imported_raven

How about not at all? It's illegal in a lot of countries and there are good reasons for it.

I think so - I like them way better than choke collars.

Ok, I found a picture: [img]http://www.petsmart.com/media/ps/images/products/detail/standard/April04/6135_376a3.jpg[/img] I like these - I have them lose and when something happens, Simba can't just pull out of it.

What about those with a stop? I tried to find a picture, but could not. We use that one. It only contracts the collar to a certain point and wont choke the dog more.

[quote name='Cora']I tried the gentle leader and he HATED it. He would put up a fuss even after a week and would refuse to walk, flop like a flounder, sit and dig his feet in the earth, so I gave up on it. He also has some kind of skin problem on his face. A training device is useless if it upsets your animal the first several weeks. Then I tried the Sporn halter. He doesn't mind it but still pulls a little. I will go to a choke chain if he does not do beter leash walking after 2 weeks. I would prefer a martingale collar over a choke but I hear they do not help serious pullers.[/quote] All these devices are training items and will not work wonders over night on your dog. Things like the gentle leader will need much preparation work before you can even go out and walk your dog with it. Since you 'only' have problems with your dog when he wants to sniff and stop, I don't think, any of these items will work greatly. I had the same problem with Simba, because at the beginning, I let him sniff everything he wanted. Now I made up a word command which I can use to make him walk nicely. I have a previous command 'look at me' that I could use with the training. When he wanted to sniff somewhere, I said 'look at me' and kept walking - and then I would use the new word. If he would not react I said the new word and gently pulled him away. If I would be somewhere in the middle of nowhere, I would just put the leash down and walk my way - he would come like a rocket so he would not lose me. I would demand a 'nice walk' from him on one way and then let him sniff and get the neighbor's news on the way back. I think, with the training of a new word command you are much better off than with all these training items, which are more for dogs who pull the whole time.

forgot to mention: woke up in my cold office staring into the screen... :(

Debbie: :bigok: I felt like tucked in my bed, listening to my Grandma... looove the story!

[quote name='Alan'] You are talking about Goats! I remember the story of Billygoat Gruff![/quote] Explanation for non-US-Citizens?

But my big brother is stronger than yours! :B-fly:

I use a little bit of their canned food to spice up the dry food (Innova Evo) - I only use a few spoonfuls, but Simba loves it. :lol:

:lol: Oh yes - and did I mention, they're both fixed? :nono: :lol:

[quote name='BuddysMom'] By the way if you can find a report of a dogl like Buddy killing or maiming someone please send it along. If it helps you in your search, the best guesses on his breed are lab/BC, beagle/springer, or lab/basset. Oh yes, and he's CGC, TDI and of course proudly nuetered. Bring on those news reports of maulings by dogs similar to him then, can't wait to see them.[/quote] I have not read all pages of this discussion yet - so forgive me if I bring something up that already has been overly discussed... My dog (probably Ridgeback mix) has CGC as well - passed it excellently - and is neutred. That does not mean that I would say that he would never ever bite, maul or do something similar. Of course, I think he would not do it nor has he ever done anything nearly like it, but I can't be sure. After all it is an animal and might just react on something. It is my responsibility to keep this possibility minimal and to keep him out of situation which may trigger something like that. That includes not letting him running around, socialize him properly and make sure, he trusts me. All in all - it is my believe that it is always the owner's fault not the type of breed of the dog.

I forgot to add: I have my dog always in sight when he plays with other dogs at the dog park. If his doggy girlfriend has a sleep over at our house (yes, he has a girlfriend and has sleep overs! :lol: ) and we're not home, I do remove their collars.

My dog has a collar 24/7 including tags with name and telephone number as well as his tax tag. I used to take it off when he was home, but we seem to have a funny neighbor who thinks it would be nice for the dogs to open backyard doors and let them out. We are lucky and Simba is always back home before we even know he was out (when other neighbors knock on our door and tell us that they saw Simba roaming the streets, he is always already sleeping innocently on the couch) - but it still worries me. We did put a lock on the door now and I try to maintain a 'dog-safe' house, but I won't take his collar off. And I won't take it off in the dog park either. In fact, I believe it is safer for some dogs to wear a collar. I have seen many situations where dogs had to been taken off each other by the collar and I had some situations where I was glad I had a collar to grab Simba. I use a collar which is partly choke collar, I guess - it has stops, so it won't choke him. I leave the collar very loose and when he pulls or turns, the collar will tighten to the stops so he can't slip out of it.

I agree with rotten_two. But before you spend money on an expensive harness, try this: each time your dog starts to pull, just stay still. Don't move until he comes back to you and the leash is loose. You will need a very long time for your usual walk, but it's worth it. It worked with my dog in just days - he does not pull at all and if I stand still, he will sit right away. Also take lots of food with you and call his name. Everytime he looks back to you, reward him. Don't call more than once - stand still, if he does not look at you, reward as soon as he looks. I did this with a friends dog, who was already 2 years old at the time. The owners can't walk her without a gentle leader. I did the same thing with her and in 2 weeks, she was already A LOT better than before. I believe, a gentle leader or any no-pull-harness should only be used as a training item and not as a general lead.