nxpress62 Posted December 13, 2009 Report Share Posted December 13, 2009 Keira and I have been arguing over who walks who for 4 'long' weeks, she thinks I move too slow and I get tired of her constant steady pulling and have gotten each other to the point that walks were turning into an hour of misery for both. Ten minutes and a twenty dollar gentle leader and she looks like a professionally trained dog. This thing is great! Now if I could get her on to toys.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IPSY Posted December 13, 2009 Report Share Posted December 13, 2009 Must be a great relief not having your arm pulled out of its socket. But you cannot give a correction with the gentle leader ( from what I know about it) I would have her wear her regular collar and leash too . This way once she becomes proficient in heeling , you can switch on and off to your normal walking collar and leash. I think its a good idea to have a second leash on her, just in case that gentle leader comes off or she becomes reactive to something while you are walking ( dog , noise , cars, etc... ) Just my opinion.. My girl didnt know what to do with toys when I got her. But she did sneak out of her crate and "steal" the other dogs toys out of their toy box and piled them into the back of her crate . LOL... I think she didnt know what they were , but she knew she wanted them ! LOL...But she does think the toys are "dead" if I dont play with her with them..I am her toy . I put her training treats for agility in a fuzzy treat bag , and got her used to picking it up at the end of a run , so now she knows they are fun..and when I let her put her nose inside the bag , she gets her treats. She will pick other toys up now and play catch or tug. it just takes time and lots of play with them. If I get her really excited about tugging , I can pass my end of the toy to my other dog , and they will tug for a while , until she sees me sitting on the couch or something , then she looks at me like , " you think your slick , right ? " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms.DaisyDuke Posted December 13, 2009 Report Share Posted December 13, 2009 Make sure you use it as a tool in your solution to the pulling problem though and teach her to walk properly. There is an easy walk harness that has a leash clasp at the chest that would be a safer alternative as well. I've seen the potential for dogs to get whiplash from those things (including my own).... Also, if it's used properly, you shouldn't have to give her a "correction" for anything. The idea is that when the dog see something it's reactive to, you use it to move their head (and in turn their body) to face you and resume control of the situation and calm your dog. If attached properly, they will not come off and it's not necessary to use a second leash attached to their collar. There have been tons of conversations about gentle leaders etc., do a search and I'm sure you'll find tons of helpful information! Loose leash walking classes are really good classes to take if you can find one in your area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IPSY Posted December 13, 2009 Report Share Posted December 13, 2009 Make sure you use it as a tool in your solution to the pulling problem though and teach her to walk properly. There is an easy walk harness that has a leash clasp at the chest that would be a safer alternative as well. I've seen the potential for dogs to get whiplash from those things (including my own)....Also, if it's used properly, you shouldn't have to give her a "correction" for anything. The idea is that when the dog see something it's reactive to, you use it to move their head (and in turn their body) to face you and resume control of the situation and calm your dog. If attached properly, they will not come off and it's not necessary to use a second leash attached to their collar. There have been tons of conversations about gentle leaders etc., do a search and I'm sure you'll find tons of helpful information! Loose leash walking classes are really good classes to take if you can find one in your area. Using a second leash and collar is to prevent possible accidents , like whiplash or if the dog freaks with the gentle leader on , you have another leash on for control. The dog may even seem like she excepts it at first , but may end up like a bucking bronco or diving into the cement to get it off. Even if you have no pressure on it , it isnt something she is used too. And if a correction IS needed at some point in the walk , you have a way of giving one with the second leash and collar attached. I think it is recomended by the company of gentle leader to use a secondary leash , collar for saftey. ( but I could be wrong ) when they first came out , it came with a DVD explaining the product and recommmended safety precautions. I never suggested giving a correction with the gentle leader , I just put that info out there , just in case it wasnt known. Definately look further into the gentle leaders , maybe they have a blog were you can read peoples experiences with the product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejano Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 Make sure you use it as a tool in your solution to the pulling problem though and teach her to walk properly. There is an easy walk harness that has a leash clasp at the chest that would be a safer alternative as well. I've seen the potential for dogs to get whiplash from those things (including my own)....Also, if it's used properly, you shouldn't have to give her a "correction" for anything. The idea is that when the dog see something it's reactive to, you use it to move their head (and in turn their body) to face you and resume control of the situation and calm your dog. If attached properly, they will not come off and it's not necessary to use a second leash attached to their collar. There have been tons of conversations about gentle leaders etc., do a search and I'm sure you'll find tons of helpful information! Loose leash walking classes are really good classes to take if you can find one in your area. The easy walker was a great tool to help Robin learn to heel. The nicest thing about it is that you don't have to give a correction. I also work with him off lead, which is helping as well. He's one of those dogs who just pulls against anything on his collar, but with this training, he has made great strides in walking apace with me -- I've also learned to pick up my pace a bit as well! Now, when he's just on the collar, he mostly does just fine except when he's really excited, but when he is reminded, he comes right back in line. One note, I had some trouble with him walking out of it in the field one day and finally realized that I had the darned thing on wrong! When I put it on right, it fit just fine! Also, watch the fit behind their front legs...that's a tender spot and the harness can get too tight against the arm pit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nxpress62 Posted December 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 This is the one that just fastens behind their ears and around the nose. She doesn't like the feel of it but she forgets it when we're walking. Really it works so well I'm not at all worried about whiplash and rubbing raw, she doesn't fight it at all, and if my wife and kids can walk her and it isn't hurting her I'm all for it. The reason we bought it was because we read about it on this site. There is a ton of information you guys have written back and forth (for example, a recent six page thread about tennis balls... wow.) You just have to be able to sift through what the search engine finds you.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejano Posted December 15, 2009 Report Share Posted December 15, 2009 This is the one that just fastens behind their ears and around the nose. She doesn't like the feel of it but she forgets it when we're walking. Really it works so well I'm not at all worried about whiplash and rubbing raw, she doesn't fight it at all, and if my wife and kids can walk her and it isn't hurting her I'm all for it. The reason we bought it was because we read about it on this site. There is a ton of information you guys have written back and forth (for example, a recent six page thread about tennis balls... wow.) You just have to be able to sift through what the search engine finds you.. I had tried the nose thing with another dog and it didn't work....for one thing the dog can easily slip out of it, given half a chance - for example, if you stop and turn your attention away to talk with someone. It also gives the dog the appearance of wearing a muzzle to control biting, which is bad publicity for a friendly dog. Try the easy walker. If you check out amazon, you can get one for much less than you pay in the pet stores. Sometimes a pet store will also offer an exchange for an item that isn't working out. I"ve also used a target stick to help Robin figure out his position and I let him run for a bit in the back yard before we go anywhere. Liz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted December 15, 2009 Report Share Posted December 15, 2009 The OP didn't say anything about corrections, did he? But anyway, nxpress, I'm so glad it's working for you! It was a life (arm, shoulder?) saver with Jack, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacie R. Posted December 16, 2009 Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 We use them as well with both of our dogs. I do double leash them in new environments or when the squirrels and rabbits are particularly active just for extra control and safety. If they are fitted properly they shouldn't slip off and shouldn't rub. I use the GL head collar in conjunction with a ton of training (we used targeting to teach heel). Both of my dogs do heel without it but when out walking I have both of them and it is easier and safer with the GL head collar as a back up to their training because if they wanted to they could take off with me. Glad it's working for you too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaSea4Me Posted February 4, 2010 Report Share Posted February 4, 2010 I wish I could be as happy. I've tried: gentle leader, martingale(SP?),harness, food treats, happy talk and not so happy talk. Nothing seems to work for my two 9 month old BC's. I'm now trying a walking stick that I place in front of them when they start to pull ahead. HELP US Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rave Posted February 4, 2010 Report Share Posted February 4, 2010 Reading comprehension just isn't what it used to be. ;-) The OP didn't mention corrections at all, in fact looks like it's working perfectly for him. He also states he's using a Gentle Leader, not the Halti where the nose loop can come off. Why would he want to return it? lol And by now plenty of the public have seen head halters to know what they are. However even if they don't, it's very easy to point out the dog can still open its mouth. nxpress, glad it's working well, I love mine. Be aware some dogs can learn how to brace against it, making it less effective. If you feel your dog starting to brace or push forward against it, stop and gently turn her head toward you every time. Hopefully she won't learn that little "trick" though. ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCjetta Posted February 5, 2010 Report Share Posted February 5, 2010 I really like it for my dog as well. I only use it when I'm walking in a busy area with lots of people, or if doing agility at a barn because otherwise she's choking herself trying to find horse poo. The gentle leader allows me to keep the leash short and her head up, and not have her coughing and choking as soon as she puts pressure on her neck like with a collar. I have the easy walk harness for the aussie because hubby didn't like seeing him fight having the gentle leader on him. It works ok but he has figured out how to brace against it so he can still pull if there's something he's really interested in. I knew a border collie who pulled so hard with her choke chain that she wore all the fur off around her neck and her skin would actually poke through the holes in the choke chain (i've never seen another dog do that). They actually had to walk at a backwards angle she pulled so insanely hard. They tried a gentle leader and she pulled so hard with that she made her eyes bleed from the muzzle piece hitting her eyes. They tried the not moving unless the leash was slack and that didn't work either. I could walk her without her pulling as hard as possible if I yelled at her to slow down and knock it off when she started the hard pulling, and then she'd walk ok for me with just the odd reminder to not pull if she was just about to start it. She would also let me brush her back end and bathe her wheras they could not because she'd try to bite them... She settled down once she got old....she's 14 now and walks nicely on a leash for them now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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