"Gentle Leader" for leash pulling-and dog trainer warning received. Anyone else have similar results?

[Cathy w/Shiloh~Cody]

I enrolled my 5 1/2 month old doodle in obedience training at a large dog academy.

I kept him on the "Gentle Leader" that I had been using for two weeks.

Today, my dog threw several tantrums and went to the ground, was using his paws to try and pull it off,

and refused to move forward. He was "shutting down" as the instructor called it..

The top trainer/director came over and examined my dog and said it was put on "correctly" as the

DVD and instructions said, BUT..the Goldendoodle has a different neck structure than most dogs. 

She said that it was actually pushing on his Trachea. The back strap that is suppose to go very high

and tight in the back was loosened. Has anyone else ever heard of this adjustment for the Doodles?

Has anyone had good results for alleviating leash pulling they could share? I do change directions to

try and stop the pulling, he does not seem to mind what direction we go. Thanks!

 

 

 

[Smita, Ollie and Juno]

I'm using the Easy Walk harness for Ollie too and it's working great for us.It's nowhere near his neck and he doesn't choke himself like he did with a collar. No more pulling.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

I don't know about a doodle's trachea being pushed with a Gentle Leader head halter, but my Lucy hated her's from day 1. After about a month of using it every day she still rubbed her head on the ground trying to get the thing off, and NEVER got use to it. I switched to a Canny Collar, a similar, but different, head halter. Instantly, Lucy adjusted to it, and she uses it every day (or rather I use it every day). Its also much more effective to stop pulling. To find it, do a google search. Its more expensive, but for something that works, that you'll use every day and is comfortable for your dog, its well worth the money.

 

Oh, btw, we used the Easy Walk for a brief time, but Lucy pulled with that too. I can't recommend the Canny Collar enough.

[Sandy Aicher and Bailey]

We have been using the Sporn "halter" harness with Bailey since she was a puppy.  She is about 1 1/2 now.  Our trainer recommended it the first day we showed up to puppy class.  We loved the control of it and it just seems so comfortable on her because it doesn't pull on her neck.  This is the link to the page.  There is also a video on the page that you can click on to learn more about it.  Check it out.

 On the main Sporn website I see they also have another no-pull harness that some of you might like too.   They are good quality harnesses.  

 

http://www.sporn.com/cgi-bin/commerce.exe?preadd=action&key=SPU...

[Cathy w/Shiloh~Cody]

Thank you for your information and suggestions. I appreciate it

and will look further into all of them.

Prior to this puppy, we had a 14 year old lab-its a real LEARNING experience

finding what is right for a puppy with so many options out there.

I was shocked at the food, crates, treats and training choices available.

It seems there is everything in the world now out there for our dogs.:)

[Adrianne Matzkin]

I also use the Gentle Lead Harness. I had the head halter for Samantha when she was 5 months old and she never got used to it. Before I had 2 doodles and got lazy with training, Samantha was wonderful on a walk. Not so much anymore which is my fault so the GL Harness is working wonders.

You can get the chicken flavored Zukes Mini's at the best price I have found at

doggiefood.com

I pay for the 16 oz bag from them that I would for the 6 oz bag at my local pet food store. There is usually a coupon for 10% off which covers the shipping charges and you get your delivery in just a few days.

[Cathy w/Shiloh~Cody]

Regarding the "Gentle Leader", my dog had been doing well on it for two weeks, then it

shut down in training and was miserable. But.. I had him taken to the groomer day "before" his training for a

bath. They usually just trim the hair around the eyes, but this time it looks like they took a shaver all

the way down the length of his nose. I can see poodle pigment really well and there is no hair. Do your

groomers do this to your doodle? This is probably why he went crazy from the "Gentle Leader" since

he had no hair to buffer the nose piece? or maybe the "Gentle Leader" nose piece did take off some

of the hair? ..since the instructor loosened the back piece maybe that made the hair rub much worse.

I wish I knew for sure how much hair was there after groomer did their work on him. What do you think?

I will be getting a training harness today and give him a much needed break on the nose piece.

[Tara and Dublin]

My baby doodle Dublin is 5 1/2 months old and I had had enough of the pulling which was progressively getting worse.  I could no longer handle changing directions, changing up treats, starting and stopping, speeding up and slowing down..it was a continuous battle of wills and I was done -nevermind the awful choking sound that he didn't seem to care about as he was ripping my arm out of socket.  Three days ago I discovered a harness called EASY WALK.  It changed the way Dublin walked on the first try.  It is a very easy to put on harness that connects to the leash in front of the dog instead of behind the head/shoulder area.  The concept is that it basically knocks them off balance by turning them left or right as soon as they start pulling even the slightest bit....AMAZING it worked for me!  Dublin figured out very quickly that darting at squirrels or trying to race ahead was only going to trip him up....he figured out very quickly that slow and steady wins the race.....what a GOOD BOY!   I hope this helps!!

[Becca & Lucy]

Lucy was a NUT on walks and our trainer suggested the harness like the Easy Walk by Gentle Leader. Its been wonderful.