Gentle Leader?
I just started using the gentle leader with my pup. She pulls very hard on walks and is hard to control around squirrels, so I am hoping this helps. So far it has made a big difference, but she is still getting used to it! Has anyone had any NEGATIVE experiences with it??
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Rebecca Marie O'Bryan on
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i had used it for a lab we use to have and it does work great. we haven't had any problems but just make sure that u put it one right(my parents kept forgetting how to lol) they can still eat/drink. once she gets use to it everything will be fine, it was just annoying when they would stop and try to take it off
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Permalink Reply by Alison w/ Odin and Dashel on
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I don't use one, but the lab in my puppy class just got one. YES its wonderful:) Rebecca is right, just make sure you put it on right. If you dog can take it off then it is not tight enough. I guess another negative thing is that some people may think you dog is viscous, like it is a mussel. But if that idea bothers you..you could try the harness that GL makes.
I like them a lot! If I ever had a pup that was a puller I'd use one since I have seen first hand how well they work.
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Permalink Reply by Judy & Taffy on
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I've started using one for Taffy to control pulling and barking when she encounters other dogs. Seems to work well. The shop that sold it to me fitted it . I noticed yesterday after taking it off that it actually left indentation marks on her snout. Is this too tight??
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Permalink Reply by LaRissa L. Head on
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It should not leave indents on the snout. The loop that is around the muzzle of the dog is relatively loose... the loop that goes around the head of the dog however is very tight and high. The dog should be able to pant, drink and bark with no problem while it is hanging loosely. if the indentations are from correction then you are pulling too hard... it just has to be a gentle, slow correction.
if you go to the website i believe you can watch the fitting video. Sometimes after a few weeks the head loop will become a little stretched causing more pressure on the muzzle loop. Take the time to refit every 2 weeks. :)
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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I've heard to be careful not to pull up because you can hurt their neck. You get extra leverage from the length of their snout, so their own head works like a lever and gives your pull much more force than it would otherwise have. It's true it works like a horse halter, but when you lead a horse all the weight goes down across their poll (top of head behind the ears).
The other caution is that many people see it and think "muzzle" and therefore think "mean dog" and then keep their distance, which can be an issue if you are socializing.
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Permalink Reply by Alice on
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I've been considering trying one of these because Finnigan is awful about pulling and nothing stops it. My husband is against it because it looks like a muzzle and my only concern is that it may cause irritation or hair loss and possibly never adjust to having it on and always fight it. I saw I guy walking a German Shepherd with one and he said it was amazing. He said his wife could not walk the dog without it as she was such a puller but with the GL on she was an angel.
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Permalink Reply by Sky and Lyla on
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My Aussie hated his so much that he started refusing to go for walks. The same company makes a halter called Easy Walker that I like much better.
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Permalink Reply by Joanna Kimball on
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I don't like them, because of a couple of factors: Dogs seem to universally hate them (after a while they can get used to them, but I've never seen a HAPPY dog, smiling and working to connect with the other, with one on) and there are some really major problems with the biomechanics of how they work. When you put one on a little dog and pull, you're pulling up and back and twisting the neck in a way it is NOT supposed to go. Put your hand on your own chin and push up and to the side and see how far you get before it gets very uncomfortable - dogs are the same way. Torque on the spine is not so fun.
We had them and very occasionally used them for our Danes, but a Dane's head is higher than your hand. You really can lead them like a horse, so no pressure is put on the chin or foreface. But we only used them when we were concerned that people might think that a prong collar meant "dangerous dog."
Pulling is a TRAINING issue, not a tool issue. I would generally rather see a pulling dog on a prong collar (which is VERY safe, and less likely to hurt the dog than any other collar, including a flat buckle collar) than most other things, but you have to use the tool to get rid of the tool. You put a collar of whatever type on the dog in order to make sure they are getting the signal you're giving and are able to tell when they're doing the right thing versus doing the wrong thing, but the goal is to have the dog able to be led on a piece of dental floss. You have to use whatever tool you've chosen in order to TRAIN a nice walk, then get rid of it.
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Permalink Reply by Liwa and Fergie on
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Thanks for your thoughts everyone. My corgi is a mix with a larger breed (possibly shepherd?), so she is much larger than a typical corgi (~45 pounds), but I am still concerned that I may inadvertently hurt her neck. My goal is to be able to control her around squirrels, She will drag me down the street after one and is impossible to distract. This will only get worse when the weather warms up and the squirrels are everywhere! So far the gentle leader has improved that issue, but she is still able to pull me. We started with the "easy walker" harness by premier and used that for 1.5 mos, and although that helped tremendously vs. a collar, it didn't help enough. Ideally I would just like to use it to train her, and then go back to the harness. I am just not sure I feel comfortable with it.
How long did it take your dog to get used to it?
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Permalink Reply by Mickey & Mushu & Essa on
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For both of my dogs, the effect of gentle leader was almost instant. They immediately stop pulling. But I don't use it much because they seem to become a different dog when they wear it. They become moody and mopy instead of being their normal happy selves and enjoy the walk. I just can't stand watching them like that.
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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Joanne talks about the prong collar and I have seen it used in my obedience classes with immediate results! The 1st was with a hyper German Shorthair. I would see if you could find someone that could help you fit one of these. One thing that I always do with my own on a regular collar is when they start to pull is turn directions immediately and go the other way even if you have to do this every few feet ...this puts you in control of where you're going!. I have used a gentle leader years ago with one of my farm dogs...it worked ok but I really didn't use it to long!
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