Dog Community

Jogging with a Gentle Leader?

erl

Posted : 6/17/2010 11:15:39 AM

I have a quick question... Do you feel that it is safe to run with a gentle leader head halter? I haven't really used one in a long time so I can't really remember all of the precautions. I want to start jogging with my shorthair, yet she doesn't have perfect leash manners anymore (but we're working on them!).

Spazzy

Posted : 6/17/2010 11:31:19 AM

I wouldnt. If she already doesnt have leash manners, jogging will only get her more excited and hitting the end of the leash on a head halter is not good thing.

Either teach her leash manners, or use a Easy walk harness, or a regular nylon harness with the leash clipped to the O ring in front of the dogs chest.

erl

Posted : 6/17/2010 11:38:35 AM

She behaves pretty well on the Gentle Leader, I just need to phase it out now. But I'll take your advice and not use it. If she sees a person close by I can see her running forward and hurting her neck. Thanks. :)

RubyandStewiesmom

Posted : 6/17/2010 12:07:00 PM

Ruby my Pitbull despite over a year of trying has horrible leash manners...she's very good to stop and sit and such, but will not slow down her pace. I use a gentle leader I think it's called...its not a head collar but one that goes around her chest, and we can go pretty fast on that and it hasn't been a problem. Maybe see about giving one of those a try in stead of the head collar? I got an off brand, so I think maybe they are Gentle Walkers or Gentle Harness or something.

erl

Posted : 6/17/2010 12:32:03 PM

I'm not a big fan of the easy walk harness because I've seen it rub dogs' underarm areas up and they don't seem to allow for as much control as the head collar. But it's still worth looking into. Maybe I can find one to try on her to see if it rubs much there or try on an off brand.

Krissim Klaw

Posted : 6/17/2010 12:38:24 PM

erl
I'm not a big fan of the easy walk harness because I've seen it rub dogs' underarm areas up and they don't seem to allow for as much control as the head collar. But it's still worth looking into. Maybe I can find one to try on her to see if it rubs much there or try on an off brand.

Another thing you can try is to get a standard harness and simply hook the clip in the circle loop in the front where the neck and chest straps connect. Gives you the advantages of having a hook in the front while having a normal harness that shouldn't cause the same rubbing problems.

RubyandStewiesmom

Posted : 6/17/2010 12:50:27 PM

erl
I'm not a big fan of the easy walk harness because I've seen it rub dogs' underarm areas up and they don't seem to allow for as much control as the head collar. But it's still worth looking into. Maybe I can find one to try on her to see if it rubs much there or try on an off brand.

Yes, mine did require a bit of work, I bought some "baby" car seat strap pads at Babies R Us and put them on the harness where it rubs. They work wonderfully. They are just little sheepskin velcro'd pads that wrap around the harness. I think they were $13.99 or so...and it has worked great so far. So it's definitely not ready to go right out of the box...I did have to "rig" it a bit!

Spazzy

Posted : 6/17/2010 12:52:40 PM

erl
I'm not a big fan of the easy walk harness because I've seen it rub dogs' underarm areas up and they don't seem to allow for as much control as the head collar. But it's still worth looking into. Maybe I can find one to try on her to see if it rubs much there or try on an off brand.

Thats why I said before that a regular nylon harness works the same, just clip the leash to the O ring on the dogs chest instead of the ring on the dogs back, and it works the same as an Easy walk harness, without the rubbing. Also, the easy walk harness can be very easy to escape for some dogs, regular 'standard' style harnesses fit better.

corvus

Posted : 6/19/2010 11:53:47 PM

I wouldn't. I used to run with Kivi and twice he was just behind me as I ran past a pole and I forgot to tell him "this side" and he strung us up. It made me very glad I had him on a harness instead of a collar. Talk about a rude shock. We were both picking ourselves off the ground, and broke one of the D rings on the Snooza walking belt.