What's your thoughts on Gentle Leader?

Question

Pros? Cons? Experiences? I wanted some info before I decide if I want to purchase it or not. Thanks :)

Answer 1

I agree with Alyssa on this one. My dog was a puller and I use a martingale. The only time she pulls now is if she's decided to go into hot pursuit of a squirrel, but as she's been trained, even when that happens, she goes still and waits.

At the dog park, my experience of dogs that have had the 'gentle leader' are not impressive. I believe it's because you're basically dragging the dog around by the nose. You've not built up a method of communication with the dog. The dogs at the park that are on the gentle leaders, once they're off are quite uncontrollable. They've not been taught how to behave.

My last dog was on a choke, it was only implemented during training, and I did end up using it all the time. This was because it really worked for us. If I flipped the lead to the left he knew to go left, if to the right he'd go right. I think he knew this because he could feel it with greater ease than a regular collar. It was extra large on him, because that's all I used it for.

I think it's an easy way out for lazy people that can't be bothered with being consistent and firm with their dogs. Go to an off-leash dog park, talk to the people there. Go to where the good well socialized and well behaved dogs are and speak to their owners. You'll find that 99% of them use the choke or martingale for training then switch to regular for park or play use - especially if they have large or dominant breed types.

Training is about communication and creating a bond between you and the dog. It's more about training you than the dog. Dragging a dog around by it's nose is not communication, it is not creating a bond. Get some good books on training and playing fun games with your dog, it will be worth 1,000 'gentle leaders' and your dog will want to do whatever you ask.

Answer 2

Pro- I completely recommend a gentle leader. I worked for a veterinary behaviorist and he always recommended it to clients. Supposedly, they make the dog feel secure and give the message to the dog that the owner is in control of situations. It lets them know they should defer to the owner before reacting to new things (usually this device was used when an animal was aggressive or fearful). It is not a punishment like choke chains are. It is truly a great training device. It also allows the dogs to eat, drink and pants if it wants to. It is easy to use the device wrong so be sure to read up on it before using it.
Con (?)- This is not a muzzle. It will not prevent dog bites. So if this is a concern for you, you can use the gentle lead with a basket muzzle.

Answer 3

I am a dog walker and one of my clients recently purchased one for their black lab. I had never had experience with one before, but I am really impressed with it. She was very bad at walking on a leash. She pulled constantly and was very stubborn. They first tried a choke collar, but that did not work. All it did was choke her (hence the name). From the moment the gentle leader was used, she make a complete turn around. She went from being my worst walker to one of the best. She no longer pulls or refuses to walk. She walks at a nice pace by my side. The only thing bad is that she sometimes tries to get it off of her nose. The great thing about it is that it pulls on the nose and back of the neck as opposed to the throat, which can seriously hurt a dog. It is supposed to mimic the way the mother carries her pups by the back of the neck. When the mother does this it causes the puppy to relax. Although I only have this one experience, I would definitely recommend the gentle leader, especially if you have large, strong dog.

Answer 4

They're an excellent training tool! I used a Halti - basically the same thing as the Gentle Leader - as an aid to train my dog out of pulling. It worked wonderfully.. he walks like an angel now, on only a flat collar.

Pros are that they're much less painful and much more kind than check and pinch collars, and just as effective. It gives you a lot more control over your dog, as you're controlling the head, rather than the neck, which is one of the strongest parts of a dog.

A con, however, is that it can take some dogs time to adjust to having it on their face. I didn't have trouble with that -- I put it on, and kept reminding him we were going on a walk, and my beast was distracted from the Halti on his head. But then, I know some dogs who simply never accepted it on their face.

Another con is that people think they're muzzles -- I actually had someone pick up their dog and cross the street to get away from my dog one time. People have actually avoided us when he wore it in Petsmart - including Petsmart staff. You'll just have to learn to ignore the ignorant.

And definitely don't use it permanently on walks -- many people don't bother using it as an aid, and use it rather as a permanent "solution" to pulling. Also -- make sure you don't "pop" the leash when your dog pulls.. seeing as you're looking into a GL, you don't seem like the kind of person who'd do that, but some people do, and it can cause injury to a dog's neck and spine when they're wearing a head collar.

Answer 5

If you have a leash-lunging dog, the GL does nothing to teach the dog NOT to pull, it only makes the tension on both ends of the lead a bit lighter. It is better for you and the dog to teach him NOT to pull on the lead. For instance, every time your dog lunges on the lead, turn the other direction so that he has to follow you. It is okay to use a chain collar, but use it every other walk or so, because otherwise your dog will only walk nicely when he wears the chain. So every time you sense the dog lunging on the lead, give the lead a slight pop, which will remind him, via the chain collar, not to pull.
This takes a lot of time and dedication, which is why so many people choose to use the GL and other handicapping collars, because it is indeed a "quick-fix". It is so much better to train the correct behavior instead of just masking the issue.

The correct behavior is a nice heel, at your left side at all times. The dog should walk at your pace, stopping when you stop and running when you run. By keeping your dog at your left side continually, and popping the lead whenever he attempts to lunge forward or to the side, he can eventually learn a proper heel.

If the issue continues, you may want to seek out a training class, or a behavioral specialist who can address the issue hands-on.

Answer 6

gentle leaders r great u have more control over the dog cause ya guiding it by its muzzle at first your dog wont like it one bit so when u put it on make sure u have lots of treats to encourage him DON"T put the lead on let him walk around till he gets used to it be PATIENT cause the dog will spaz out lol doing death rolls on the ground like a croc but all ya have to do is distract him from doing that by using a happy voice calling the dogs name and u should have no probs.

like i said b4 much better control over the dog cause ya guiding it by the muzzle instead of behind the back of the head like a choker chain and u DON"T have to be as ruff with correcting the dog either

hope this helps any more ? email me [e-mail]

Cheer's good luck duggie

dog trainer an lover

Answer 7

A gentle leader, like a choke collar, should be a training tool to teach you and your dog to walk properly together- not a permanent replacement for good training. A dog should be trained to walk on a loose leash at the owner's side at all times and to respond to the owner's commands- not to try to drag the owner down the road. Leaders and choke chains are not MEANT to physically restrain a dog that's pulling. Like I said, they're tools to help you teach the dog where to walk and how to walk. After that, you ought to be able to walk him or her on a regular collar.

Consider finding a trainer in your area to help you with the process.

Answer 8

One of my dogs is dog and kid aggressive. I bought a Gentle Leader to help with general leash training, and it turned out that it prevented him for being aggressive while it was on. Now I can walk him through a park w/ kids and I don't have to worry about him lunging and attacking some little boy or girl. And I actually forgot it today while I was walking him and took him through a park and he just looked at a couple kids!!!

Answer 9

I personally do not like the Gentle Leader.. it puts strain on the back of the skull and can actually harm your dog more than help.

I have a German Shepherd who was a HUGE puller.. He took ME for walks.. I asked my vet AND my trainer what they thought.. They both advised me to get the pinch collar. It looks mean because of all the "teeth" but it pinches and lets go really quick.. so the dog learns not to pull.. I used it for about 5 walks, he does not pull at all anymore!

I have attached an article I found..

Answer 10

well i loved it.
PROS: easy to use. actually worked. attached to the collar in case they slip out. teaches the dog something
CONS: kind of spendy. dogs can slip out if they r smart enough to.

Experience: i have a dog that can go 0 to 40 in 2 seconds flat. i mean he would pull and tug on his leash until it came out of my hand or he would try as hard as he could to get out of his collar until he did. then he would take of running and i would have to go to the city pound to get him back. i used this on him and he pulled for about a minute and then he settled down. it worked like a charm and i havent had to use it since. so i liked it. it was worth it. and it taught him a lot