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Originally Posted by Ellie May  I bought a Gentle Leader for Ellie, watched the DVD, put it on her, and hated it.
It has to be worn very high on the neck, and you should only be able to fit one finger very snuggly in between the skin and the collar. The DVD said that it is okay that it is that tight because, even in humans, if you put something around your neck in that spot it doesn't bother you. Well, I had to try and I would have to say it DOES bother me a lot. It feels so irritating. Anyway, I put it on Ellie and it was too loose, so I needed to tighten it. She was already making weird noises before I tried tightening it (probably just playing games with me but I won't take any chances), so I refused to tighten it and it went back to the store. Some people have great success with them and that is wonderful, but I wouldn't ever be willing to try one on a small dog again. I also found it funny that it says that the collar part, if put on right, won't do anything to the airway even if it is as tight as they say to put it. Then they say, "Be careful with breeds like Boxers because they could experience breathing difficulty (or something to that effect) with this product". |
The breathing thing is because they have short muzzles and can't breathe through their nose. They can still fetch, eat and drink with the GL on, but they can't open their mouth AS wide as they otherwise could. This might interfere with their ability to pant. It says not to leave it on long on a hot day. These products are very popular in the gentle/clicker/cookie training circuits - trainers who don't harm dogs like prong/choke collar trainers do. They are good products, but you do need to use your best judgement.