Promises miracles & actually delivers!
May 3, 2014
A couple weeks ago I got an 80 lb adolescent German Shep X who is a fine dog, well-trained in the house, sweet & eager to please. But she has one drawback that made me seriously--almost daily--consider returning her: She walks ok on a lead, but when she sees something exciting (like the cats & free-range chickens all over our property) she lunges and pulls, choke collar and all, until I wrestle her back under control. As I'm a not-very-athletic woman over 60, her habit of yanking (unpredictably) caused a lot of pain in my shoulder & upper back, to the point that I dreaded walking her. Since I got her to be a watch dog here in the country (so she needs to know our property and boundaries) and since she won't poop or pee in her 16 ft run, this has been a dilemma. She wasn't improving with time either.
So I looked for choke collar alternatives and found the Gentle Leader collar, which made big claims of easy control w/out pain to dog or human, which sounded too good to be true. The best price I found online was at PetGuys.com—$13 including shipping. The package arrived quickly and intact. Way-to-go, PetGuys.com.
Then (the sun comes out ☼ & the angels sing♫) I tried the Gentle Leader collar. It took Emma just a few minutes to get used to it (it fits snugly behind ears and some dogs might take more time to accept it) so we took it out for a spin. Amazing! It was a completely new (and lovely) experience to walk Emma over the acre & half w/out her yanking me even once. And I didn't have to yell at her even once. She'd start to pull, and I'd speak to her & pull back just a bit, and she responded every time. She walked right through a flock of chickens and was able to resist the urge to lunge and make them explode in hysterics. Just amazing. I swear, my 80 plus yr-old mother could walk her now.
The big test was today when she went ballistic over a dog being in the yard. She was very excited, but I had no problem controlling her with one hand on the leash.
Best $13 I ever spent. I mean, how often do you buy something that promises miracles and actually delivers? Happy Emma. Happy me.
Cons
- Although the collar is very well-made, it's fairly lightweight, and Emma managed to damage it when she stuck her head through a hole in a fence before I could stop her and then flipped out when the collar caught on the wire. She took down part of the fence and tore a strap on the collar before I could free her. It's still under warranty though, so I expect the manufacturer will come through for me. It was a freak accident that doesn't detract from an amazingly effective product.