[nagdu] Gentle Leaders

[Nicole Torcolini]

    Most of the dogs who I have met who wear gentle leaders do not like them
and try to rub them off every opportunity that they get. I do not know if
they are just uncomfortable in general or if people put them on too tight.
Lexia wore hers once in class when we were required to use them to try them
out, and, for a long time afterwards, she had a mark from it. They do allow
for better monitoring and control of your dog, but GDB told us that you
cannot give corrections while the dog is wearing it, so the dog never really
learns. As has already been mentioned, a halty might be another
consideration. It looks more like a horse halter with more straps than the
gentle leader, and it does not stay pulled tight around the nose. I know
about them because we had to use one on our family pet border collie who
never learned not to strangle herself, even with a martingale instead of a
choke chain.
Lexia does not use a gentle leader. We were required to try it out once
during training. The next time that I put it on Lexia for a before school
started event at my high school, she refused to budge. It was as though she
was saying, "Come on. You really think that I need this stupid thing? Get it
off of me, or else I'm not going anywhere."