I have two Medium Doodle puppies that are now 9 months old. I walk them together with a splitter and one leash with both of them wearing Gentle leader head collars. This has worked great for me to enhance their training. They don't really like the head collars and so I think now it is time to go with something else and I tried a halter by Gentle leader yesterday but it really got their chest hair matted. Does anyone have a suggestion of what is best to use. I have seen in the store these mesh halters but don't know if that would be better.
I love Premier, but the EZ Walk harness is not their best product. The best harness I know is made by RC Pets. It has several adjustments, allowing you to "customize" the fit to your dog. Depends on who makes the mesh harness how dependable and durable it is. The best manufacturer of the mesh harness is Cloak & Doggie. While they do make them for large dogs, generally these are most effective with smaller dogs. You might want to check out 1 1/2" martingale collars by Wiggles, Wags,Whiskers and Two Hounds.
I have yet to see a dog that likes the Gentle Leader, but it is a very effective training tool. :-)
Let me know if you have any trouble finding these companies online and I'll track down a link.
Hope this helps.
I just bought the E-Z Walker and had it for a week...my dog's hair got so matted on his chest...took him to the groomer today for his regular cut and she had to shave that area down a lot shorter...she said Kai had hair like cotton candy and it was so easy to matt. The halter works ok but know there is something better and oh the matting!.. I do remember that someone else told me about one that Three Dog Bakery carried with velvet straps under the chest and the store would help you fit it for your dog...if anyone else knows about that particular one, the quality, if it prevents matting and works, please let us know...I know I am asking for a miracle maybe!
There are three no-pull harnesses that I like to recommend to my clients: 1) the Easy Walk harness mentioned above (this is made by Premier) 2) the SENSE-ation Harness and SENSE-ible Harness made by Soft Touch Concepts and 3) the Freedom no-pull harness made by Wiggles, Wags, and Whiskers (this is the one that has velvet on it).
As to the matting issue, any harness can cause this. If only there was a miracle cure...