[mjh68]

Loki , is really pulling alot on walks and has started to rub a spot under his collar raw. We tried a harness ,but he hates it so I was thinking of a gentle leader. The trainer wasn't sure if his muzzle was long enough , anyone have luck using a gentle leader on a 4th month old AB that is fairly short muzzled ? Thank you for your time

mike

 

[Kismet]

They work fine on bully breeds if fitted correctly, but why not just teach him to walk correctly?

 

[mjh68]

I thought that was part of the purpose in using the gentle leader was teaching him to walk correctly ? I try stopping when he is pulling , turning different directions , but regardless he is still pulling frequently . Any other tips ?

 

[Kismet]

No, the gentle leader forces the dog to behaves when it's on, but it doesn't teach them anything. When you take it off, the dog will pull again. If it's a young pup, use food and reward the dog for doing the right thing. Anytime he is walking nicely, preferably focused on you, then give him a small treat and some praise. Start with no distractions and work your way up. I use the command "look" and reward for eye contact. At first it will only be a second or 2 but it will progress to total focus on you, and you can fade the treats out. This can be done with just a flat collar.

 

[pitfreak_bb]

Opinions that differ

I used a gentel leader on my pittie the last year. She had quite the pulling problems. She hated the leader and spent the past year trying to take it off. I used it for her pulling and when they pull it's like a horse harness you give a little tug and it turns their head to the side and they can't really pull if they aren't looking forward. She got better cause of the leader and since we have taken it off she is soooo happy she doesn't have to wear it that she does not pull. Now I bring it with me and if she does pull I tell her bad-no pulling and I put it back on. She doesn't want to wear it she will learn not to pull. We all have different solutions and these are only suggestions and not everything works with every dog. But the gentle leader worked with mine and we never have to use it anymore pretty much. So in my case proven it can work. Mind you we went through flat collar ,harnesses, pincher collar first but the gentle leader worked after time.

 

[PitBullRoyalty]

I trained a 200 pound rottie to go for walks because he was 3 years old and never walked.
I taught him not to pull.. I should say.. DRAG by using the gentle leader head harness.
After he learned what I wanted from him, I started weaning him off it and got him to walk nice
using a regular leash and collar. I was able to rehome him with a 100 pound woman and he hasn't pulled since.

So it can work, but if he fights a harness he will fight a Gentle leader worse.
I prefer the easy walk harness by gentle leader.

 

[Scout-dog]

Scout HATES her gentle leader, and tries to pull it off, but it's either that or she walks me, which I can't handle. The one thing we couldn't seem to get her to get the hang of in dog training was how not to pull on a leash... she is just so eager.

PBR: what's the easy walk harness?

 

[nanniesrock]

Scout HATES her gentle leader, and tries to pull it off, but it's either that or she walks me, which I can't handle. The one thing we couldn't seem to get her to get the hang of in dog training was how not to pull on a leash... she is just so eager.

PBR: what's the easy walk harness?

It's a harness put put by the Gentle leader company. Same concept, but isn't worn on the face. Also, package insert declares it to be slightly less effective than the one worn on the head.

 

[PitBullRoyalty]

It's a harness put put by the Gentle leader company. Same concept, but isn't worn on the face. Also, package insert declares it to be slightly less effective than the one worn on the head.

That's exactly correct..

 

[Knomad]

Personally id make him wear the harness and let him get used to it. moto hated his first up but after a week or so he decided not to pay much heed.

He still doesnt volunteer to be harnessed up though, I have to persuade him but he doesnt resist much. Once its on though hes happy as larry and doesnt bother at all. Also in my experience dogs do pull much less when you have a harness and its much better for leash control.

Also use a short leash for training so the dog has no option but to walk to feet. As the other posters said, constant voice communication, praise, rewards, reminding and reinforcing will bring good results.

Generally it takes time but since walking puppy is something you do a lot of, time for leash training is not something you are short on!!

Also at his age I would have him off the leash regularly when in parks and open areas if your laws allow for it. The reaso for this is recall and voice control are much easier to teach at that age because the pups natural fear will keep him most of the time glued very close to you. By the time he develops the confidence to go longer range you have had a few months of off the leash voicework and the pup is very responsive. For me this is the biggest error many dog owners make, keeping their dog leashed until 6 months or older and then trying to let them off and control them when out and about. At that age hes brave and bold and will quite happily run you ragged if you havent got them used to voice control.
You will find that as he gets good off the lead he will improve dramatically on the lead also as you talk to him or her.
By 6-7 months my dogs are for the most part leash free. After that I use the leash only when theres lots of people and kids around, lots of traffic or I dont like the dogs that are around for whatever reason.

 

[deuce's mommy]

Well I love our gentle leader, which we recently misplaced and still haven't found. Deuce doesn't like it, but I love it. It works great. He is so excited to be out places that he will pull me around. The gentle leader immediately fixed that problem. We haven't weaned him off it yet, but we will be working on that. Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[Josie's Proud Mom]

I have the "easy walk harness" and I like it very much. Although I have only used it a few times it does work (I don't get to take Joe for walks in public as much as I'd like weather has been toooo darn hot). It seams to pull not on the neck like a collar or on the back like a regular harness, it seams to pull down on the shoulders which seams to make Joe stop pulling with out pain. To look at it you think no way is this going to work but it does.

 

[PitBullRoyalty]

I've only had one experience so far with it, and that was with a one year old pit who was never walked.
:shock:
She had great results with that harness.

 

[Scout-dog]

(I don't get to take Joe for walks in public as much as I'd like weather has been toooo darn hot)

Ahh, that's our big problem here right now too... Scout and I are both looking forward to some cooler weather to get back into our routine...