for full fitting & habituation instructions, with 4 videos:
excessive barking and aggression

the dog should be taught from the beginning to put their own face into the nose-band; all the handler does
is adjust the neck-strap & fasten the buckle.

remember the neck strap needs to be as snug as a watch-band, & as high as possible;
this allows the nose loop to be as open as possible for a free airway to pant, drink, eat, etc,
& also prevents the nose-loop dangling down the dog's face, forcing U to tighten it to prevent the dog
from thumbing it off over their nose! Seeing a dog walk along breathing thru a mail-slot on each side
of her/his mouth is awful, that's not how they're supposed to be worn.

Once the dog is accustomed to the feel WITHOUT the leash on it, which takes about 5 to 7-days
of increasing exposure & happy associations, make sure the leash & hardware are -light-...
the current leash & clip may be far too-heavy for a GL or other headcollar.

all that weight transfers to the dog's nose-loop; a bull-snap, a double-thick w-i-d-e 6-ft long leash,
& similar gear are overkill. A short [6 to 12-inch long] LIGHT coupler, perhaps 1/2-inch wide,
is good to run from the GL-ring to the dog's buckle-collar, just in case the neck-strap slides loose,
the dog flips the nose-loop down, & tries to take off. [The spring-clip should be 1-inch or less long.]

U need a tag-collar, anyhow - it's good insurance to have a second connection!

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terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, TDF
*wolves R wolves, dogs R dogs, + primates R us.*
tmp, sept-2007

Alternatively entice the dog with a treat through the noseband, pop it on and fasten it around the neck and quickly take the dog out on it's walk. It will most likely try to paw at it on and off so distract it with a click then treat and get on with the walk. After ten mins or so the dog is enjoying it's walk and the head collar is forgotten about.

Mine had to like it or lump it and didn't really make a fuss. If they had behaved in the first place they wouldn't have needed the blinking thing so who's fault is it they're having to wear it eh?

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Flynn - Kali - Britches - Bruce - T-Bo - Marty



"For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack"

or...

Jean Donaldson gets conditioned emotional response while fitting Gentle Leader - YouTube

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Good thread!

Now we need one for front-clip and no-pull harnesses

that was Premier Pet Products' catch-line for the brochures on their headcollar, & it's wrong.
"throw it on & go" will not result in a happy, relaxed, willing dog, but an unhappy, confused, resisting dog.

why create such bad feelings?
that's precisely what i would Not suggest, M-M. I've had client's dogs who scratched so furiously,
even while they were actually walking along, that they broke skin on their nose-leather or foreface;
i've seen dogs roll, scrubbing their faces along the ground, tangling the leash around themselves,
kinking the nose-loop painfully; i've seen dogs who shut-down & simply lay flat, refusing to walk
when the headcollar was put on. Why go thru this unhappy, mizrable introduction, & UNlike Ur dogs,
these dogs continued to hate their headcollars for months & years thereafter, even when they
wore it daily for all their much-anticipated walks or car-trips ---- they STILL hated it.

why make such a lousy first-impression & taint the headcollar in their eyes?
take the time, introduce it with short, happy wearings; have THE DOG put their face into the loop,
not have it shoved onto them willy-nilly. Make wearing it a happy time; extend duration slowly,
increase the number of times it's worn each day... Then, when the dog SEES IT & WANTS IT ---
put the leash on for the first time, so they feel the weight on their face for the first time After
they've had all those happy experiences whilst wearing one.. Clever, eh?
then U were lucky, IMO; i've seen lots of dogs raise merry H*** when their owner plunked one on 'em
& then said, "Let's go, Lexus..." Yeah, dream on, buddy.
it's not about punishing the dog; this isn't retribution, just deserts, or penance for sinners!
it's simply a safe way to control a dog who's too powerful, too excitable, predatory, or reactive.

it's not JAIL. It's not "Bad dog!", either. It's safe, effective, humane, & SHOULD BE comfy & happy,
IMO. I'm not out to make the dog cringe, but to bring the fun back to handling a dog who's a bit too much
for the owner / handler / visiting teen / whoever. I want *both ends of the leash* to be happy.

__________________
terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, TDF
*wolves R wolves, dogs R dogs, + primates R us.*
tmp, sept-2007

I just put it on, gave him a treat the first time and went for a walk He didn't bother at all but then never does about anything really

People say Mals are difficult and they certainly are and I smother mine with cuddles and kisses yet they know full well when I mean something and i've had very little trouble with basic training. The area they fall short on is reacting to other dogs, even then only sometimes so they wear head collars just in case but walk next to me on loose leads.

I personally think implenting the Nothing In Life Is Free programme has helped immensely with gaining respect. They know in no uncertain terms how loved they are and are very good dogs with doing what their mummy expects of them - including accepting the dogmatic from word go. It's not luck it's an understanding on both sides and consistancey.

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Flynn - Kali - Britches - Bruce - T-Bo - Marty



"For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack"

at what age can they be introduced? oscar is only 5 months but my god he is so strong, when he pulls it takes a hell of a lot of effort to hold him back. he pulled me down a hill the other day lol generally he only pulls for the first 5 minutes of the walk but he loves to suddenl lunge forward to chase leaves that blow past

Of all the headcollars, I found the Gentle Leader the least effective and it was the one my dog objected to the most.

I use a padded Halti or a Dogmatic and I thank goodness for them: Dex is very strong, pretty big, and highly reactive. When he lunges there is a real risk of his pulling me over, so a headcollar helps enormously and keeps us both safe.

With the Dogmatic in particular, there is a lot of help available from the team behind it re fitting and sizing.

I think I'm also pretty fortunate in that Dexter is very easy going with regard to headcollars etc. He didn't like it when I tried a harness on him, but headcollars don't seem to bother him too much.

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Happy K-9 Dog Boarding
- all breeds and sizes welcome

http://www.happyk9.co.uk