Gentle Leaders - a Rant

[sparks19]

I have had a few comments about Teddy's Halti. People always ask me if it is because he barks or because he bites and I say neither. it's because if he sees a squirrel I don't lose my arm when he tries to chase it. See he has full use of his mouth but I have control of his head.


OOOOOOh they say. lol

[Suki Wingy]

I used one with Niño for a while and people didn't even ask if it was a muzzle, just, "Why did you take your dog to the park if he needs to be muzzled?!" In snappy tones.

[LuvGold00]

When we used a GL with Starr, I even had people think she had a muzzle on and she's a Golden Retriever. I had people ask me if she was friendly, and that they hadn't seen a mean golden before...

[cyber-sibes]

I used a GL with my rotti-mix, Rosie, only because trying to walk her was like trying to control a taank! she was the sweetest girl in the world, but people always asked if she was mean, and why I put a muzzle on her. Probably didn't help that she was one of those "big black dogs". People were afraid of her.

[Heather1031]

Ok so I know that this is an old thread but I had to say that you have to understand that people without dogs don't know what a Gentle Leader is or what it’s for. It looks like a muzzle to those that don't know. There have been many, many dogs that bit; no one wants to be bitten or to have one of their children bitten.

I had a Lab that we put a Gentle Leader on she was the sweetest dog; she just pulled on the leash. People would ask I would explain it and that was that. I don't think there’s anything to get upset or frustrated about.

Now having said that the lady in the book store was over the top. But in general who cares they don't know and we can educate them.

[Canis-Lupess]

Stupid people!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, you get that over here too with haltis and gentle leaders. Thick people think they are muzzles, lol. They are nothing to do with biting, they are to stop the dog from pulling. Gah, so many people were abscent when the brains were handed out.

I'd have said a few choice words to that stupid woman.

[Karen]

Hey, folks - do not mistake ignorance for stupidity. If you had never seen a Gentle Leader, would you know what it was? No. It is up to us, as pet lovers, to explain to each and every person who comments - "No, it's not a muzzle, it's a special leash called a Gentle Leader so she cannot pull me when I walk her. No, it doesn;t hurt her, it is just to correct her pulling."

Yes, this may get tiresome the 50th time you have to say it, but until we educate people, they will remain ignorant.

[elizabethann]

Whoa...this is an old thread.

I didn't know what a GL was until I looked at some dog kind of funny & asked the owner about it. This was many moons ago, when Fenway was a puppy.

I still don't know exactly what they do. I just know it's not a muzzle.

[Suki Wingy]

I know this is an old thread but I found THE PERFECT shirt on cafepress the other day!

http://www.cafepress.com/wonderbull/433006

It says "It's not a muzzle, it's a headcollar."

It even comes in a doggy shirt!