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Walking

JennyC

Member
So has anyone tried a gentle leader on their BM. I have tried the front and back harness on my boy but he still pulls a little when we are walking. Major problem is when people come towards us he wants them to pet him. I just got the gentle leader to try but was wondering if anyone on here has tried and what they think about it.
 

Bob Felts

Well-Known Member
We tried one on Thane, our EM. Worked (kind of) for a while, but we had to go to a prong.

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Lindsay

Well-Known Member
I've used one briefly, but my boy was a big puller so he got friction marks from the fabric, but I've had huge success with a Prong collar after taking obedience classes and learning how to use it properly.
 

Sinnister

Well-Known Member
Tried the gentle leader and worked a little but the prong works much better. My BM pulls like a freight train when people or other dogs are near...but only to play. Most times she'll just drop to her belly tail wagging hoping someone will come play with her.
 

JennyC

Member
So we have been using the gentle leader on both dogs and even know they are not the biggest fan of it. they walk very good with it and next to me and never pull. Love it.
 

tmricciuto

Well-Known Member
So glad it's working for you. Different tools work for different dogs.


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Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
So we have been using the gentle leader on both dogs and even know they are not the biggest fan of it. they walk very good with it and next to me and never pull. Love it.

If your dogs have shorter muzzles the gentle leaders can be uncomfortable. I tried various head halters on my boxer. The only one that fit well, was easily adjustable, and he didn't seem to mind at all was this one by Bold Lead Designs.

Infinity Collar stops pulling instantly

I had the nylon one and it was very comfortable. Ultimately I ended up not caring for head harnesses, but I did try every available option and this one was the best for us.
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
BTW, it doesn't stop pulling instantly like the link title says. We all know that only training stops pulling, it's never instantly, and the tool is there to help.
 

maryl

Well-Known Member
The only thing that stopped my Carson from pulling when he was young was a Prong. Worked from the minute I put it on.
 

DennasMom

Well-Known Member
We used a gentle leader on our Dane/Lab mix. He had a long nose like a Dane, so it worked for him. I hate to see dogs with those fit poorly, rubbing on their eyes. :(

It worked really well on curbing his enthusiasm... he would get SOOOO excited on walks, that he would stop listening. The head-harness put a damper on his excitement, which worked at helping him 'listen' to the handler (mostly it was his dog-walker that needed to use it).

I'd opt for a prong first, personally... but... in Denna's case, she SHUT DOWN when I put a prong on her the first time - not even putting any pressure on it. I have no idea what was going through her mind, but as soon as I took it off, she JUMPED up off the pavement and was ready to walk again. Silly girl.

We use a nylon slip collar, like they use in the show ring. She does behave better with it on than her flat collar, even though I rarely need to put pressure on it... I do a LOT of talking when we're out walking, and she responds very well to verbal ques. She's very careful not to hit the end of the leash, because if she hits it too hard (which isn't very hard), I stop and/or start backing up, and she has to "come around" and get in a proper heel before we'll continue forward again. When doing that consistenty it didn't take long for her to figure out a work around, which was exactly what I wanted (i.e. stop hitting the end of the leash).

Denna was also a very social puppy who wanted to meet EVERYBODY out on the street. We got in the habit of sitting and waiting for people to come up and either pet her or pass by without interaction. That as a habit is very useful. She finally learned that it's OK when people don't pet her... she still gets a treat for sitting patiently as they pass by. :p
 

LuthersMom

Member
The martingale works around the house/yard and Luther obeys with a gentle (one finger) tug. Out on walks, however, the Martingale promoted pulling. The gentle leader, which has worked for me in the past with Rotties and a Rhodesian, as a disaster with our Mastiff. I finally (very reluctantly) tried the prong. One pull was all it took. I can walk him loose leashed in one hand past most stimulating situations now. Gives us much more confidence and less stress. Background: I adopted a 5 year rescue Mastiff from the streets of Atlanta, so you can imagine that learning to walk on a leash period was stressful and there was lots of lunging and curiosity. The prong put me in control of staying calm and deciding when and if to approach a situation.