# Easy Walk vs Gentle Leader- kind of long



## MillysMom

I'm a fan of prong collars in the right hands. I understand some people like the gentle leaders, and they can work wonders for some dogs, but it seems so much like a crutch to me, and the top of the snout is VERY sensitive. 

I have used the Sporn with great success. I'm sure you can argue this too is a crutch to teaching your dog not to pull, but in my situation I needed a "quick fix" after shoulder surgery. It was let Milly not be excercised as much, or get the Sporn. 

I tried the gentle leader (before learning more about it), and it just did not work for Milly. She would paw at her face while walking, and was always able to get it off, or wouldn't walk no matter what I did. I know some people swear by it, but in my case it was a waste of money. 

I don't know about the other harness you mentioned, so I can't give an opinion of that.

The Sporn really helped me "train" her--I use the term loosely because I can see how it could be a crutch. But, now I rarely put it on her, and she no longer pulls. So, I got the desired result. I did use the sporn while using training techniques to stop the pulling. So it was more of a training aid in my case.


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## OurShen

We use the Easy Walk Harness with Shen who is 8 months now. It has worked wonderfully with him. I think it was a combination of training him to walk well and using this harness (leash latches at the chest and not the back). If I need to correct him, the tug prevents him from moving forward and it practically stops him in his tracks.


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## Phillyfisher

The easy walk worked fine for us up to about 8 months. Lately we just don't have the control over him that we need. We were working on transitioning Tucker to just a flat collar, but the easy walk doesn't work as well as it used to- he is simply getting to strong at this point.


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## MyCodyBoy

I am not a fan of prong collars unless your dog is aggressive or seriously beyond any sort of reasoning and you have tried all other options first.

Has your trainer been able to work with you on getting him to focus more? 
I don't think neutering him will be the magic thing to get him to walk better. He might calm down sooner than if he was not neutered but I don't see this being the answer.

I have the puppy whisperer and it has wonderful suggestions on getting your dog to walk beside you without pulling. It isn't a 1 step method. It is training over several steps and does take time for the dog to master.

We live in a cold climate as well so I can understand how you feel. We have the easy walk harness for now but once Cody grows out of it and spring comes I will be working on him with the walking.

I do believe that any dog can walk nicely, but some dogs just take a lot more training then others.

If he starts to jump up and bit the leash you sternly say no and the walking ends. Remember you control every situation. If you are not happy with how he is walking you stop instantly, and practicing in the back yard is the perfect way for him to get that you are in control. You can do the walking exercise while in the yard and if he starts to pull or bit leash you can say "walk over" and take his collar off and put him in the house, and you stay outside. Wait about 30 second and take him out and start the process over again. Do this over and over again for about 20 minutes at one time and I bet he will get it if not after the first session but possibly after a few sessions.
Once you think he gets it, try it on the road in front of your house. DOn't go far incase you have to end the walk.

If all else fails get the gentle leader and not a prong unless the gentle leader doesn't work.


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## honeysmum

Sorry I have not read this thred all the way through.or even the whoe of the first post.

So my two penneth worth,Honey is 15 months because her H/D we have not been abe to walk her on lead untill last 3 weeks,so she was like a 12 week but 30k pup on the lead so I got in touch with our Police dog trainers they said G/L that is what they use here in the UK for training,(doesnt restrict like the Halti) and way to go from day one walks like a dream,earley stages only been out 4 times as we are still restricted untill she has next xrays,but just wanted to give my very limited point of view, also if police trainers use it that is good enough for me,as I woud like to point out they only use positive reenforcement as was demonstrated when they came here.

Best of luck whatever you chose


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## marieb

I was just asking our dog trainer about this a couple weeks ago for Maddie - I use the easy walk on her but I'm going through the same problems. When she gets really excited she pulls a lot and it's difficult to control her even with the easy walk - she kind of flings her body around lol. I asked the instructor if I should try a prong collar (bc I tried the gentle leader when she was younger and she wouldn't stop rubbing her face on the ground). The trainer said that she stopped using prong collars about 7 years ago, but if you're using it properly they can be successful. However, she was talking about how most people tend to constantly tug or pull on the leash and that's not the way it should be used. 

So I'm not really sure what to do either ... I hope you find something that works and if you have any success us know!


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## MissRue

I don't like either of them. I use a half check collar until they can walk properly on a lead. I also do not use retractable leash, but a 6 foot leather or lupine leash. HTH.


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## lgnutah

Brooks is 3 1/2 yrs and on his regular leash he is fine: unless there is some major distraction like you have described (new setting, squirrels, etc). So, the Gentle Leader is perfect for those situations.
I don't think it is a problem to just carry the Gentle Leader into those situations and slip it on if a problem seems imminent.


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## K9 Passion

I recently purchased a harness called a "Tug N" Hug." It is very unique from other harness & I am very pleased with it. Even though my two aren't really pullers, it's nice to have a safe product in the event that they decide to pull. So far, I've just used it for Goldie, but I will get one for Aspen in the future. It also doubles as a great vehicle restraint. Check it out:

http://www.tugnhug.com/


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## K9 Passion

I recently purchased a harness called a "Tug N' Hug." It is very unique from other harness & I am very pleased with it. Even though my two aren't really pullers, it's nice to have a safe product in the event that they decide to pull. So far, I've just used it for Goldie, but I will get one for Aspen in the future. It also doubles as a great vehicle restraint. Check it out:

http://www.tugnhug.com/


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## susanc

Wow, it sounds like we all have the same problem. Willow's ONLY issue at 9 months, is walking. She pulls so hard I'm afraid she will hurt me. Thanks for the info but it sounds like nothing works for all dogs. It is kind of "try it and see if it works". That can get expensive. This is a very important issue for us, we travel a lot and so she is in a lot of new situations. I guess we'll start with the gentle leader.


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## RedDogs

Susan, I would recommend you work with a qualified professional, in the long run it is probably much less expensive than "Try it and see if it works". Becuase for the most part, everything works....it just has to be done correctly! And some choices are better/safer/less risk for certain problems. 

(My favorite skill to teach is walking!)


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## iansgran

It took a while for our boy to get used to the gentle leader but once he did it was fine. He did not like putting it one, but once on walked easily. I have seen the lady on It's Me or the Dog talk about using treats to get the dog to put his head through the loop when you put it on. A friend who is a vet and trains and breeds assistance dogs loves the gentle leader for most dogs but says some just never get used to it.


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## Phillyfisher

Well I can update this thread- we tried the prong collar route, it worked, but Tucker still pulled enough to break the skin on his neck. I had read up on sizing and use of the prong collar beforehand, and it still happened. We stopped using it and switch to the gentle leader and got back into obedience class. He has been great on the gentle leader, and we are now transitioning him off it. Even with the gentle leader, you need to keep an eye out for rub spots back near the corner of the mouth. Even though we had the leader sized correctly, Tucker developed a sore spot near the corner of his mouth where the nose loop would rub. This happened while we were on vacation, when he was wearing it for extended periods when we were out and about all day. Since noticing it, we have been pretty much on a flat collar only.


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## boo.and.hanna

Phillyfisher said:


> Well I can update this thread- we tried the prong collar route, it worked, but Tucker still pulled enough to break the skin on his neck.


wow, he must have pulled hard! does your prong collar have the rounded ends? we ordered one prong collar that had flat tips (so the circles at the end had sharp edges) so we had to toss out. rounded prongs do not have the sharp edges and will not break the skin.


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## Phillyfisher

The tips were rounded. I felt horrible when I found the small scabs on his neck. He was a real puller and still is from time to time depending on the situation. Now it did happen after we had a weekend away where he was on lead most of the weekend as we walked around. Probably due the extended time he had to wear it. I think it is less likely to be an issue where the dog only wears the collar for an hour or so each day.


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