I do use a gentle leader. I'm required to by the organization that I raise and train puppies for. Since I take my puppy (we get them at around 7 1/2 weeks usually) literally everyplace imaginable with me. It is not possible to be training for a perfect heel every time we are out. For that reason, the gentle leader comes in VERY handy. The gentle leader really isn't, IMO ,a "training" tool as far as compulsion goes. You are NOT supposed to give a correction on the lead, while it is hooked to the gentle leader anyway!! That CAN be a good thing.. if you aren't wanting ANY compulsion, while walking with your dog. You can make it into a fun thing, by praising and treating/rewarding while your dog is walking next to you and not straining into the head collar.
To make an incredibly long post , into a short one.. I think that a gentle leader is a nice tool for when I dont have time for the training I need to do with my dogs, when I"m out in public.
I used to think that gentle leader were for lazy people and I still do in most cases. Mainly because the people advocating them, dont use any compulsion with a regular or other training collar, once the dog is able to handle corrections.
Anyway, a gentle leader can be a great training tool, but once again as with any other training tool, the handler needs to become familiar with how to properly use one!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

 Quote:

http://www.cobankopegi.com/prong.html is a good link explaining a bunch of different collar options. Down at the bottom it talks about the Gentle Leader.

I believe this has been asked before, but the information on the rate of injury for prong compared to choke collars this site references is information from a seminar that noone has been able to find proof that the study was actually performed, right?

I've just seen some videos about it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flwlRb4JNao

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxjpreBJwu0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v-rzhfkplQ&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0BdKG_gBaE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EFId1QDMcg&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM9h5y84lZA&feature=related

What do you think about waht they say here?

I watched all the videos so I could be sure of what they were about before complying.

The first thing is that what they claim is the results of training in a Gentle Leader is no different than in any training collar for basics, if you follow the same sort of directions. Their trainer could improve some things, which have no basis in which collar you use. For example in the down. You reward when the dog goes down. If he stays down he gets no more rewards, but if he pops up, he get lured back into the down and rewarded again. I have seen this same sort of advice given at PetSmart training classes. If you point out to the trainers that the dog gets more treats for breaking a command and redoing it; you are told a dog can only remember the last thing it did. If that were true, there would be no way to train complicated multiple tasks, and few successful working dogs. Let alone some of the creative ways a bored dog can find to entertain himself.

They say veterinarians recommend them. Those vets who have treated injuries from them don't recommend them. You can always find some vets who will endorse anything, so that claim means little to me.

They say a dog can't pull in one. FALSE! I've seen dogs pulling in them. And I've seen dogs injured doing it.

They speak of the psychological reaction of the nose strap simulating a canine correction by a dominant. I agree it simulates and has psychological consequences. But they are not good ones. How long does that dominant dog, wolf, or mother canine hold the other by the muzzle. It is a correction and last only a very short duration as corrections should. But a nose strap continues to communicate the correction the entire time the head collar is on.

Then they claim there ARE no injuries from Gentle Leaders. FALSE! I've seen them not only as a trainer involved in many dog activities; but as someone who has assisted vets in dealing with those injuries.

Here are a few sites regarding such injuries, primarily neck injuries.


http://flyingdogpress.com/content/view/54/97/

http://www.k9force.net/index.html?row2col2=halter.html

http://dogscience.org/workshop/halti.shtml

I have not read the first one as it takes a membership and I am not interested in joining. But the other two I have perused. These were just a few listed on google.

You replied to a post that was 4 and 1/2 years old.....

I responded after it had been brought back up. I was only looking under active topics for the last 24 hrs when I saw and responded to this.

And since head collars are so popular, I think a response is a good idea.

But if no one wants to read about head collars, I will drop the issue if anyone asks me to.

Here are more articles:

http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&q=cache:kRFOxEhz2NEJ:www.pawmark.com/ccoc/pdf/halti-caution.pdf+canine+neurological+damage+from+head+halters&hl=en&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShN3BWr77L6S-gT6WFonzxIFgvlZONA8XSmIwa7XP-JvVPAqF73lMhlXROCgOxS6_QuLyZOTR0kD6voXqsit2mGQ7X-cuHgWxcXv9wi-dN8Ijw2ojaDPG0exinVKBBTaG4LQfWt&sig=AFQjCNESPBYRLxJK6jODjCmTsde2Hmbw0A

And:

http://dogscience.org/workshop/halti.shtml

 Quote: Jose Miguel Gome

.... What do you think about waht they say here?

http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=173197

I've never seen a positive thread on this board about them.