Many people make the mistake of using a harness for their dog in an attempt to have better control. What actually happens is the dog learns to pull. Pulling is great, if you want them to pull a cart or you want to build confidence in protection work. It will give you great exercise when you walk your dog (you will probably be exhausted). However if you want a nice leisurely stroll you need a collar.
Sometimes refered to as pinch collars are designed to make pulling uncomfortable. They are also useful for making corrections for unwanted behavior.
We like to use high quality leather or biothane leash it will give you the grip you need to hang on to your dog in the face of difficult distractions.
Fidelity K9 also uses retractable leashes. Most trainers don't recommend the use of them because if you are not careful you can lose your dog. We recommend you don't use retractable leashes when walking your dog. Use them for bathroom breaks. More about that later.
An e collar can be a horrible device in the hands of an uneducated person. Please be careful! We spend 3 weeks of our board and train program teaching e collar training after the dog already knows basic commands. To a dog wireless technology is just witchcraft so we need to introduce it slowly and with good communication.
The same principles apply to bark collars as e collars. Automated systems are great tools because they can communicate very effectively. Since timing is all important in dog training (every dog trainer agrees with this principle) they shorten the time it takes to directly connect the behavior to the correction.
Every dog should be kennel trained! even if you don't like the idea of the kennel keep in mind you don't know what life will bring. Often when a dog is injured or gets sick it is necessary for a dog to be contained in a kennel so they have the time to heal. This is the equivalent to a doctor prescribing bed rest. If your dog doesn't know how to accept the kennel without panic and frustration you may not be able to adequately give them what they need.