we have the easy walk harness its good, but no need to spend the $$$

just buy a normal harness thqat had a metal loop on the chest and attach the leash there! it will work the same way as i have recently used and learned from 3 other dog owners of ebs and brittanies!

 

I used the gentle leader on my AB Rose for 3 years. I never noticed her breathing being more labored when using it as compared to another collar. I finally phased her off the gentle leader and we walk with a nylon collar now. I loved the gentle leader for when I was training her as a puppy but people see it and always assume that it is a muzzle, and then they think she's an "aggressive pitbull." I didn't like the negative connotation that the gentle leader seemed to represent for un-educated people so as soon as Rose was trained and calmed down some we transitioned collars. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for the great advice,
Roses Mom, How long did it take rose to get used to having the Gentle leader on her head. It seems that everythime I put it on Champ he trys taking it off. while were walking he'll try to paw it off. Do you think I'm doing something wrong?

 

awesome example look at roses moms avatar, look at the dogs chest u see the metal ring for the harness? u can hook the leash there and it will prevent the tugging also!

 

Roses Mom, How long did it take rose to get used to having the Gentle leader on her head. It seems that everythime I put it on Champ he trys taking it off. while were walking he'll try to paw it off. Do you think I'm doing something wrong?

I don't think you're doing anything wrong. When I first started Rose on the gentle leader she tried to paw it off ehr nose too. The trick was to not stop walking so the dog has to re-direct their energy to walking with you. So as soon as she started pawing at it we sped up our pace and if she still didn't stop I would reach my foot behind her and give her a little tap on her rump to get her attention re-focused. It took a few days of getting her used to it but now she couldn't care less if she had it on. Just be patient and don't give up.

 

What I did...

My Catahoula Leopard dog uses a gentle leader. She hated it at first. First thing I did was put it on the ground and let her sniff it and then gave her a treat so she associates good things with it. I repeated that 5 times before I did anything else. The next day I treated her for sniffing it then put it on her and she tried to paw it off. I hooked up her leash and grabbed my treat bad and headed out the door. I have taught her the look command since then to get her attention when I need to re-direct it for any reason. When she walked good on the gentle leader I praised her and gave her a treat. Maybe she doesn't know why I am praising her but it really got her mind off of the gentle leader waiting for and sniffing the treat. If its really bad you might even hold the treat in front of his nose while you walk and when he does good for a few steps give it to him and praise him. Eventually he will hopefully walk farther and farther without freaking out. I try to take the thing off when I don't need it. I leave a regular collar on with the tags at the base of his neck for ID and something to grab onto if needed. She does breath slightly like a bully with it on but I think that is normal and she seems to be ok. On hot days I am careful to walk her when its cool just to make sure or use a regular collar and lead if its really hot. She walks great with the gentle leader so I really like my fiance' to use it till she gets her to walk on a loose leash like she does with me.

 

Well, sounds like he didn't have a good introduction when you first put it on. Don't just put it on and expect him to be the perfect dog. Get a bunch of treats and make him heel at your side and treat. If he paws or throws a tantrum, wait until he's calm and start walking again, if he behaves then treat.

I used the Gentle Leader my-self for a little while and it worked alright, Abby didn't mind it at all, I was lucky. However the pulling wasn't reduced as much. Then I used the prong collar and there was absolutely no pulling at all and now she doesn't even need the prong and just has a flat buckle collar and walks fine.