The Gentle Leader is a great tool, should be slowly introduced to the dog a
few seconds at a time. It can mess up the fur a little sometimes.......the
nose loop should be loose enough to slide down to the back part of the nose
but the neck loop should be very snug and high up behind the ears.
The dog should be distracted every second it is on at first ("machine gun
cookies" work well), so she can get used to ignoring it and wont constangly
work at getting it off. The handler needs to pay attention to the dog. For
dogs that paw or rub constantly at it, the head halter may have been
introduced too rapidly and the dog not given enough time to adjust to wearing
just the nose loop for 2 seconds then 5 seconds then 10 seconds at a time.
When the dog is comfortable w/ this then actually attach the neck loop as
well a few seconds until the dog shows you he is ok w/ it. This can take
several sessions a day for a couple days. Do not just put on and leave it on
for an hr.
Most dogs arent crazy about it (it is kinda annoying, but certainly not
painful) but they can be distracted w/ cookies/toys/butt scratches and kept
entertained. They usually mostly forget about it after a while and only
rarely rub the head or paw it from time to time.
I recommend either the Gentle Leader or the pinch collar (prong collar) for
dogs who relentlessly pull on lead, and other training methods have not (yet)
been successful in keeping the handler in control. Which to use? Depends on
the dog and the owner's personal strengths and weaknesses and preferences.
The Gentle Leader tends to do a better job of calming down the wild maniac
out of control adolescant types better than a pinch collar does. If there
is any question of an aggression issue, the Gentle Leader is a much better
choice, can be used to break eye contact w/ other dogs and also less likely
to increase aggression ....if the dog looks at another dog and you pop a
pinch collar he could think what he was looking at (the other dog) is what
caused the pinch and it can make the aggression worse.
Vilma Briggs (Kistner)
Mt. Gilead, OH
U-UD Mocha Java Slurp, UDX, HIC, TT
Ch. Brighteye Expresso Bean, UD, NDD, TT
U-CDX Our Little Buddy, UD, NA, TT
Thirdtym's A Charm, CGC
and Ted
