Gentle Leader - tips?

[Anonymous]

Our then 18 lb dog pulled us all over creation at 4 months old so I hear you on the pulling. We tried positive training and then resorted to a prong collar. We pulled back on the prong because we thought it was cruel. Fast forward to our dog. Ow being 70 lbs and a very strong puller and we could not take it anymore. Absolutely nothing worked. We now go to a trainer who teaches us how to use the e-collar and finally finally we can walk with her. It’s a completely different dog. I put the collar on myself at twice the numbers and I barely felt it. All this to say, do what is right for you and don’t let anyone convince you your way in wrong. You are on this list because you care about your dog and doing the right thing - do your homework and make your decision and stick with it.

[Anonymous]

My Dobermans figured out she could get it off by putting her nose between someone’s legs and pulling back. Which was not great. I ended up switching to a long leased wrapped around her like a seat belt where it would trip her if she pulled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a trainer. We have Germans Shepherds so it's critical that they learn not to pull early. It's not a tool we recommend at all. Dogs have been seriously injured by a gentle leader. Use a prong (NOT PINCH) collar for pulling.

Different poster-- We have a 4 month German Shepherd. I've gotten conflicting advice about when to start the prong. Some say wait until 6 months, others say start now.

When would you say is the best time to introduce it? Also, I've also been told the prong can make the dog more reactive so it's best to use a martingale. Do you find that to be true? It's very confusing.

Right now we aren't doing many neighborhood walks (lots of play in yard and woodsy walks with a long lead) but once we do, we need better control because he does pull.

I would not use a management collar on a puppy. They're a clean slate. Teach them to loose leash walk in the first place. You don't want to start with a crutch that you have to transition from later. If you have a hallway in the house, practice walking next to you, with no leash. Once he understands that the position (next to your side) and attention (to you) is what gets him rewarded, add the leash. You do quick sessions, no more than a few minutes at a time, but if you can manage, do it many times during the day.

I've tried doing this, but once outside all that walking next to me stuff leaves his brain and he pulls a lot. He also loses all desire for even the tastiest of treats once outside. He's over 40 pounds so the pulling is going to get harder to manage.

[Anonymous]

If indoor training works, but outdoor walking behavior is difficult to manage, that’s a really important clue. There’s something about the outdoor environment that’s over-stimulating for your dog and contributing to the pulling. It could be that your dog just loves walks so much and is eager to exercise. In that case, try a pre-walk, high energy game to tire him out a bit. It could be fetch or tug, for example. Your dog may also be “reactive” toward other dogs or people or territorial. Those are things you can work on with a behaviorist.

Do your best not to reinforce the pulling. Go on short walks where you come to a dead stop and wait every time your dog pulls. Using a treat as a lure indoors, teach an s-turn to get your dog back into heel position. Then practice this every day while walking. Only increase the walk length as your dog can handle it. In the mean time, offer lots of physical play and mental stimulation to sub in for walks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If indoor training works, but outdoor walking behavior is difficult to manage, that’s a really important clue. There’s something about the outdoor environment that’s over-stimulating for your dog and contributing to the pulling. It could be that your dog just loves walks so much and is eager to exercise. In that case, try a pre-walk, high energy game to tire him out a bit. It could be fetch or tug, for example. Your dog may also be “reactive” toward other dogs or people or territorial. Those are things you can work on with a behaviorist.

Do your best not to reinforce the pulling. Go on short walks where you come to a dead stop and wait every time your dog pulls. Using a treat as a lure indoors, teach an s-turn to get your dog back into heel position. Then practice this every day while walking. Only increase the walk length as your dog can handle it. In the mean time, offer lots of physical play and mental stimulation to sub in for walks.

Thanks I will try these ideas!

[Anonymous]

I am also a prong collar fan - it's a good training tool. Current dog is normally a pretty good walker but looses her s**t every now and then, so she wears a harness lead: https://www.harnesslead.com/. It was also good when I was training her because if she did freak and pull or try to run she wasn't going to slip away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am also a prong collar fan - it's a good training tool. Current dog is normally a pretty good walker but looses her s**t every now and then, so she wears a harness lead: https://www.harnesslead.com/. It was also good when I was training her because if she did freak and pull or try to run she wasn't going to slip away.

We tried this with great success for about 3 weeks. Then because she has short hair it left terrible burn marks on her inner legs and chest. She just never got the hang of ‘when I pull this thing squeezes me and I don’t like that’ but we were super hopeful. What helped? An e-collar. Changed our lives. We can actually walk our dog now instead of her walking us.

[Anonymous]

pinch collar. they work. harnesses are just built for making pulling easier!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If indoor training works, but outdoor walking behavior is difficult to manage, that’s a really important clue. There’s something about the outdoor environment that’s over-stimulating for your dog and contributing to the pulling. It could be that your dog just loves walks so much and is eager to exercise. In that case, try a pre-walk, high energy game to tire him out a bit. It could be fetch or tug, for example. Your dog may also be “reactive” toward other dogs or people or territorial. Those are things you can work on with a behaviorist.

Do your best not to reinforce the pulling. Go on short walks where you come to a dead stop and wait every time your dog pulls. Using a treat as a lure indoors, teach an s-turn to get your dog back into heel position. Then practice this every day while walking. Only increase the walk length as your dog can handle it. In the mean time, offer lots of physical play and mental stimulation to sub in for walks.

Thanks I will try these ideas!

This is literally the only good advice on this thread. Prong collars are not intended for perpetual use. Shock collars are cruel and should be banned, I don't care that you "tested it on yourself" (sure, Jan). Harnesses like the Easy Walk, when used properly (which most people don't, sigh) don't encourage pulling. But no gear can replace solid training.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If indoor training works, but outdoor walking behavior is difficult to manage, that’s a really important clue. There’s something about the outdoor environment that’s over-stimulating for your dog and contributing to the pulling. It could be that your dog just loves walks so much and is eager to exercise. In that case, try a pre-walk, high energy game to tire him out a bit. It could be fetch or tug, for example. Your dog may also be “reactive” toward other dogs or people or territorial. Those are things you can work on with a behaviorist.

Do your best not to reinforce the pulling. Go on short walks where you come to a dead stop and wait every time your dog pulls. Using a treat as a lure indoors, teach an s-turn to get your dog back into heel position. Then practice this every day while walking. Only increase the walk length as your dog can handle it. In the mean time, offer lots of physical play and mental stimulation to sub in for walks.

Thanks I will try these ideas!

This is literally the only good advice on this thread. Prong collars are not intended for perpetual use. Shock collars are cruel and should be banned, I don't care that you "tested it on yourself" (sure, Jan). Harnesses like the Easy Walk, when used properly (which most people don't, sigh) don't encourage pulling. But no gear can replace solid training.

"Faraday" collars are not cruel, but they are 'finishing tools' for dogs already trained. They "make the dog think" in a great line from my parents neighbor. Never go off leash without one.