Barley had his first day of school! Gentle Leader required!!! ahhhh!!

[jicksies]

I took Barley to his first day of Obedience and unfortunately it did not go well... The trainer immediately asked me to put Barley back in the car because he was barking and jumping and prancing as only Boxers can. She then told me to come back with him with a Gentle leader on...:-( I have used the Gentle Leader on him but have recently read a startling and upsetting article on these types of collars. In short, the article discussed the possibility of tissue damage to the dog's neck from the side ways pulling and tugging. The article went on to say that dogs depend highly on their sense of smell, unlike horses, and therefore the Gentle Leader interferes with their natural instincts to smell. The Gentle Leader would be great for horses but not dogs! she concludes. She also mentions how a dog's demeanor changes when you use a gentle leader and I must say I saw the change in Barley when I switched over to it. A little bit of his "spirit" seemed to fade away out of his eyes...yuk! I don't want that! Anyway..any advice regarding the Gentle Leader training method would be helpful. Maybe I am too paranoid-I just want to do what is right for Barley and for me...The trainer at this school seemed to know alot but I'm just not so sure about this gentle leader. Barley does pull on the leash terribly if distracted and I can't control him...he's 65 pounds at 8 months old already...

 

[Gail Lyons]

I tried a gentle leader on Joey.......he isn't to happy with it either, but he always manages to get it off. I hadn't read anything about them being dangerous...my trainer said I should only use it while training Joey not to pull, he never wears it any other time.

After reading what you said, I will be especially careful while it's on to make sure there is no rubbing. I think, it's use in moderation is okay, as a training tool, but not a permanent leader.

Where do you go for training? Maybe it's the trainer and not your boxer who has the problem.

 

[Krikkit]

Did the trainer help you fit the gentle leader? I'd be a bit concerned if they did not help. Sometimes we have dogs in classes who would benefit from a GL but we always make sure we fit them gently (click and treat - we clicker train), get the dog used to it, and then work with the handler on how to use them properly. End result is very good. If a handler can not manage the use of a GL we will take it off and go back to a flat collar. At a guess I would think we only use them on 1 in every 50 dogs or so and they usually have some dog fear issues.

Barley sounds like he just needs to learn a little self control and to get used to the new situation. Sometimes just going to classes for a couple of weeks without actually participating, just walking around the outskirts, works wonders if there is a trainer who can spare you some time to teach you how to manage Barley's excitment.

Barley sound great - I loved bouncing, barking, wild dogs - they usually make the best workers

 

[jicksies]

Barley and his Gentle Leader...response

Barley is definitely a bouncy, happy-go-lucky pup! But on the leash as i said I just can't control him! I have learned how to use the Gentle Leader and yes, the trainer said she would check it out to make sure I've put it on properly. I was hoping for the same thing -only a temporary fix to the pulling problem...After the first training session was over yesterday, the trainer asked me to bring Barley back in to meet her dog Joey. It was a test to see how Barley would respond to him. Joey is a dominant male, just as Barley is, but once Barley was off-lead, he was a submissive, humble little guy to Joey. I was amazed! I had never seen Barley so submissive. The trainer said Barley would be just fine in class then, but still to use the Gentle Leader with him for control. I'm going to try it again to see how it goes...I was sad to hear that only 1 in 50 uses it...it's like a punishment..:-( Maybe i'm wrong but i will see how it goes and try to keep in mind that this is only a temporary training tool. Thanks for your advice Krikkit and Gail...I will keep you posted on how he does!

 

[sherrim]

Barley sounds just like Tae when we first took her to "Puppy I". She bounced, leapt, barked, pulled and pranced. Even so, they did not pull her out or recommend a gentle leader.

We trained her throughout the eight weeks with her regular flat buckle nylon collar. Admitly, it was frustrating for the first couple of sessions (I felt like my arms were being pulled out of their sockets) but when she came around, boy did she ever! So, even though it took a few classes for Tae to calm down, and lots of positive reinforcement, the instructors were very tolerant with her.

She began to work well especially when the pace was *fast* -it was the 'downtime' when the instructors were explaining that was the most challenging.

She did successfully graduate (best in class on exercises such as the sit stay, wait, controlled walking and leave it, which were all things that she was initially "challenged" with) and she is on to Competitive Puppy II.

We have found that because we had to work so much harder with her to make it a positive and successful experience that she ended up doing much better than many of the other "calm" puppies. Much to the surprise of everyone as they were handing over the awards...

For a first class, it doesn't sound like the instructor was very tolerant towards Barley...he was just looking at the fun and all his new friends...

Don't give up, just work extra hard and show them all what Barley can do!!