Gentle Leader - tips?

[Anonymous]

Hi there,
We're starting on the gentle leader with my dog because the pulling is out of control. Tried harnesses, they didn't help much and she got sores.

Anyone have pro tips for us? Do you find once your dog gets used to it that you can go without it eventually?

[Anonymous]

We used it for a while but it tore up her nose. Hopefully your dog has more hair in her nose than our does. We tried mole skin but it didn’t help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We used it for a while but it tore up her nose. Hopefully your dog has more hair in her nose than our does. We tried mole skin but it didn’t help.

OP here. UGH. So she still pulled a ton?

[Anonymous]

If the pulling is behavioral (i.e., pack leader mentality vs. just a strong dog), nothing is going to stop it fully besides training. Highly recommend David Schmucker at Sidewalk Dog Training.

[Anonymous]

It worked fine for one of my dogs, the other would pull anyway and I had to use a prong collar for him. Try one and see if it works for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We used it for a while but it tore up her nose. Hopefully your dog has more hair in her nose than our does. We tried mole skin but it didn’t help.

We eventually stopped because it was creating a raised area on our shepherd’s nose, but it worked okay for several years up until that point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We used it for a while but it tore up her nose. Hopefully your dog has more hair in her nose than our does. We tried mole skin but it didn’t help.

We eventually stopped because it was creating a raised area on our shepherd’s nose, but it worked okay for several years up until that point.

Sorry, I think we maybe used the Halti brand, also with moleskin.

[Anonymous]

We use one for a strong, large dog who originally pulled me over onto the ground suddenly and unexpectedly when he was spooked.

You can't just stick it on and expect them to walk well. you need to talk to them. Keep them on your left, don't look at them, don't let them get ahead of you - you are to lead and they will get the idea. You also need to speak. "Good walking" or "just walking" etc.

[Anonymous]

We’ve used it off an on and now our dog doesn’t need it anymore. No problems with it whatsoever but she did hate it at first - takes getting used to. Try for short walks with treats in the beginning

[Anonymous]

Our trainer told us that they are terrible and recommended a prong collar and proper training. We use a prong collar, which works great, and our dog is good about heeling when directed to. So in situations where I want him next to me (passing other walkers, etc.) I have him heel, otherwise he walks ahead sniffing around, etc. but doesn’t pull (or rather, pulls SIGNIFICANTLY less).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our trainer told us that they are terrible and recommended a prong collar and proper training. We use a prong collar, which works great, and our dog is good about heeling when directed to. So in situations where I want him next to me (passing other walkers, etc.) I have him heel, otherwise he walks ahead sniffing around, etc. but doesn’t pull (or rather, pulls SIGNIFICANTLY less).

Why are they terrible? A prong collar seems worse.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

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.

The humane society says not to use prong collars and that gentle leaders are a better choice. We've tried martingdale and chain collars and she still pulls.

https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/dog-collars

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We’ve used it off an on and now our dog doesn’t need it anymore. No problems with it whatsoever but she did hate it at first - takes getting used to. Try for short walks with treats in the beginning

Thank you for this info! Good to hear it doesn't need to be a permeant solution.

[Anonymous]

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.

The humane society says not to use prong collars and that gentle leaders are a better choice. We've tried martingdale and chain collars and she still pulls.

https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/dog-collars

As a trainer, the humane society wouldn't be my go to resource. All collars are not created equally. The Herm Sprenger is generally considered the beast training tool.