Gentle Leaders

[GR8DAME]

My dog has a "Halti", which is something like the Gentle Leader, and I love it!!  Before, he pulled me all over the place when I used  a harness around his waist.  He isn't always happy about it, but he knows when it goes on he's either going on a walk, or going bye-bye!!  I have never used a prong collar yet, but I am seriously thinking about putting one on at the pet store, just to see if his reaction would be different to it.  But the good thing is, with the Halti, and with a little training, NO PULLING!!

As stated earlier, I do use a prong on all of my dogs. Raven has a very high prey drive, and without a prong she would send me flying everytime she saw a bird. My other two are 100+ Lbs, and are intolerant of any interference with their faces and heads, as well as phenomonally strong. I was trained in the use of the prong 17 years ago by a professional trainer and am very comfortable with it which is probably why I never tried anything else. Having said all that I am not sure that Hershey, who seems to be behaving well under the gentler Halti would benefit from the harsher correction of a prong. It may only confuse him, if he is already exhibiting the behavior that you are seeking.
Please don't take offense, this is only my opinion, and I am not trying to tell you what to do.
Stella

[jupiterjenny]

i love gentle leaders!! I have always used them..of course not in a retracter leash which is how i heard dogs neck were being broke- although i strongly think this is a urban myth..

the only complant have is people always think its a muzzle and that my dog is mean. but i seem to get the same reaction without the haltie- and i end up with a sore back from pulling on daisy and her pulling on me!!! I have tried to use a choke- and even a prong as i was tought when i learned to work with dogs..but a danes neck is sooo damn long that its hard to keep it in the right spot to work-and daisy is VERY smart at popping her head back and out of any collar that is not snug ( she only did this to me the first week i had her-I had to chase her for about a mile down the beach!- and the rescue people had said they had to chase her alot when she made these escapes..naugh ty girl!) The halti/GL just helps me get her focus back to me, but shes really bonded to me and listens really good..even off leash -but i just feel a little more in control with the halti.

[Anky]

Personally, in MY experience, I don't like the GL or the Halti.  If people can use it and it works for them, I'm happy, but I can't.  They don't work on high strung sensitive dogs, because to grab a dog by the muzzle is to correct it and that is totally demoralizing to a sensitive dog.  Araby is like the worst puller EVER in the history of the world.  I tried everything and nothing worked.  I tried the GL and the Halti on her, left it on for like 10 minutes like the book said.  First she flipped out, started to claw her face.  When she began to draw blood I took it off.  Tried again a few days later.  She spun around, did backflips, everything in her power to get this thing off her face, then she compacted herself (For lack of a better word).  She hunched up, tucked her tail between her legs and just stood there.  It was so sad!  And to top it off, it didn't stop the pulling.

The Halter collars work on the premise that if a dog's head is turned to the side, it can't go in a straight line.  We used this often on horses that were refusing, or just being a PIA.  You spin them around in circles and by the time you get them going straight again they forget why they were being obnoxious in the first place.  The problem is, horses are a prey animal, dogs are predatory.  Totally different psyches.  It might work for some dogs, but I don't think that it deserves the magical pulling cure title it's been given.

Another thing I don't like about the Halter collars is that they're a crutch.  If a dog pulls on a plain collar, and does fine on a Halter, the minute you take the halter off it's going to pull again.  However, you can take a dog on a prong/slip and gradually move to a less severe collar, till you're working on a plain buckle collar. 

Also, the next snapping thing isn't a myth.  A friend of mine has a dog trainer partner (She owns a kennel), and he has had 3 dogs (And heard of others) that have snapped their necks, on standard leads.  (These were people he told NOT to go to the GL, but they wanted an instant fix, so they ignored him.)  Usually this happens when someone doesn't know how the product works, and can't give a proper correction.   

Don't get me wrong.  In some circumstances it's fine.  I know Moni uses one on Tenchi if he's going to be in a situation where he could easily get distracted, just for control purposes.  I use a prong on Nee for the same reason.  Like I said, it's not a bad product if used on the right dog, with the right training (On the person's part) and the right situation.

Ang

[WhollyPaws]

I am going to jump in here with my perspective as a dog trainer. It is true that some dogs simply don't have the personality to tolerate the GL. I only recommend it for dogs that are not already submissive, who pull very hard on the leash, are extremely distracted OR who show signs of aggression/assertiveness toward other dogs. I frequently do recommend the prong or pinch collar for dogs who cannot tolerate the GL. But in either case, I take the time to demo to the customer exactly how each piece of equipment should be used and tell them in no uncertain terms how it should NOT be used. One of my adts uses a GL b/c of dominance issues toward other dogs, and it works very well in that regard. Just my 32 cents!

[galaxybears]

I wouldn't take my Newfies out together without some kind of head collar on. I only have the one who really pulls, and I have to admit she still pulls on her halti, which isn't something I have had before! She has also managed to bite through about 5 halti's... Little madam. The others are fine on a normal collar and lead if walked alone, but I use a head collar simply because if something spooked them my arm would be broken!!

I think I really must put some time in alone with Honey though. I will use the method of turning in different directions as I did with other dogs as I know it works. It is just that she is so strong, that I get completely warn out trying to keep hold of her lead

[chaos270]

We just got a GL for Kali and generally she's good on a leash but if something excites her she needs it.  I've had it on her twice and she was good, the second time she got bored and sprawled on the floor.  She doesn't mind it she only tried to rub it off once and it was very halfhearted.  Yeah I'm 5'2 and am a lightweight so I need the extra leverage.  She doesn't listen to me with the choke and I personally don't like them so that's why I went with the GL for me.

[chaos270]

The no pulling harness has worked with Tyler our vet's nard, he's about 140 lbs of obnoxious puppyness with no manners.  He's also dog aggressive but I can still hold on to him when he has 40+ pounds on me.  So it does work with him.

[cricket36580]

I've never used a GL and had I heard of them when Bella was little I probably would have used it.  She's terrible on leash.  She's not being mean, she just wants to see everything and smell everything and wants me to go faster so she can do it all at once.  As she gets older, and gets more leash time, she's getting much better.  I've gone to using a wide martingale on all 3...I'm not a lightweight but a collective 330# is more than me.  They can pull against it without choking and I can correct without causing harm.  They tend to listen better with it than a regular choke.  I'm glad I didn't use a GL now since I probably would have used it as a crutch....and all she needed was leash time.  But that's my dogs and my experience and so I don't have an opinion on anything else's.

[GR8DAME]

I tried the Gentle Leader with Jack.  The turning of the head was a pain.  He would drift to the side and I would trip on his feet.

The tech at my vets office recommended the halter type thing that goes on the chest area.  I'm thinking of giving that a try.

Keith uses a prong.  He says it is tolerable.  Jack still pulls but Keith feels he has control.  I can't get the dang thing on him.

Tina


Tina,
Petsmart has a prong collar that has a fastener somewhat like an alligator clip built into the chain part of the collar. It is much easier to use than the regular "squeeze-the-links-to-open-at-the-prongs " type. The biggest problem I have is getting mine to stand still long enough to get hooked up, and to stop trying to steal the other's collars, LOL.
Stella

[graymeiste]

Tinkerbell doesn't pull too hard, but upon the recommendation of her trainer, we picked up a GL this weekend.  The saving grace of the whole thing was that the trainer took a good 15 minutes or so to work with Tink and get her used to the thing.  The difference in her pulling and lunging was immediate and rather amazing.  She's still not too fond of the thing, but using the horse-circle route (walk them in circles for a bit) takes all the fight out of the situation.  Well, that and a few treats, of course.

I give it two thumbs up, so far.

[Kermit]

Since this was brought up again, I have to put in my experience.
Ever since Nigel's growly-bitey episodes lately I have been taking him for walks every day. I use a gentle leader to control his head AND a martingale collar around his neck with a leash. This is so if he were to lunge, the collar around his neck would catch him instead of having his head pulled to the side too quickly by the GL. Sure it looks funny and I am practically 'driving' him with reins, but I am telling you he is now walking like a perfect gentleman and there is always slack in both my leads! Success!!!

[2dobies]

Since this was brought up again, I have to put in my experience.
Ever since Nigel's growly-bitey episodes lately I have been taking him for walks every day. I use a gentle leader to control his head AND a martingale collar around his neck with a leash. This is so if he were to lunge, the collar around his neck would catch him instead of having his head pulled to the side too quickly by the GL. Sure it looks funny and I am practically 'driving' him with reins, but I am telling you he is now walking like a perfect gentleman and there is always slack in both my leads! Success!!!

I have done that same exact thing with sasha--a leash hooked to her GL, and a second one hooked to her regular collar, and yes, it does look like 'driving a team of horses', but it's just one lone dog! But I didnt care how it looked---it worked, and Sasha was very well behaved because of it!

[longshadowfarms]

Congrats to all who are having success with this!  Having used one, I'm a huge believer in the GL.  It saved my relationship with the pooch I was having trouble with.  Hope with Nigel it will also translate into better behavior with the other dogs if he can work off some of his energy.  That's what it's all about - having a better relationship with the dog.

[berners]

I use a gentle leader to control his head AND a martingale collar around his neck with a leash. This is so if he were to lunge, the collar around his neck would catch him instead of having his head pulled to the side too quickly by the GL.

What a great idea - I will have to give that a try. When I walk the 3 of mine at once, it is very hard to control them when they encounter a distration. I have tried all collar types (halti, GL, prong, choke) and I find the best results with the GL, but the stories scare me, so I rarely use it. I think i will give your method a try.

Jocelyne

[chaos270]

With Lacey I use the GL as the main collar and have her wear a harness with the leash to that clipped around my waist....spiff y dogs makes on where there is a climbing clip at the end so it's easy to loop through.  This means she can't slip out from her GL or a regular collar (which she's good at). It does look a little dumb but it's better to have the fail safe of something she can't slip out off.