# Bye bye gentle leader, hello freedom!



## anamcouto (Aug 15, 2015)

So last night we decided to take Ella our 5 month shining star to the pub, it opens to the outside it's full of expats, the perfect place to socialise her amongst stranger that not only are not afraid of her due to her size - they actually miss their one pups back at home so she will be the star of the night right?!
Oh yeah she was the star of the night definitely

I get there, we find our spot, I remove the muzzle of the gentle leader because is so hot and she will be more comfortable without it and grab her bowl and water from my bag. I look at her and there she is with that look on her face (mommy I did something you're not gonna like smiling) and I see what she did to the gentle leader in a split second. :doh:

That's the proof of her hate relationship with that item of the devil!

Bye bye gentle leader, hello freedom, see you in a next life :wavey:

BTW this is her first real mischief with cost implications


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## iansgran (May 29, 2010)

Made me smile. Our first golden chewed through a leash or two. As to the gentle leader I am a huge fan even if Jaro still rubs his nose when I take it off. I am an old lady with joint problems and it gives me security when walking Jaro.


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## anamcouto (Aug 15, 2015)

I like it also, Ella not so much but when she is outside she tolerates it. As soon as we step in the building reception of our apartment she starts pawing to take it out (I usually only take it when we get to our floor so that she doesn't learn that it's ok to take it downstairs)

Funny that most people thinks it's a real muzzle to prevent bites and are a bit afraid of her, only when I explain that if she wants to chew their leg off that won't save them at all they understand that is just for training.

But regarding walking I agree it makes life much easier than an arness or even a normal collar 

I was just surprise of how fast she did it:doh: but anyway compared to all the comments I hear from people and the damages done by their puppies I may say Ella is an Angel (I keep and eagle eye on her)


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## SunnynSey (Jan 17, 2015)

I'm not a fan of the gentle leader, I felt at times it was anything but on patients. I would see noses rubbed raw and they looked painful &#55357;&#56879;, the high anxiety dogs would do awful on it too.


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## anamcouto (Aug 15, 2015)

I think that if used carefully and wisely it can be a useful tool to help training but I used to check the fitting everyday and whenever was play time I usually would take out the muzzle.

Definitely is not for slack owners, requires commitment and vigilance. As for now I'm giving it a rest and only using a normal collar

Maybe in the future I'll alternate days just to keep her reminding that pulling the lead is big No No. I actually need to give way much stronger pulls on the lead to correct her than with the gentle leader where a small touch is enough to get the attention


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## anamcouto (Aug 15, 2015)

*New combination for gentle leader = even more gentle*



iansgran said:


> Made me smile. Our first golden chewed through a leash or two. As to the gentle leader I am a huge fan even if Jaro still rubs his nose when I take it off. I am an old lady with joint problems and it gives me security when walking Jaro.


So I'm back on the gentle leader, after a few months of rest, Ella was doing fine without it but I went on vacation and let's just say Ella has amnesia on walking on leash. She's all over the place pulling with excitement to smell everything and great everyone.

Last week I decided to retire the simple leash we were using because the little monster loves to bite it when she gets the chance and it was showing the signs that this was not a leash anymore. So I saw something at the shop that called my attention as I was looking for a more sturdy replacement that caught my eye, it's called "Zero Shock" and it's by EZYDOG, it has an "elastic" thing that when the dog pulls it doesn't feel so strong. Used a couple of days just with the normal collar and works nicely, today I tried it with the gentle leader and I'm so happy, it makes the gentle leader even more gentle both on me and the puppy because every pull becomes softer so she's actually not pulling at all because even when we correct them it is softer than before :bowl::bowl:
And the lead grip for our hands is padded and so soft

I think I nailed it!

This post is specifically for the lady with joint problems, thought that this may make your walks even more pleasant. :wavey::wavey:

Photo below of the combination, sadly the shop ran out of red gentle leaders


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