[Sheena]

Okay, so I own a five year old neutered Chow x black mouth cur x rhodesian ridgeback mix who is usually good about walking on a loose leash. He walks ahead of me, but still loose leashed. Then there is Blarney, my 2 year old Staffordshire Terrier. I got her last year in June from her breeder, with a breeding contract. For the most part she is a sweetie, she loves people and most other dogs.... BUT she pulls like no tomorrow.

So yesterday I went and bought her a gentle leader and she HATES it. Its fitted properly, but she still tries to paw it off her nose(If i made the nose band any looser she could get it off). Well Liam(my other dog) took this as his cue to show is butt... so i went and bought him one too. Now hes had one before, and ate it. So he isnt flipping out about it, and is more resigned to his fate.

My question is, has anyone had success in using the gentle leaders to teach their dogs not to pull? Like, do you have to use em for life, or has anyone had a dog they could eventually wean off the gentle leader?

 

[annageckos]

Some dogs never do get use to them. Most dogs do take time to get adjusted to them. You need to take it slow and make the head collar a good thing. Lots of treats. I lucked out with my dane, she took to it right away. If you can not get your dog to accept it try a front hooking harness. They work well too. The head collar(or harness) will not teach your dog not to pull. You still need to work on loose leash walking. I use the head collar mostly as a safety thing, my girl is strong and there is no way I could hold her back if she really wanted to go. She does walk well most of the time and really only pulls when she forgets. Like if she sees another dog and I don't redirect her. We also work on LLW most days.

Also, when walking two dogs you can try a coupler. It works best if one dog walks slower, it helps to slow the faster dog down.

 

[Kwenami]

I took about a week before I put it on and actually buckled to make sure I conditioned the dog to like it off and around the face if not actually buckled yet. It definitely takes time to condition to even if you spends a few hours in small bursts every day. It's also definitely a tool that requires training in conjunction, as if they lunge towards something they can put a lot of force into their neck and do some damage. I would say its the right way to go for you, though, and just take some more time to condition it so you can start getting the behaviour you want and have some control for when you're too tired to train.

 

[Gnostic Dog]

I have used a head collar on my dog also, the gentle leader, IMO is the worst of the headcollars, because of this (not my dog).....

If it isn't fitted properly it will totally shut down a dog, it can sensitize the dog's muzzle as it will become a choke point for energy. Like a child uses its hands and gestures to communicate energy, a dog uses its muzzle and jaws to move energy.

As I said above I used a headcollar (Dogmatic which is way better design) but it did not teach him not to pull, but it did give me some sense of control over a very large dog - I used the headcollar together with a harness or collar. What did teach my dog not to pull was "pushing". Pushing also resolved dog, cyclist, skateboarder, jogger and stroller reactivity.

https://naturaldogtraining.com/blog/how-i-developed-the-pushing-technique/

I can now walk a close to 200 lb dog with just a flat collar or a regular harness.

 

[Ursie]

I don't particularly like head collars. All my dogs despised them, making walks unenjoyable. A pinch collar worked for one dog and it didn't bother her at all unlike the head collar. My other dog learned on a front clip harness which works great with most dogs. Have you tried one yet? They aren't in the dogs face and work well for redirection.
Their are lots of tools out there. Look around and see what works best with your dog.
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[Ursie]

I don't particularly like head collars. All my dogs despised them, making walks unenjoyable. A pinch collar worked for one dog and it didn't bother her at all unlike the head collar. They don't work well with sensitive or reactive dogs though. It can cause a shut down. My other dog learned on a front clip harness which works great with most dogs. Have you tried one yet? They aren't in the dogs face and work well for redirection.
There are lots of tools out there. Look around and see what works best with your dog.
Posted via Mobile Device

Posted via Mobile Device

 

[seashoreduck]

My JRT did very, very well with a halti. A harness encouraged MORE pulling and other nonsense. The harness that buckles in the front of the chest drove her nuts and she always got tangled. The halti, appropriately fitted, (the picture above has VERY poor and WAY too tight fit) worked incredibly well. It also had the benefit of looking like a muzzle which kept people from touching her and trying to pick her up. (I mean seriously, WHY WOULD YOU PICK UP SOMEONE ELSES DOG!). She loved verbal commands and responded quite well to them.

My GSD/basenji, on the other hand did ok with a traditional harness and hated the halti, gentle leader, anything that would suddenly restrict her movement. What's honestly worked best for her is training and a wide, flat leather collar. She also has a beeping collar, with a beep for sit, beep for come and beep for release. She vastly prefers the beep to me yelling across the yard. (I had a whistle but I am prone to colds and the beep is just easier)

Each dog is different and what each dog considers "ok" and "adverse" is going to be significantly different dog-to-dog. My first dog would tolerate exactly zero of what my current dog needs and loves....and visa versa.

 

[newdoggirl]

Yoki pulled like it was her job from the day we got her out of the shelter and she used to be a jumper. I find the halti offers the best control with big dogs, especially for jumping BUT the single most important thing I've learned is that a good leash does not make a good walker.

No matter the leash, pullers will pull if you don't teach them otherwise. And with Yoki (and very short attention span) we have to reinforce heeling on every single walk, no matter the leash.

 

[Sheena]

Liam knows how to Heel, and loose leash walk so he really doesnt need a gentle leader but i got one for him because when Blarney started wearing hers he started pulling and not heeling cause he wanted to show his butt basically. As i said before Liam had a gentle leader before, and I know you have to train them to heel. I basically wanna know if they make it easier to do so, instead of getting frustrated with always having to stop, or pull your dog back ect.

I trained Liam with his originally with treats and then praise when he walked beside/behind me. Blarney i've been doing the same but she keeps pulling. She has taken to the Gentle leader ok, every now and then she'll paw to try and get it off but she puts her nose through. I give her treats and praise for ignoring it when its on, and a stern 'Leave it' when she tries to paw at it.

Im thinking her first walk with it this weekend. And i've made sure both are properly fitted.

 

[newdoggirl]

Hard to say - your situation might be unique because you're walking with two dogs at once.

I definitely find it easier than just a collar or a harness to give her a gentle pull back to position vs. a hard stop. However, with Yoki specifically, I find she slips back into her old pulling ways quickly. So, eventually, I have to go back to completely stopping when she pulls.