Gentle Leader Head Collar

Our Puddy is a gigantic beast of a lab, and he really pulls when we head out on walks. He's very good natured, but he's got a lot of energy, a lot of strength, and he's not shy about laying into a lead when we're attempting a leisurely stroll. Generally, I have to let my husband manage him because after a while, it's exhausting. But all this has changed with the introduction of the "Gentle Leader" to our regimen. While this does go around the his snout, it's not really a "muzzle" - and the pressure is applied to the back of the neck instead of the front of the throat. This is quite a bit more humane, and the psychological effect on Puddy is to ratchet back his pulling quite a bit.

Virtual Dog Fence

Puddy is not one of those pooches that wanders off. He likes to stick by his home and his humans. But if he sees a squirrel or a rabbit, or anything else for that matter - look out! He's off to the races, with no regard for where he's going or how far he's gone. We've got a leash law where we live, and the neighborhood by-laws prohibit fences - so what are you supposed to do if you've got dogs? Obviously, you need to keep your pets in the house or use an invisible fence.

Most of our neighbors have invisible fences, but they've always struck us as being inhumane. A dog will head for the border, and all of a sudden, he gets a nasty shock. We didn't want to do that to Puddy, so we looked around for an alternative - and we found it. The Virtual Dog Fence uses a harmless spray of citronella to keep dogs within, and at least for Puddy, it works like a charm. He hates the stuff. One whiff of it, plus one more to test it and reinforce the lesson, and he was done. Won't go anywhere near the border. Recommended.