’t make any audible sound to reinforce the point, but it also is less likely to actually hurt your dog. There’s no buckle, so it’s a bit difficult to get on and off. Once it’s on, you can tighten the adjustment straps, but they loosened up quickly and needed to be retightened after just a short bit. Despite the drawbacks, the Dazzber collar is more expensive than its closest competitors. While it does work, we think you can get the same performance at a cheaper price.

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9. Dog-Thing Dog Training Prong Collar

Constructed of interlocking steel links and prongs, the Dog-Thing training prong collar is a formidable choke chain that will likely intimidate some people. Many people are justifiably wary of putting metal spikes into their dog’s neck. It’s overkill unless you have a beast of an unruly dog. That said, it is effective at stopping pulling and lunging. It’s also very easy to hurt your dog, especially if you’re not well versed in its proper use. With this model, we had one of the links pop off mid-walk, releasing the dog to run free. This is a danger to your pup and anyone else around. We’d recommend the StarMark training collar in position two instead, since it’s gentler on your dog and still stops them from pulling.

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10. Hamilton C3200 Training Collar for Dogs

Dirt cheap and definitely effective, the Hamilton training collar is also uncomfortable and potentially dangerous. It’s hard to get on and off your dog since you have to unhook a link. Once on, the spikes dig into your dog’s neck. When you pull the leash, they dig harder and your dog will stop moving. We’d only suggest this for large and rambunctious dogs that are very difficult to control, except that it’s not durable enough! Ours actually snapped during testing, which surprised us since it’s made of metal. In the end, we just don’t think it’s one of the better options since more reliable collars are available in the same price range.

Conclusion

With so many options available, it’s difficult to know which collar will stop your dog from pulling on the leash without hurting them. We’ve tried as many as we could get a hold of and compiled our findings into the ten reviews you’ve just read. Our favorite, and the best dog collar for pulling, was the Mighty Paw Martingale collar since it did the job and didn’t cause them any discomfort. It’s heavy-duty enough for large dogs and tightens just enough to send a training cue without choking them.

For the best value, we think it’s hard to beat the Frisco Solid Nylon Martingale. The soft spikes will get the message through to your dog without hurting them and links can be removed or added to achieve the perfect fit for any pooch. For a premium offering, the Sporn Step-in Vest Collar Halteris an excellent choice that pulls on your dog’s front legs instead of choking them. It was very effective in our testing and even includes a lifetime guarantee. It may be the best collar for walking on the market. All three of these will make great choices for training your doggo to stop pulling, and we feel confident recommending them. We hope our guide helps you find the best dog collar for pulling!

See also:

• 10 Best Prong & Chain Collars for Dogs – Reviews & Top Picks
• Halti vs. Gentle Leader: Which Head Collar Is Better?