Suggestion for all new dog owners: The Gentle Leader

I don't like head halters, but I don't like prongs or chokers either.  But I used a halti, and I used a prong.

IF a client in a training class doesn't put in any effort to teach the dog to not pull, and is ready to "get rid of" the animal because of the pulling, really?  Would you rather the trainer instruck that person in ow to properly use a tool that can help, or dial the number of the nearest shelter for them?  I *think* that's Annes point. 

Glenda, with all due respect, I don't think the shelter was thrown in the mix, but I do believe certain training methods advertise a quick fix...to me the Gentle Leader is as evil as the Prong, but, in my experience, dogs don't buck the prongs as much......and neither is more gentle and more+R/Positive....that is where my feathers get ruffled.

The so called +R Positive training loses the positive when one straps on a contraption like any head halters.....I have seen dogs rolling on the ground, digging and scratching at their face.....never seen that with a prong.....not that it is better....

But, what is the result when the dog "can't" be trained?  Almost always the shelter or dumping it on some other family.  There will always be folks who get a pup and don't think they need to put any work into it.  Some of these tools, whether we like them or not, can literally be the difference between life and death for some dogs.

spiritdogs

Obviously, the desired thing is for people to train their dogs to walk on a regular collar. 

I don't agree that's the obvious goal for people. Some are happy to have their dog on a corrective collar for every walk, always. It works for them. Some use them for transition to flat collar. It works for them.

My dog and I are currently happiest with her in a body harness, I don't consider it a path to a flat collar.

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BTW: OP, I don't like the GL, but thanks for sharing your good experience with it! I find it really helpful when people share actual stories, from the field, so to speak ... what worked, what didn't ... so thanks!  

Obviously, the desired thing is for people to train their dogs to walk on a regular collar. 

I don't agree that's the obvious goal for people. Some are happy to have their dog on a corrective collar for every walk, always. It works for them. Some use them for transition to flat collar. It works for them.

I meant that trainers would like to see all dogs properly trained - this was in response to a comment by snownose.  It doesn't mean that owners will do so.  Hence, my suggestion for those that will not - use a piece of training equipment that is humane, appropriate for the particular dog (sorry, but I do not consider prongs ok for reactive dogs), and something the owner is capable of using.

My dog and I are currently happiest with her in a body harness, I don't consider it a path to a flat collar.

Exactly my point - we trainers cannot force anyone to train their dog to a level where they will be walking nicely on a flat collar.  If you feel safe using a harness, I consider that a humane option.

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BTW: OP, I don't like the GL, but thanks for sharing your good experience with it! I find it really helpful when people share actual stories, from the field, so to speak ... what worked, what didn't ... so thanks!

I don't have a problem with people expressing that they prefer a harness to a GL, or that they don't like the GL, but almost invariably the dogs you see pawing at faces, or scraping their little noses on the ground to get the darn thing off are dogs whose owners went too quickly, and did not introduce the GL properly.  BTW, one of the things I do in all my classes is to explain how to acclimate the dog to all types of equipment now, before the dog needs them - muzzles, calming caps, GL's, harnesses, elizabethan collars...  That way, if a dog is injured, gets reactive in cars, goes tracking, or is spayed or neutered, the equipment will be the least of his worries.