# miracle "cure" for a pulling dog



## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

ever since we brought Sammy home almost 2 months ago, it has been unbearable to take him for walks. he will pull and pull with all his might against the leash and choke himself to the point of gagging. we tried everything that everyone suggested.... we would stop every time he pulled and only keep walking once he stopped, but he would immediately pull ahead over and over again. 

i know this is probably old news to some people, but i tried the gentle leader harness (not headcollar) and it worked wonders on the first try... i cannot say enough great things about it.. i didnt even have to pull back on his leash to get him to stop pulling, he simply did not even pull on it. i dont know what it is but its great. he didnt even seem to notice he was wearing it either, so i have to imagine that its not uncomfortable to be on, or i know he would be biting at it. just a suggestion for people who are working with (increasingly!) strong golden pups who just loooove to pull you down the street. plus it doesnt seem as "harsh" as the headcollar type of gentle leader which i just imagine my dog would hate having over his snout. 

just wanted to give my review and hopefully help out a couple of you


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## Charlie06 (Feb 10, 2007)

I agree with you. We tried the Gentle leader head collar and the halti and a cheap anti pull harness (which ripped after about a month) I finally got this harness and it is wonderful. It is really well made. I felt so bad using the head collar cause Charlie seemed very uncomfortable after a while using it. It did work for a while but he later hated it and hid whenever we got it out. When he sees his harness he comes running over and sticks his head right in.


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## MisterBailey (Jun 28, 2007)

Is the gentle leader something specific, or will any harness do the same thing?

Most of the time Bailey won't pull, he only does it when he sees someone he wants to go say hello to. But hes getting WAY too strong for me to hold back and its only a matter of time before I'm on my backside!! Would a harness help with holding him back in that situation?


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## Brandy's Mom (Oct 5, 2005)

Gentle Leader and Halti are brand names for a special type of restraint that puts pressure on the top of the nose, as a mother dog might do to discipline a pup. Most dogs don't like them at first, but they DO get used to them, and it's a great way to gain control over even the largest most powerful dog.


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## Charlie06 (Feb 10, 2007)

MisterBailey said:


> Is the gentle leader something specific, or will any harness do the same thing?
> 
> Most of the time Bailey won't pull, he only does it when he sees someone he wants to go say hello to. But hes getting WAY too strong for me to hold back and its only a matter of time before I'm on my backside!! Would a harness help with holding him back in that situation?


I think it's called the Easy Walk Harness made by the same company as the gentle leader. I wouldn't get just any old harness. I got an anti pull harness from Walmart and it ripped and broke while I was walking Charlie. I got mine on ebay and it was cheaper than a pet store.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

MisterBailey said:


> Is the gentle leader something specific, or will any harness do the same thing?


No, a regular harness actually makes it easier for the dog to pull. The Gentle Leader (Easy Walk) harness is different because it directs the pressure on the front of the body so that they pull away from it (away from their chest = towards you... makes sense huh?) 

like i said, it seems to be comfortable on him, as he doesnt even notice its on.. and he is doing great walking with it! 

Gentle leader also makes something called the headcollar which goes around their snout, which i have also heard works great with some dogs, but for me, i was glad to find an alternative that wouldn't upset my dog, as i can't imagine its too comfortable having that thing tighten around their snout every time they pull. obviously thats what makes them not pull, but my feeling is, if i can accomplish the same thing with a simple harness... why not?


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## MisterBailey (Jun 28, 2007)

I'll have to keep an eye out for one. I had a search, but could only find the headcollars and some harnesses called Ezydog and Lupi. The Lupi one says it stops pulling too. Its a figure 8 harness?


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

It's the EZ-Walk No Pull Harness, made by Premier. I believe PetCo has started carrying them.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

FlyingQuizini said:


> It's the EZ-Walk No Pull Harness, made by Premier. I believe PetCo has started carrying them.


 
Yes I got mine at Petco, because I wanted to have the ease to return it if it didn't work, or exchange it if i got the wrong size (i got the Medium one originally but it was too huge, so even though the Small one looked TINY it fit my 22.5 lb pup perfectly) but you can find it A LOT cheaper online. I would recommend getting one at petco mainly for sizing purposes but then return it and buy it online. I found it the cheapest at this website:

Gentle Leader Headcollar and Easy Walk at SitStay.com.


Just go towards the bottom until you see the "gentle leader easy walk harness" the cool thing is on the website here they offer the "middle" sizes such as small/med and med/large so if your dog is kind of in between you can get the exact fit. i definitely recommend it!


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

Premier makes "tweener" sizes, too... like a S/M and a M/L. Not sure how widely available they are in the retail world, but I order them directly from Premier.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

yes, the tweener sizes are not sold at petco as far as i know and can only be found online.. i also saw them at amazon.com for a decent price.

i paid a little more to buy it at petco because Sammy is at such a strange size (big pup but sooo skinny) that i wanted to be able to take it right back if it didn't fit and not have to deal with shipping a return back and waiting for a new one. but it is nice to know that when he gets a little too big for his Small one i can possibly get the small/medium one then


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## RickGibbs (Dec 16, 2005)




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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

Rick,

That is the head collar type... the kind i'm talking about is the harness type which looks like this:










and like i said, Sammy doesn't even seem to notice when he's wearing it so the only "fight" i have is trying to get it over his head without him trying to play with it first :doh:




RickGibbs said:


>


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## MisterBailey (Jun 28, 2007)

We don't have PetCo here and the online pet stores don't seem to have those ones. I'll try the larger pet store this weekend, otherwise I'll have to look at ordering one online.


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## Griffyn'sMom (Mar 22, 2007)

I used the Gentle Leader when Griff was younger and it worked very nicely but he HATED it! As long as we were moving down the street he was fine but the moment we'd stop he'd either shove his head between your legs or roll on the ground pawing at it. As he got older he would pull hard with it to greet people and I didn't want it hurting his face so I stopped using it - he'd pretty much outgrown the one I had (it was a medium and Goldens have hefty muzzles - at least Griff does.)

Griff is very strong so for now I'm using a prong as I am slight of build - at least until I can get to more training classes with him.


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## mdoats (Jun 7, 2007)

I use the harness as well. And I agree it's great. It makes walks much more enjoyable for me. Here's the thing though... it can be deceptive. It helps you walk your dog more comfortably through physics, not training. If you switch your pup back to a regular leash, you wouldn't necessarily see a difference. Mine still pulled on the regular leash. 

I've been working with him on loose leash walking using the clicker and he's really getting it now. I've noticed that he actually has started to realize when he gets too far ahead of me and he slows down so that he is walking by my side. My long term goal is to get him to walk by my side on a loose leash all of the time. So I am investing the time and effort to train him to walk next to me. 

In the meantime, I'm sure glad to have the harness though!!!


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## Goldndust (Jul 30, 2005)

> we would stop every time he pulled and only keep walking once he stopped, but he would immediately pull ahead over and over again.


I totally hate the Premiere harness, the front clip has caused many a owner to flip there own dogs! If one does use one, know how to use it and what you must do in every situation. Never just put one on your dog without understanding this tool and how to use it, and know your dog as well as too if too even consider it. I'm not sure if this is the one your referring to or not, but I am giving you the warning on them now so as you don't cause harm too your own dog by it's use. The problem with it is that front clip.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

Goldndust said:


> I totally hate the Premiere harness, the front clip has caused many a owner to flip there own dogs! If one does use one, know how to use it and what you must do in every situation. Never just put one on your dog without understanding this tool and how to use it, and know your dog as well as too if too even consider it. I'm not sure if this is the one your referring to or not, but I am giving you the warning on them now so as you don't cause harm too your own dog by it's use. The problem with it is that front clip.


 
i can see that happening if the dog is able to pull hard and you pull hard back on them... but the point was, it basically stopped him pulling in the first place. i didnt need to do any "correcting", he just didn't pull against it and i just walked along side him easily. i would never pull the leash hard enough to flip him over... i cant imagine how hard one must pull against a pulling dog to accomplish that as we all know how much stronger they are than us when they want to be. oh well, to each his own, and it worked awesomely for me


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## gold'nchocolate (May 31, 2005)

Goldndust said:


> the Premiere harness, the front clip has caused many a owner to flip there own dogs!


This happened to either Jack or Biscuit (can't remember which one). I can remember having so much trouble getting out the door with them, when we were going for a walk, that I used to have to hold onto the door jamb and then fling myself  to the outside railing, etc until we were safely on flat ground, so I bought 2 of these EZ Walk Harnesses. The first time they wore them and we went out the door, in their usual manner, one of them did a flip-over down the steps :no:. I felt so-o-o bad.


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## mdoats (Jun 7, 2007)

What happens when the dog is pulling, is that the strap that goes around their legs can tighten up causing them to "flip." I haven't had that problem using the harness with my pup, but I've seen him pull and have a hard time walking, so I keep a careful eye on that part of the harness if he gets excited.

When I walk him using the harness, I always make sure he has his regular collar on too so that I can switch to that if the harness is a problem.

For my dog it has been a great product, but it wouldn't necessarily work for all dogs.


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## foreveramber (Feb 25, 2007)

MisterBailey said:


> We don't have PetCo here and the online pet stores don't seem to have those ones. I'll try the larger pet store this weekend, otherwise I'll have to look at ordering one online.


 
target sells them about 5 bucks cheaper than petco.


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## timm (Jan 7, 2007)

the gentle leader also worked great with Katie when we took her for walks, but a word of warning, we would often like to start running during our walk and Katie would run with us but the problem is she's obviously faster and may bolt ahead of us which made her head turn back towards us as she ran forward, she never got hurt but I could see a situation where a dog could get whiplash or worse if they decided to sprint very fast and you couldn't keep up. the point is to never run with your dog when they have the gentle leader on and to keep very little slack until you both feel more comfortable with it.


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## kowey (Feb 28, 2006)

timm: this is very true!
Our Double certainly hated the gentle leader, but we persisted and now she is used to it. Our Fleur NEVER had a problem with it at all. Now I can walk both dogs "with one finger". But my fear is, what if I stumble or fall: I could easily hurt one of my dogs' neck.


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## Joe and Sam's Mom (Sep 2, 2007)

I use the gentle leader for both boys. If you go to the company website, you can order them made with a wider strap, which sits better on the big noses! And I got gold colored ones so I don't get so many muzzle questions. My monsters are angels with the GL's on and neither one is bothered by them. They both now walk loose leash and when they do get excited I just have to tell them to sit with a slight pull upwards on the leash. I wouldn't be without them.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

just so we're clear.... my original post was about the gentle leader easy walk HARNESS.... many of the responses (like the last one) are talking about their successes (or just talking in general) about the gentle leader HEAD COLLAR which looks kind of like a muzzle. i have not tried the head collar, but the harness has worked wonders for my pulling dog. it differs from a regular harness in that the leash connector is in the front, not on the back, so it does not encourage pulling at all. anyway not that it really matters, but i just thought i would clarify as there seems to be some confusion as to what this post was about.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

Timm your post is one reason I hate them- they can kill a dog, especially something like a Whippet.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

Although on 2nd thought anyone who'd need any type of device (be it a prong or a gentle leader) to walk a WHIPPET I'd really have to wonder about. They are so docile. So, these collars are probably perfectly safe on the types of dogs that would need them (BIG, strong, and with thick, strong necks and not a lot of speed) AS LONG as they are NEVER used with a flexi leash.


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## Lexie's Mom (Dec 14, 2005)

yep a dog like my Hooch needs a prong collar. Worked great on him. Of course, i had my trainer show me how to use it properly. I wouldn't recommend it without proper instruction.


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