Gentle Leader

[Cookiebaker]

has anybody heard of the gentle leader?? And do you recommend it?? Thx. :D

[robinh]

Is it anything like a "Halti" headcollar?

If so, my son swears by it. He's tried all kinds of aids to teach his dog to walk with him and this is by far the easiest for him and the kindest for her. She's not real crazy about it :mad: - she can't get away and misbehave, but once its on - she's good as gold. :rolleyes:

[Cookiebaker]

I've never heard of "halti" before, but the gentle leader is a leash that goes over the nose and hooks under their chin. Basically it has the same principle as a horse's bit, where it leads them by the nose. I have a friend who also swears by them, but she gets lots of funny looks because people think it's a muzzle.

[DoggiesAreTheBest]

I have used the Gentle Leader with Drake for training and it helped control him when he tries to pull. That is when he doesn't feel like pawing it off and we don't actually get to walk. Plus Drake has gotten so big now, that the GL doesn't control his pulling anymore.

We now use a prong collar to train. He no longer pulls when we walk and doesn't need the collar. When we practice obedience training or teach him new commands, we use a prong collar. However, unless you are taught the correct way to use a prong collar, never use it.

[Presley]

I have a halti which is like a gentle leader for Presley.. I personaly don't like it! If you'd like i will send it to you!!!!
I find all it does it cause her to fight with me as she does not like it. The pulling problem did not go away at all with or without the halti on. She is much better behaved now without it on as she is not fighting me and she no longer pulls me around because i will simply keep changing directions if she starts.
I do not like them but i guess they do work for some.

[zookeeper]

we have lupis for our dogs, they are like a sled harnes but smaller. They have worked wonders with our lab Chester. Chester was never walked properly with my parents, they took him for runs, so his walk manners were horrible. When we got them after my parents separated (long story) we got lupis for the both of them and now Chester is learing manners. It tugs on their chest without hurting them and teaches them not to pull, we love them. Bobbie who is a terrier does not like hers so much but has gotten used to it and it is so nice to walk her with it.

[Pam]

I love the Halti! Bella is a real tugger on a leash when we are not in the fenced in back yard, where nothing is going on. There is just too much going on when we walk through the neighborhood and she becomes too excitable. Two of my other dogs were trained with choker collars (it was the tool used at obedience school and required). We didn't take Bella through obedience school but tried to put into practice what we had already learned. Unfortunately the choker was not sufficient. She would have gagged and choked herself to death. Corrections meant nothing to her. I was at my wit's end when I found the Halti. I don't really know if there is a difference between the Halti and Gentle Leader. They looked the same to me when I was looking at the boxes at PetsMart. Anyway, the Halti worked like magic with my girl. By the time we had walked to the end of my driveway, the first time she had it on, she got the idea. Walks are a pleasure now and the picture shows her at a picnic in my daughter's yard. There were lots of people there and she was a well behaved angel. :cool:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid32/p0e49922918e59bb0bef5f947546495b0/fd41de4d.jpg

[Aspen and Misty]

I used to gentle Leader on a Dalmtion I used to walk. He was an angel on it but I found it to be a pain. And we did get dirty looks with it. People would cross teh street and be afreid of the him. He was so cute. His name as Chewy, hee hee. I felt bad for him cause the family never worked with him cause they had two little boys so he always had to be locked up because he chewed on the boys toys :( . So we took him for an extra long walk up the moutain into a field that is fenced in that we got permission to use from the owners. There he could run free. I once treid walkign him with a real leash and he was awfull! . Ok, I've gone on long enough about him :D . My verdict- I liked it, as long as the dog doesn't want to walk inbetween your legs :rolleyes: .


Ashley

PS: Mister Malone is just adorable! I have been wanting to say this since the firs time I saw him. He is the cutest thing I have ever seen! :D

[Pam]

Originally posted by Aspen and Misty
I And we did get dirty looks with it. People would cross teh street and be afreid of the him.

HaHa! I have had neighbors do double-takes too as we walk by. I have to explain that it is not a muzzle and she is not vicious! :rolleyes:

[lv4dogs]

Yup the gentle leader is like a halti but is designed slightly better. I do not like the halti but love the GL. Yes, a lot of people think it is a muzzle & you might get dirty looks but it is safe for the dog, the dog will still be able to pant, bark drink etc.. It works wonders!!

[lovemymaltese]

never heard of it until now. :)

[Cincy'sMom]

We have tried both a Halti and gentle leader. Personally I like the way a gentle leader fits better, but we have a Halti for sadie and I love it. We don't use it as much any more, but when she needs reminded I put it on her, and she stops pulling.

Cincy is another sotry. she has broken a halti and can also get off a gentle leader. She paws at the constantly no matter what. I took time and fed her t on, gave her trats, etc, etc. Still pawed at it. we were concerned becuase she has had eye surgery many months ago, but we don't want to take the chances of her ripping the stiches and getting cherry eye again. I tried a harness and she still pulled horribly. After almost a year of many attempts with differnt techniques and methods, We started her in her third training class last week and at that time decided to try a prong collar. I was sure I was against it, but gave it a shot and she is doing much better. As Doggies said, DO NOT use this unless you have been taught the proper way. I only decided to go to this becuase we have tried everything else and because we were shown how to use and actually allowed to borrow it and try it for a week before we buy it. Cincy has class tonight and I think we are going to go ahead with it. We only sue it when training and if we are walking by other dogs, we put her in a sit stay and change to her regular collar until we get by. I don't want to take any chnces with it.

[DoggiesAreTheBest]

Cincy's Mom,

Drake is a different dog in that collar. He is very smart and a quick learner, but likes to test his limits. Not only has the prong collar helped me control his pulling (which he no longer does even with a regular collar), but it has also helped me control his aggressive behavior towards other dogs. We do not need it anymore around other dogs! We still use it on a day to day basis when we practice obedience and other commands. The prong collar was the only way I could teach Drake to heel.

[lv4dogs]

I forgot to add that most dogs will try to get it off and that is the biggest problem. You must NEVER let your dog get it off then it know it can come off and will continue doing so & try harder harder each time.

[KYS]

I also like the gentle leader and use
it with Rocky when we are walking
in public places, (because he is dog aggressive. )
The gentle leader calms him down.
Sheba who use to pull, never took to the gentle leader.

The first few minutes of our walk, Rocky will try
to paw it off. When he does this, I stop walking,
keep his leash tight enough so his head can not
reach the ground so he doesn't hurt his nose. Than I put him
in a sit stay. After a few times of him realizing we
are not walking unless he stops fighting the Gentle leader.
he starts to walk very nicely. I use a choke chain as a back up collar and hook the leash to both the gentle leader and
the choke collar.
That way if Rocky was to break the GL the choke
collar would than control him.

I have never tried a prong collar, but
I bet that would work too.
Either one you use, make sure you use it properly. :)

[Cincy'sMom]

Originally posted by DoggiesAreTheBest
Cincy's Mom,

Drake is a different dog in that collar. He is very smart and a quick learner, but likes to test his limits. Not only has the prong collar helped me control his pulling (which he no longer does even with a regular collar), but it has also helped me control his aggressive behavior towards other dogs. We do not need it anymore around other dogs! We still use it on a day to day basis when we practice obedience and other commands. The prong collar was the only way I could teach Drake to heel.

Cincy is doing well on it too. She was great at class last night and even won a stuffed Teddy Bear for her sit/stays. I'm sure people in the class wonder why we have her on it cause she behaves so well...but she wouldn't with out it. Not yet anyway! I really thought I would hate using it, but she is doing so much better. Hopefully a little time on this and then we can go back to the regular collar.