Thursday 19 July 2012

Gentle Leader vs K9 Lead

Name: Gentle Leader
Make: beaphar      
Description: Headcollar formed of separate head and nose straps. The lead attaches beneath the chin to the bottom of the nose loop.
Where purchased: Hertforshire Game and Country Show
Price Paid: £6
Darcys Comments: I am not a fan of the Gentle Leader because when I try and pull on my lead it caused the nose loop to rotate around my face and rubbed my fur away. I was left with a bald spot that was very embarrassing as people thought there was something wrong with me and it took several weeks to grow back.
Darcys Mum Says: As with all the products we have tried to stop Darcy pulling on her lead it did work initially. However after a while Darcy discovered the Gentle Leader didn't actually stop her from pulling and so the problem reoccurred to a certain extent. After a couple of weeks I started to notice the Gentle Leader was starting to rub across the bridge of her nose. The Gentle Leader is not padded which I thought might be contributing to the rubbing so I got a piece of felt, wrapped it around the nose band and stitched it in place. This did initially seem to help for a while but again after a while I noticed it starting to rub again and this time it wore away the fur. I stopped using the gentle leader for a few weeks and the fur eventually grew back. Once the fur had grown back we decided to only use the Gentle Leader when we were walking in crowded areas. However despite the reduction in use we found that the adjustable sliding clamp (made of plastic) started to slip, letting the nose loop come loose meaning Darcy could get out of it.
Darcy Rating:                                    
Wearing her Gentle Leader - its a bit covered in snow but the nose band is is clearly visible.
Name: K9 Lead
Make: One Stop Dog Shop
Description: Slip lead designed into a figure of eight. Lead comes from behind the ear as from a collar high up the neck.
Where Purchased: One Stop Dog Shop Stand - Herts Country Show
Price Paid: £12
Darcys Comment: I am not keen on the nose loop and try to avoid having that part put on my head whenever it is time to go out. It is padded though so it is quite comfortable once I have it on and it doesn't hurt my nose.
Darcys Mum Says: Darcy is never going to enjoy wearing anything over her nose, but she doesn't protest too much when it is time to go out. The fabric is nice and soft on my hand so even when Darcy does take a pull it doesn't give that burning sensation on the hand you get from stiffer fabrics. My only issues with the K9 are that as with all slip leads they are easy to slip on and therefore by default off as well. The stopper on the lead to prevent the K9 coming loose on Darcys head could be a little tighter as it does travel up the lead easily. My heart stopped for a while when Darcy managed to back out of the K9 one day on the way home and ran across the road (thankfully deserted at the time) into the adjacent park. However I have made and attached an emergency clip to the ring of the K9 which I clip to her collar whenever we go out now.
Darcys Rating:
You can see my homemade emergency clip going from the ring of the K9 to Darcys collar.

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