I bought a Gentle Leader for my 7 month old pup.my dog gets so spastic with this thing on he shakes head he walks sideways he rolls around he wont walk he trys to bite it ….Its miserable it makes me miserable and him miserable…How can i get him to walk normally with it
I would start giving him treats while you put it on and while you’re walking to show him that it is a good thing. You could also do as others said and put it on him for a few minutes a day while you’re in the house and give him treats and play with it so he associates it with good things. It probably isn’t hurting him, he is just annoyed that he can’t get it off. I wouldn’t ever use a prong collar on my dogs, because they learn not to pull by getting poked in the neck with two metal points which to me is inhumane.
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February 12th, 2009 at 6:10 am
He will get used to it eventually. Have him wear it inside for 15 minutes each day, to get him used to it. You are basically going to have to “break” him of it, like you do a horse. When you get them to work, they work VERY well, and they are GREAT! You can control a dog great it with it!
Good Luck!
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February 12th, 2009 at 6:29 am
When you are at home with him, put it on him….even if your not going for a walk….just have it on him for 5 mins…play with him and give him praise and treats to distract him from it…..gradually increase the amount of time you have it on him until he completely accepts it
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February 12th, 2009 at 7:00 am
This is one reason why gentle leaders are not good training tools. They are bandaids that don’t train, they just cover up problems at best.
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February 12th, 2009 at 7:08 am
Positive reinforcement when you put the gentle leader on give him treats everytime yo use it! Or u can always keep it on him until he gets use to it,no mater how dramatic he gets, he can still eat a drink normally with it on, so try that!
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February 12th, 2009 at 7:58 am
I see the Gentle Leader as sort of a "bandaid" and not really the solution to the dog that pulls when walking.
I suggest purchasing a prong collar if your dog is the proper candidate for one. Prong collars look like horrible torture devices, but they're really not. They're safer than choke chains and very effective when teaching a dog to heel. Depending on your dog, this could be a much more effective way to train your dog to heel.
Contacting a dog trainer will also help.
Here is more info: http://www.canismajor.com/dog/prong.html
Good luck!
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February 12th, 2009 at 8:14 am
http://flyingdogpress.com/headhalters.html
treats are typically a good incentive.
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My dog was miserable and so I took it off of him
February 12th, 2009 at 8:47 am
I use a gentle leader on all my dogs. Make sure you have one that fits properly as sizing is very important for them to work. My dogs didnt like them at first but with continued use they have no problem. With a younger dog try socializing the dog to the gentle leader by putting it on and leaving it for increasiningly longer increments. This will desensitize the dogs reaction of it being uncomfortable. Use treats as a reward when the dog wears it and behaves. Be persistent. Puppies are smart and they will “take a mile” if you give then an inch. In other words, the gentle leader is not hurting the puppy if fitted and used properly but if you let him get out of wearing it now he will never learn to behave with it on and you will never experience how useful the gentle leaders can be.
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personal experience, dog groomer
February 12th, 2009 at 9:14 am
All dogs adapt to a Gentle Leader differently. Since your dog is young, you should really be walking him with two leads. One on his normal collar and one on the GL. All dogs need to get “collar broken” and its the same thing with a GL. Use your collar primarily, and when he gets strong gently correct him with the GL. If he responds favorable praise him. You can also practice getting him to to walk forward with it on by cueing with the collar normally and only very slightly with the GL. Gradually shift the ratio over the GL. You should do this with turning both ways and stopping as well. Eventually he should not need the second lead on his collar. This will make the transition not so abrupt.
Also, if your dog keeps biting the thing, put him in a sit and pull up on the leash so he cannot bite it anymore. The second he stops release the pressure. If he goes after it again, repeat until he stops. Once he stops he can go forward and enjoy himself. He’ll learn that biting it = sitting and no fun. Not biting = going for a nice walk and having fun.
If he rolls himself on the ground, use the lead attached to the collar to get him right up and continue walking. That is not acceptable. It will also help to have a cue word to let him know its time to walk forward nicely, such as “Let’s Go” or something like that. “Let’s Go” does not mean go forward and be an idiot and do whatever he wants. It means walk forward nicely without biting or dancing or doing things silly. There is time for silliness, but being on the leash is not it.
Good Luck
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February 12th, 2009 at 9:52 am
I put my 3 yr old Siberian Husky on it. I have no problems with it at all! They are bred to pull and that is what he did all the time, even with a harness. I got sick of it one day and bought it. Some dogs take longer with it and others like Dakota didn’t. Give him treats and praises. How long have you tried it for?
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February 12th, 2009 at 9:58 am
I would start giving him treats while you put it on and while you’re walking to show him that it is a good thing. You could also do as others said and put it on him for a few minutes a day while you’re in the house and give him treats and play with it so he associates it with good things. It probably isn’t hurting him, he is just annoyed that he can’t get it off. I wouldn’t ever use a prong collar on my dogs, because they learn not to pull by getting poked in the neck with two metal points which to me is inhumane.
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February 12th, 2009 at 10:37 am
Head collars aren’t for everyone, and they aren’t without risks. The following article describes it best http://flyingdogpress.com/headhalters.html
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February 12th, 2009 at 10:45 am
I just want to preface this post by saying that I am a nationally certified pet dog trainer with an education in science, learning theory, and operant conditioning. Most of the advice thus far has been pretty good except- please do not move toward a prong collar. It may not take as much desensitization as a head collar, but it works on the premise of using pain rather than physics to control your dog. Prong collars can cause happy pulling dogs into aggressive dogs because dogs learn through association. If your dog sees a stimulus that he normally reacts to such as a person or another and goes to lunge, the pain from the prong collar that is designed to stop him can be associated with the person or dog. In the end the dog’s emotional reaction is person or dog = pain, that person or dog is a bad thing, I’d better tell it to go away. This is where agressive barking, lunging and any other distance-increasing signals come into play (ie. aggressive response). Don’t let anyone fool you into believing that prong collars don’t hurt- how in the world do they work if they don’t cause pain? Do they control the head? use physics to pull your dog around? No, they are painful! For the people who will inevidably go after me for posting this- I highly recommend that you read the other end of the leash by Patricia McConnell or any other certified applied animal behaviorist or veterinary behaivorist.
OK, as for your problem- desensitizing a head collar at this point will probably take about 2 weeks and you must do it very slowly taking care to pair the collar with other things the dog loves such as his favorite toy, treats, petting or his favorite game. If your dog still wont accept the collar after that time period, I would try an Easywalk, SENSEation, or SensAble harness, OR a sporn halter depending on your dogs build.
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February 12th, 2009 at 11:02 am
They do take a while for a dog to get used to them. Make very sure you have the G/Leader fitted and it is the correct size.
Firstly show him the G/Leader and let him sniff it while giving him a treat and praising him. Do this a few times.
Second day: it helps if you have someone with you. Have your helper feeding treats as you put the GL on the dog. Praise dog.
Give more treats to take his mind off him getting the darn thing off him. Praise dog and remove the GL
Next day: go through the same routine but leave the GL on for a minute.
Extend the time the GL stays on for a couple of days by which time he hopefully will be getting used to it.
A tip: Pop the lead upwards when he tries to pull. An upward pop will prevent jerking the dog's head around to the side. You can hold treats in your hand and let the dog know they are there. With any luck he will walk alongside you for the treats instead of forging ahead. Good luck.
Many people don't like head collars but if used correctly there is no danger as long as you are not jerking the dogs head around. Never pull the lead around sideways, always pop upwards.
Add: they are a management tool as some folk say but they help you control the dog. You can't train a dog you can't control. I used a Halti for 3 months and then went to a flat collar. My dog is trained to advanced obedience now and that wouldn't have happened without me gaining control with the Halti. Once I could control her I could train her.
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