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Good morning! I just wanted to post a quick note on using the Gentle Leader on my mpoo sled dog wannabe in case anyone else is having a similar experience. Jessie follows me around the house and is great at staying at my side off leash. Even in our neighborhood dog park! But as soon as we're on a sidewalk with a clear path to follow, she likes to charge ahead. Who could blame her?
Initially, for loose leash training I was planning on just using her harness and stopping/turning around each time she pulled me. (I should note Jessie is not food motivated and completely ignores all treats outside, which makes things a bit more difficult for me to capture her attention.) My main problem with this was admittedly self-centered: it's been so hot here in FL that our time outside is really limited to dawn/dusk, and even though Jessie was getting good mental exercise stopping and turning around every 5 feet, I wasn't getting *my* exercise in. I need my walks too, and I want fuzzy company!
So I tried the Gentle Leader. Miracle!! Jessie immediately stopped pulling. I took my clicker with me on our walks and clicking/verbally praising when she stayed "by me" because I was getting a lot more of that behavior than I ever had with her harness. I felt since it was more successful in getting her to stay by me that the message would be clearer for her to understand what I was asking for than before. After just a week of using the Gentle Leader on our twice daily walks, I tried walking her on her harness only this morning. I only had to stop and redirect her 3 times in 40 minutes!! No sled dog pulling either- just a couple moments where she got too excited and forgot what to do.
I'm so thrilled!! Such great progress after just a week. I won't say she loves the GL, but she only tries to get it off for the first 5-10 seconds as we're leaving the house then just ignores it completely during the walk. It's the part over her snout she doesn't like, even though that is pretty loose. I give her a nice muzzle massage when we're done as a reward
Initially, for loose leash training I was planning on just using her harness and stopping/turning around each time she pulled me. (I should note Jessie is not food motivated and completely ignores all treats outside, which makes things a bit more difficult for me to capture her attention.) My main problem with this was admittedly self-centered: it's been so hot here in FL that our time outside is really limited to dawn/dusk, and even though Jessie was getting good mental exercise stopping and turning around every 5 feet, I wasn't getting *my* exercise in. I need my walks too, and I want fuzzy company!
So I tried the Gentle Leader. Miracle!! Jessie immediately stopped pulling. I took my clicker with me on our walks and clicking/verbally praising when she stayed "by me" because I was getting a lot more of that behavior than I ever had with her harness. I felt since it was more successful in getting her to stay by me that the message would be clearer for her to understand what I was asking for than before. After just a week of using the Gentle Leader on our twice daily walks, I tried walking her on her harness only this morning. I only had to stop and redirect her 3 times in 40 minutes!! No sled dog pulling either- just a couple moments where she got too excited and forgot what to do.
I'm so thrilled!! Such great progress after just a week. I won't say she loves the GL, but she only tries to get it off for the first 5-10 seconds as we're leaving the house then just ignores it completely during the walk. It's the part over her snout she doesn't like, even though that is pretty loose. I give her a nice muzzle massage when we're done as a reward
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