My pup hates the Gentle Leader.

[xtimx]

My 4 month old pup just lays on the ground and scratches at his face with the Gentle Leader. I am sure it is on properly. I tried leaving it on for a few hours until he calmed down. As soon as we got 10 feet out of our yard he just sprawled out and began pawing at his face. Treats didn't work either.
I got the GL because he pulls alot, mostly on the way home. I trained another pup 20 years ago with a choke collar and it worked great but I wanted to avoid that this time. This puppy is much more active and less eager to please than the old one was.

XtimX
My pup is Ralphy. Called Ralphy Cakes by some.

 

[LuvsDogs]

Firstly welcome to Chaz. At first, don't leave it on for a few hours. 99.9% of dogs that have a gl put on for the first time don't like it & scratch & paw at their faces. Take it slowly, fit it using a food reward to take his mind off it. Distract him, again with a food treat or favorite toy. Reward him for leaving it alone. Only have it on for a couple of minutes at a time gradually increasing the time. I found with my dog, she would rub her face on the grass but when I walked on the pavement or road she wouldn't.
It's advisable to use a double lead, one on the gl & one on the dogs collar to prevent neck injury when the dog shakes its head.
Only take it off when he's quiet & not bothered by it, otherwise he'll know he only has to scratch at it to get you to take it off.
Another device to stop pulling is a harness which is attached at the chest. When the dog goes to pull it turns it towards the handler.

 

[elegy]

at four months, imo, you should be teaching the puppy how to walk on a leash, not using a piece of equipment designed for management.

try this link.

 

[Gempress]

My 4 month old pup just lays on the ground and scratches at his face with the Gentle Leader. I am sure it is on properly. I tried leaving it on for a few hours until he calmed down. As soon as we got 10 feet out of our yard he just sprawled out and began pawing at his face. Treats didn't work either.
I got the GL because he pulls alot, mostly on the way home. I trained another pup 20 years ago with a choke collar and it worked great but I wanted to avoid that this time. This puppy is much more active and less eager to please than the old one was.

XtimX
My pup is Ralphy. Called Ralphy Cakes by some.

That's one of the main criticisms of the gentle leader. Some dogs just don't ever seem to accept wearing it. Also, if your dog lunges against the gentle leader, he could cause himself neck injury.

A lot of people use the gentle leader with great success, but I personally am not a fan of it. I would try using an easy walk harness instead. Here's a link.

http://www.premier.com/pages.cfm?id=74

With the easy walk harness, the leash attaches to a little loop on the dog's chest. If the dog tries to pull, all he does is turn himself sideways. I've never tried using one personally, but I know a lot of members on the board swear by them.

Also, try looking at some threads on leash pulling. There are a lot of great suggestions on how to fix this problem without the use of any kind of special collar or harness.

Good luck with Ralph!

 

[Lilavati]

I tried the gentle leader and switched to the easy walk harness as well (and now use neither, since she has learned not to pull). Frankly, she was so upset and miserable with the GL on that, vows not to be softy aside, I couldn't bear to put it on her again simply for the purpose of reducing a not-to-serious pulling problem. I speak highly of the harness though. It may not break your dog of pulling on its own, but it will make your walks much more enjoyable while you work on stopping the pulling in a distraction-free environment. (Then gradually add more distractions while using a regular collar . . . finally, you can retire your harness).

 

[CelticxConnections]

I have never used a GL but I agree that you should be leash training right now. One reason I've never used a GL, I think, is because at 4 months my boys where working on leash training. I would try the artical Elegy put up and give it a month or two before you use the GL.

 

[opokki]

Take a look at Jean Donaldson's video at the link below:
http://dufferschultz.com/

 

[xtimx]

Thanks

Thanks for all the great advice. I have some work ahead of me.
Tim

 

[houndlove]

Yup, this is one of the reasons why I decided to not go with a head halter when teaching Marlowe (at the age of 2 no less) to leash walk. We wound up being able to accomplish the same task with first a regular body harness (which I know seems counter-intuitive, but he wasn't so much a puller but a surfer and a lunger--which is really dangerous with a head halter) and then a buckle collar. Oh, and liver treats. Lots and lots of liver treats.

A number of people very helpfully urged me to give it a go without any extra equipment, and as it happens all I needed was the knowledge that yes indeed, it could be done, Marlowe was not a hopeless case, and that I just needed to pick a method of training and stay with it consistently.