Easy Walk Harness any good???

[emmygirl]

I had to buy an Gentle Leader collar\harness for my 6 month old pup because she jumps, pulls and lunges at cars, people dogs or anything else that might move! Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get her used to it or if it even will work. Or better yet:

ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS???

THANKS!

 

[Ania]

I had to use one too on Maia because she would do the exaact same thing! It took time and patience on my part to get her used to it, but she did. She never liked it, but it did the job!

 

[Caro]

I was told to initially just put it on around the house, esp when they are eating their food, so they get used to the feel around their nose to start off with. Mind you, I didnt do this for long enough as I was too eager to get it on Tully when she was young and very naughty. And even tho she spent alot of the initial time nose skiing it did wonders.

 

[Fergus]

Clancy was developing this issue when I first got him (lunging at passing cars, etc.) so I wanted to nip it in the bud right away. One of my collies was very bad for lunging at motorbikes and I just didn't want to relive that experience!

I just use his regular martingale collar but have been working on teaching him to watch me, rather than paying attention to the cars, etc. going by. I use the clicker to train so basically when a car is coming I get his attention with a very tasty treat (not just a plain cookie - something extra super special! LOL) and click him for looking at me, instead of jumping at the car. Gradually I make it longer and longer that he has to look at me before he gets the click/treat. Fortunately our walks are usually only a half mile or so along the road and then we get to the trails so I don't have to work on it the entire walk!

I use the 'be a tree' method for pulling - if he pulls, then I stop walking. Once he steps back to slacken the leash, then we start walking forward again. It can make for some very slow progress when you stop-start but he picked it up so quickly. Now he usually just forgets at the beginning of the walk when he's hyper and excited to get going

 

[Lovely]

I second the 'be a tree' method. Even though Pierre was too stubborn to comply, he knew what I wanted. His stubbornness and my being fed up with not actually walking anywhere led me to get the GentleLeader. I recommend a really good fit. Pierre has a short snout (not a Sheltie issue), so the strap was a little thick for his size. I wish they would use a rounded chord or something else for the petite sizes. Anyway, he hates it. We treated when we started it, let him wear it around, but he actually runs away when he sees the leash! After like 7 months of this, I'm done and will be going back to traditional collars. But every time he pulls and chokes himself and gets all grunty and coughy, I feel bad and wonder if I should be used the Leader again. Maybe a martingale would work?

 

[ruckusluvr]

I actually bought and used one for Ruckus. He used to be very reactive and lunge at anything that moves. It really helped me keep control over him. Luckily Ruckus just grew out of the habbit.