I have a big dog, a very very big dog – an English Mastiff to be exact.  He loves to go for walks, but walking him  was extremely tiring, due to his excessive pulling.  People would see us and throw out that the inevitable  comment, “Who’s walking who?”  Funny, but not really funny.  I’ve tried using a choker collar, not my favorite,  but with a dog his size, it didn’t even phase him. I had a gentle leader, however, he refused to move with it on.  The only other option I could think of was the collar with the spikes on the inside,  but they are dangerous and in my opinion, cruel.

Then one day, I was watching television and saw an ad for a leash called the ThunderLeash.  I thought, this is it, my prayers have been answered! The leash is  specifically designed to go around your dog’s upper torso.  It creates its own pressure when they pull,  and supposedly, the dog won’t like that sensation and *stop pulling*. I had to get one. Petsmart carries the leashes in small, medium and large. I, of course, bought the large. It fit, barely.

It is pretty easy to put on once you get the hang of it, IF your dog likes to cooperate.  My dog is pretty easygoing, but once it was on him, he was a little confused.  It took a couple walks for him to get the idea of what was happening.  He would pull, then stop, then pull, then stop.  After a couple weeks, we were good to go.  It does make our walks together much more enjoyable.  I have to be honest though, the only time it does *not* phase him is when we see another dog.  He LOVES every dog, and thinks that every dog wants to play with his giant Mastiff self; he is still a bit hard to control at those times, but I do have to remember that I do not have an “average” size dog.  I usually just try to avoid other dog walkers and problem solved!

So, in conclusion, this Mesa dog sitter suggests you try one out if you have an enthusiastic puller. You have nothing to lose and if you buy directly from their website, it comes with a money back guarantee.  Good luck and happy  walking!!