This was a chance too good to pass up, so, with the advantage of a cheap air ticket via my brother, who works for Lufthansa, I jumped on a plane to a do a long-distance home visit. Michael met me at Frankfurt airport and we drove to his home in the beautiful Palstinade region of western Germany, near the French border.

Kanto loped out to see me in a very friendly manner and the first thought that struck me was that this was not a wolf-German Shepherd Dog cross, but a fully grown pet European wolf. I'd had one myself for a short time when I used to run an animal shelter in northern Greece, and I couldn't see a trace of dog in him.

"Come on, Michael," I said. "That's a wolf. I'm glad I'm not wearing a red riding hood!"

"Nein," he replied. "It is a cross, probably 50-50, but maybe three-quarters wolf."

I let it rest, but looked forward to seeing whether the Gentle Leader would be up to the challenge. Kanto walked like a wolf and had the face and thick pelt of a wolf. He didn't wag his tail like a dog, and he had that steely, highly evolved look of a hunter in his eye. But who was I to disagree? He was very sociable, so I decided to treat him like any other client and see what transpired.

Whatever the reason dogs (or wolf crosses) pull on the lead, they all seem to have a natural instinct to pull against pressure. Even when walked on choke or regular collars, they will still pull, even though the pressure on the throat causes pain and choking and even though their owners may yank, tug and shout to stop them. Kanto was a specialist at it, despite Michael's careful attentions to training using kind techniques which had otherwise produced a well-behaved animal.

PERFECT FIT
The appropriately named Gentle Leader headcollar system was developed in the US by Professor Bob Anderson, a vet, and Ruth Foster, a former president of the National Association of Obedience Instructors. It is effective because it helps owners mimic the way dogs naturally communicate. It is made from Canac's soft nylon webbing and is designed to fit the contours of each dog's face it fitted Kanto's lupine features extremely well. We gave him a few minutes to settle into wearing something unusual on his face, then set off to continue our walk in the woods and fields near Michael's home. Of course, Kanto started to pull ahead, but immediately self-corrected to walk on a slack lead by Michael's side for the first time.

While Michael contemplated the . ease of the whole process and formulated some instant new approaches for his clients' dogs at. his training classes, I had a walk with Kanto. Then we saw how Connie and Tim found it. They were astounded. Even tiny Tim had no problem walking Kanto and announced (as far as I could tell with my rather rusty German) that he would walk Kanto on his lead and the 'Englishman's device' every day from now on.

CRYING WOLF
So, another problem quickly solved by this excellent product. "Michael, it's time for you to confess that Kanto is a real wolf," I said over a glass of excellent German wine.

"Well, okay. Maybe just 10 per cent dog," he said, with a look that said, 'maybe you're right, but don't tell anyone!'

So I haven't ... until now. Perhaps any wolf experts reading this could write and give us their opinion from the accompanying photos.

HOW DOES IT WORK?
Puppies instinctively relax when the mother picks them up and applies pressure to the scruff of their necks. This is an adaptation for survival as it enables the mother to transport her pups with minimal fuss to escape enemies. The neck strap of the Gentle Leader causes this instinctive relaxation response by cleverly diverting some of the forwards energy of a pulling dog to exert gentle pressure on the back of his neck when he tries to pull ahead.

Dogs of any age often respond instinctively with relaxed subordination when the pack leader grasps their muzzle with his mouth. This demonstrates the pack leader's natural leadership, but in a reassuring manner, not an aggressive one. The Gentle Leader's nose-loop encircles the dog's nose and jaw and acts in the same manner as a pack-leader's mouth. The Gentle Leader does not choke, but is scientifically designed to direct the dog's body by controlling his head, just like a head collar on a horse (and can you imagine trying to school a horse with a choke chain or neck collar!).

Wherever the head goes, the body must follow. The dog's instinctive resistance to these two redirected pressures makes him stop pulling to relieve the pressure at the back of the head. Dogs then relax and walk easily by your side and, as we saw so quickly with Kanto, this gave instant control to whoever was holding the lead, no matter what their age or size.