Help needed with gentle leader

greyflintstone · Master

Help needed with gentle leader

Gail · Old Hand

Doh..just i realised i've replied to this on another thread..not that i can be much help anyway, sorry. x

neeroz · Master

Hi Sharon

We bought a gentle lead for Dexter (not used it yet) and we use/prefer harness too.

It has crossed my mind about having to use two leads aswell, so am nae help!

Louise

max · Enlightened One

Hope this helps it may sound complicated but it,s not.I made two short lengths of lead "6inches approx"with lead clips at either end, one clips on to leader then attaches to collar the other attaches to collar then harness, next clip normal lead on to gentle leader you then have full control of head but safety if dog slips leader( which it should,nt if leader is fitted properly), dog is still attached to collar and harness. The point of the leader is that does not pull on dogs neck but controls from the head. They do work and though you may find that the dog pulls to the side, persevere as in time the dog will adjust to the leader.

Nora

C_J · Master

I just bought a halti for Casper as I found he still pulled with a harness and it rubbed in his arm pits (if thats what they are called on dogs!!). Is a halti the same as a gentle leader? I find the halti is working great, but I am confused to whether its the same thing as a gentle leader or not!?

Viv · Old Hand

Halti. V Gentle Leader.

Firstly the Gentle Leader needs to be properly fitted to be effective and I favour the GL over the H because:

                  + It does not come off accidentally - the Halti does.
                  + It does not slop about the dog's face - the halti does.
                  + It has a calming influence by stimulating pressure points
                     behind the dog's ears - the Halti does not.

The Halti, as the name suggests, is a restrainer. Alone this often does not teach the dog anything, but is effective at stopping pulling to a degree.

The Gentle Leader, as the name suggests, leads and is gentle because of the calming influence. The combined effects starts to encourage dogs to take a step back rather than forward when they feel a slight pressure on the boney part of the nose.

The neck strap fits tightly, often much tighter than most think. I have re-fitted many that have been put on 'upside down' ie nose really tight and very loose neck strap.

The GL can be very effective when used on problem dogs that lunge or jump around. They become much calmer and the handler can maintain much better control which gives us a chance to teach the dog how to behave in such situations.

Hope this helps to answer your question.
Regards,
Vivian S

Viv · Old Hand

In short, they are NOTHING alike and cannot be compared.
V

C_J · Master

Thanks for the reply Viv. The halti hasn't come off yet, and doesn't seem to slop about his face as you suggest, but I am interested in you saying the halti doesn't teach anything. Obviously I want to teach Casper not to pull, so I will look into the halti vs gentle leader a bit more when I get the chance. He is walked mostly off lead but I will be doing a lot more walks on lead soon so I obviously want to use what's best for him. I don't really need to calm him down, he doesn't lunge or jump, he just pulls like a train to the spot where he gets let off lead. Thanks again, I will look into it more thoroughly asap.
Jane

Gail · Old Hand

Jane, i have never used a halti so don't know much about them but Neo sounds a bit like Casper, he does not jump or lunge at anything but can be a bit headstrong when he sees something he wants, usually discarded food in his case!!. I started using a gentle leader with him early on and it definately made a big difference. i'm not saying he doesn't still attempt to pull to something interesting but he must feel the slight pressure and it does stop him.

I stopped using it but found he was reverting back to the way he was so i now just use it all the time and he doesn't seem to mind it all. Hope this wee bit of info is helpful.

Jennifer · Master

Im a bit gutted, i wish i'd read this thread earlier. I went to pets@home tonight and bought a halti for Willow. I chose the halti over the GL as it had a connector strap to attach to the collar. Im paranoid Willow slips out of the H or GL and gets away as i'd never get him back. I got it because he lunges when he's out towards other dogs and all over the path. I thought it would help me gain more control over him as he's so strong when he's trying to get to another dog. The halti i have has a padded nose band which i thought would be good for their boney snouts! I didn't think there was a huge difference between them and hadn't realised they couldnt escape from a GL

Thanks for the info

C_J · Master

Jennifer wrote:

I chose the halti over the GL as it had a connector strap to attach to the collar.

That's one of the reasons I chose it too Jennifer, because he can't escape from it. The halti has never come off Casper, but if it did it is still connected to his collar, so it coming off is not really an issue for me, neither is it slopping about his face as it fits really well and when I let him off lead I just unclip his lead, leave his halti on and put his muzzle on top. He is not bothered by it at all, and in fact I thought he was actually much happier trotting beside me with the halti on than pulling like a train without. I was actually really pleased with the halti until I read the posts, as Casper walks great with it on, but I am going to look into the gentle leader more now... its a bit confusing really.

Jennifer, let me know how you get on with the halti with willlow.

tootsmazza · Enlightened One

Would a gentle leader help with rearing up? Mason occasionally throws a temper tantrum when I try to make him walk away from a house with cats.
95% of the time he's fine but then he'll have a paddy and rear up when I try to make him walk on, since he's a big boy its tough to drag him once his mind is set.
Its bizarre, he only gets worked up about houses where he sees the cat inside, if they're in the garden or on the window ledge outside he will walk away after a hard stare.
I wondered about a harness or a GL and whether it would give me more control?

Viv · Old Hand

GL - Great for rearing dogs.

On the other post about the attachment piece for the H. The manufacturers have provided it because they can come off.

They don't make one for the GL.

Viv

Jennifer · Master

C_J wrote:

Jennifer, let me know how you get on with the halti with willlow.

I had a very relaxed walk this morning although obviously its only early days, but whenever he tried to lunge forward he realised he couldn't and just walked nicely along beside me. He doesn't seem bothered wearing it, prob because he's used to wearing his muzzle. I felt safer knowing i could control him better and that his halti couldn't come off (as attachment on his collar).

-- Edited by Jennifer at 13:17, 2007-02-28

Jennifer · Master

Jane - ignore my last post! I have taken the Halti back to pets@home lol
For the first few walks he was fine but then he thought the harder he ran at it, it might come off! He kept running and jumping and acting more of a clown than he did without it. I'll just have to keep him on a shorter lead and more under control when a small (rat type) dog approaches

C_J · Master

Casper hasn't tried jumping about but he's good at acting the clown, so maybe that's still to come. He's still doing really well with it, but I think I am going to get Casper a gentle leader anyway, I am doing a lot of walking on lead with him so really need whats best. Good luck with the gorgeous Willow, you're dogs are so well behaved I am sure Willow will follow along soon.

aultmore · Rookie

hi there, we have gentle leader for toby, its a great thing and gives you so much more control. we tried the halti and the harness but the G.L wins hands down. we got ours from viv at the training centre and it has never once come off. we take toby for a walk now and not the other way round. hope this helps. kaye

Indiana · Guru

Phew! I'm just back from first walk with the gentle leader. I was paranoid it wouldn't work and would come off. I got it for Indiana's pulling on strange walks, and Tigerlily's prancing when she sees small dogs. So far so good. They walked like angels and when we passed two dogs there were no issues... Perhaps it's just a novelty factor and they were too busy concentrating on the strange thing about their noses but I'm hoping it wasn't just that and the gentle leader is a miracle in a box! I'll keep you posted.

max · Enlightened One

Good Luck.Sounding good.

Nora

Lorna · Old Hand

Hi

Just cross posting this from the New Shop Items section -

we now have the Gentle Leader available to buy through the shop

http://galshop.albionsoft.com/ due to popular demand.

Please follow the fitting instructions closely when using for the first time on your hound.

Indiana · Guru

Hmmm. Indiana now point blank refusing to go on a walk. If I even attempt to put the GL on him, it's a growling snapping match...

Steve · Master

We use a GL with Harry quite a lot - mostly if we are going somewhere quiet where there are not many dogs around. If there are to be other dogs around then we pop on a muzzle. You can use both the GL and muzzle together but I don't really like that - too much fangle. We use one on Harry as he likes to lunge at other dogs - especially small ones. The GL helps control him but in our experience certainly doesn't stop him or calm him in any way. He might find it uncomfy thrashing around with it on but he still does it when the opportuity arises. We try to stop the opportunities!

We don't ever use a harness - makes lunging very easy and comfy for the dog. GL is highly recommended - can use it on its tod - if fitted right and snug then pretty bullet proof.

Indiana · Guru

Looks like it's going to be a battle of wills. Indiana is eventually getting fed up crossing his paws and then allows GL on for a walk. Walks are all very calm and no sore arms which is excellent. It's probably just going to take time. I find the pair of them attempt to drag their heads through every bush to try and dislodge GL. I suppose it's like wearing glasses at first - uncomfortable but you soon get used to it.