I use a Gentle Leader for my golden retriever, and he is magnificently behaved with it. I got one today for my mutt and he FREAKED out. He was okay for the first three minutes, but then he started to panic. He flailed and whimpered, and he even snapped at my leg. If I was wearing tight pants he would have bitten me, and he's almost four and he's never even opened his mouth at me before. I rolled him onto his back for a while and made him calm down while I switch the leash from his head collar to his regular collar.
I know it was adjusted correctly. I've watched the DVD and done it twice. He just had an anxiety attack with it on.
I've tried making him walk beside me. I've tried pinch collars, and harnesses with him. He's still a puller. My sister walks him, and he's 65 pounds and just yanks her all around and hurts her shoulder.
Is there any substitute anyone recommends that is not a choke collar? My mother won't allow them, even though I have been trained to properly use them at my local Humane Society. If nobody knows about a substitute, any suggestions for getting him calm with the head collar?
Thanks ahead of time!
Opps! I meant to say, "Does anyone knows about a substitute, any suggestions for getting him calm with the head collar?"
You can't just slap on it, properly fitted or not, and expect them to tolerate it. While some dogs will just along with it most won't without careful slow conditioning. Even after conditioning for weeks some will absolutely refuse to tolerate a head collar. Which can be a huge disaster for the dog both mentally and physically, since if they pull to hard and there neck jerks back it can cause neck and spine injury.
Forget the head collar you forced it to quick, and forcing the dog onto his back and holding them didn't help your cause at all.
When your dog is properly leash trained the leash should be just a safety tool, not a restraint.
Depending on the dog and the space I have to work in I use either a 6 foot or 20 foot long line and a plain buckle collar to teach loose leash walking. The goal with the 20 foot line is to get the dog walking nicely next to me with no leash pressure at all. I click and treat the dog for walking with me. Once the dog is doing well with that I move to the 6 foot leash. Again rewarding for walking nicely, if the leash goes tight I stop and wait. I don't say anything, I don't pull on the leash I just wait. Eventually that leash is going to go slack again at which point I click/treat and move forward.
I use a very high rate of reinforcement in the beginning. If the dog can only walk 3 steps before it leaves me, I click and treat at two steps. Working my up slowly to 3 steps, 4 steps etc.
If a dog decided they want to smell a pole, tree or bush and starts to pull I use penalty yards. Again I don't say anything I just start backing up for several feet away from the object. When I'm several feet away from the object I stop and wait. When the leash goes slack I start moving again, if the dog starts I stop and back up. Eventually the dog figures out that if he wants to sniff the bush the way to get to it is to walk nicely. Once he can walk on a loose leash all the way to whatever he wanted to check out I let him check it out.
powered by Yahoo Answers
June 12th, 2009 at 10:10 am
There is a special harness that hooks in the front and works really well to prevent pulling.
It's called a Sense-ation harness.
http://www.softouchconcepts.com/
References :
June 12th, 2009 at 10:47 am
use an ellusion collar off dog whisperer it keeps the neck tight and it gives you 100% control and its not a choke collar so it wont hurt the dog
References :
June 12th, 2009 at 11:26 am
easy walk harness
by the same maker of the headcollar
its more natural for dogs
References :
June 12th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
They sell a halti no pull harness. I've heard it works but have never used it. It's supposed to be a simillar concept as the head collar but in harness form. It was designed for dogs who can't use the head collar like short nosed dogs. Keep in mind all these no pull harneses and head collars are no substitute for training. They should be used as a training tool so that they can be wheened of them and learn to walk well on a regular colar and leash.
References :
June 12th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
I'm wondering why the prong or pinch collar did not work. Used correctly they are very effective and a good alternative to a head collar for your situation. In fact they are preferred because you are much less likely to damage the dog's trachea than with a choke collar.
I've used head halters before and dogs need time to adjust but if your dog was fearful and inclined to bite, I would work with a prong collar. And for some dogs and situations, the prong collar would be preferred.
References :
June 12th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Have you ever watched Cesar Millan on National Geographic Channel? His show is called Dog Whisperer. He has this product for dogs that works well! Its called the Illusion Collar and leash set. You should check out the website too. Make sure you are "calm assertive" when you put the leash on. Not "excited assertive" or nervous when u attempt to put the leash on. Cesar demonstrates this on his show. If you are calm the dog will be calm. If you are nervous the dog will be and the dog will associate the collar with hurting him/her. The dog will react to the leash in an aggressive way if your not calm. I also recommend watching the show if you can! I live by it and learn from it every time.
References :
http://www.cesarmillaninc.com/products/collar_offer.php
http://www.cesarmillaninc.com/dogwhisperer/
June 12th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
You can't just slap on it, properly fitted or not, and expect them to tolerate it. While some dogs will just along with it most won't without careful slow conditioning. Even after conditioning for weeks some will absolutely refuse to tolerate a head collar. Which can be a huge disaster for the dog both mentally and physically, since if they pull to hard and there neck jerks back it can cause neck and spine injury.
Forget the head collar you forced it to quick, and forcing the dog onto his back and holding them didn't help your cause at all.
When your dog is properly leash trained the leash should be just a safety tool, not a restraint.
Depending on the dog and the space I have to work in I use either a 6 foot or 20 foot long line and a plain buckle collar to teach loose leash walking. The goal with the 20 foot line is to get the dog walking nicely next to me with no leash pressure at all. I click and treat the dog for walking with me. Once the dog is doing well with that I move to the 6 foot leash. Again rewarding for walking nicely, if the leash goes tight I stop and wait. I don't say anything, I don't pull on the leash I just wait. Eventually that leash is going to go slack again at which point I click/treat and move forward.
I use a very high rate of reinforcement in the beginning. If the dog can only walk 3 steps before it leaves me, I click and treat at two steps. Working my up slowly to 3 steps, 4 steps etc.
If a dog decided they want to smell a pole, tree or bush and starts to pull I use penalty yards. Again I don't say anything I just start backing up for several feet away from the object. When I'm several feet away from the object I stop and wait. When the leash goes slack I start moving again, if the dog starts I stop and back up. Eventually the dog figures out that if he wants to sniff the bush the way to get to it is to walk nicely. Once he can walk on a loose leash all the way to whatever he wanted to check out I let him check it out.
References :
June 12th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Some dogs go nuts when something new is introduced to them. It sounds like your dog is one of them. You have to introduce your dog to the new head collar. Sit down on the floor with the dog and show it to him. Tell him "good boy". Lay it across your legs and continue talking to your pup. Have some treats handy and give him one. Show him the collar, continue talking in a soft voice, tell him he is good. Next step, put a treat in your fingers, put your hand through the opening(the smaller end) and gently cokes the dog to put his head through the opening and let him FOCUS on the treat. Now pull your hand out slowly and let it land on the dog. Take it off right away. Keep doing this several times and each time leave it on longer until he doesn't object. Then start with the buckling it. Do the same kind of rue teen until your dog is not going nuts anymore. One thing you must remember is that you can't do this all in one day. Each step must be done alot and over maybe a week if not longer. Don't get discouraged. Some dogs learn faster than others. I'm sure you didn't learn to walk overnight,so your dog needs time to learn. Good luck and keep up the good work.
References :
30+ years of having dogs and training them