How To Use A Gentle Leader Head Collar – Professional Dog Training Tips
– The Gentle Leader can be a really useful
piece of equipment and I actually used one
when I trained Degan
here over 10 years ago.
Now today we are going to hang
out with instructor Steve.
He’s one of the instructors,
head instructors from McCann Dogs
and we are going to try
putting a Gentle Leader
and he’s going to show us how to
put a Gentle Leader on this great, big
Irish Wolfhound puppy named Sky.
I’m Ken Steepe, welcome
back to McCann Dogs.
(guitar chord)
(dog barking)
You might remember Steve
from such vlogs as…
All right we are back.
We’re just about to get ready
to do our first show of the day.
I’m here with instructor Steve.
So today instructor
Steve is gonna talk to us
about the Gentle Leader.
– Now the Gentle Leader, guys,
is one of our most popular training tools
for some of, maybe our more excited dogs
or some of our bigger, stronger dogs.
It’s a great piece of equipment
that relies on control without force.
So the Gentle Leader is a very specific
piece of training equipment
and it’s one that we really like here.
It is very different
from other head collars
in how it’s fit.
It is two different loops.
One which goes around the back of the head
which sits high on the dog’s neck
right at the base of the skull.
And the other one that
comes around the nose.
Now, a couple of misconceptions.
This is not a muzzle.
It does not constrict any movement
in the dog’s jaw at all.
Dogs are free to open
and close their mouths
as much as they need to.
But it gives us that control
from the point under the chin.
Now one of the best
benefits of a Gentle Leader
is that it can really help
calm some busier dogs down.
Those younger dogs that maybe don’t have
that full emotional control yet
or even some of our bigger, stronger dogs
that need a little help.
Functionally, the way
the Gentle Leader works
is the head collar sitting nice and high
on the back of the skull
actually helps mimic
how a mother dog would grip a puppy
and takes advantage of
those pressure points
to help calm those dogs down a little bit.
And we’ve seen a lot of our students
who all of a sudden,
the moment we put it on,
see those dogs settle down
and start to get a
little bit more success.
They can build on that
success with their training.
– I think it’s really important point
and you actually saw use the
Gentle Leader with Beeline
the first time that we
took her into the city.
And it really had an incredible
calming effect on her.
– Now a lot of people feel
that once they’ve put a
Gentle Leader on their dog
it’s a forever piece of equipment.
It really isn’t.
Like any other training tool,
we use it to gain success with our dogs
and once the dogs start to understand
what it is we want them
to do, we can wean off it.
And wean off it is the critical part
because there is such a big difference
with the Gentle Leader on versus not.
It’s important that we take a few steps
to show the dogs how to
come off that Gentle Leader
and work towards working
with a flat collar.
So with the Gentle Leader,
the best way to start to
wean off that Gentle Leader
is to go in stages.
So when my dog is a little excited
and I need that extra control,
I would use it as it is,
with the nose loop on,
head collar set high.
But in a situation where my dog
might be a little bit more calm
we might be having a little more success
in our training, I can take that nose loop
and slide it right off the dog’s nose.
With that slid off, I can take my leash,
clip it back up here
and my dog works now
in a nice, high collar.
Still gives me a great
level of control versus
maybe a looser fitting
regular flat collar.
Now one of the hardest
things to figure out
is how the heck to put this thing on.
When you pick it up, it’s
a bit of a jumbled mess.
Well, the easiest way to do that
is to take the head collar
and hold it like a capital T
and from the center of that T,
I push up the nose loop.
So this is the first part
that goes over the dog’s muzzle
and then the head collar will wrap around
and do up nice and tight.
And I have my dog Sky
here to give this a try.
Now, she’s never had one on
so this is gonna be a good type of thing
because it does take some
dogs some getting used to
in terms of how this is gonna work.
Sky, stand.
Good girly.
So, again, I hold it like a capital T.
I push the nose loop up.
And what I will do for her
’cause she’s never had one on,
is I’m actually just gonna take a treat,
I’m gonna put my hand
through that nose loop
with the treat.
Simply move this towards her nose.
Say yes, and reward as
it touches her nose.
And I’m going to take it away again.
So we’re not forcing it
on her right off the bat.
We’re getting used to it.
Good girl, very good puppy dog.
And she’s pretty compliant with this,
so I’m going to continue from there.
So again, I will take a treat.
Put it on her nose, and
as she’s eating that
I’m just gonna slide that nose loop over.
While she’s chewing on that treat,
I’ll bring that head
collar around the back
and simply do up the buckle.
Now in order to get the full function
of the Gentle Leader, fit is critical.
The head collar on the
Gentle Leader should be
snug enough that I can simply get
a finger or two underneath.
That way, it will continue
to grip the base of the skull
and help calm those dogs down.
(upbeat music)
That gives the dogs full range of motion
with their mouths but
gives me great direction
when I add pressure on the leash.
Now, speaking of leash pressure.
The other critical portion
to keep in mind with
the Gentle Leader.
It gives me great control of the nose
but when my dog is being compliant
and doing what I want them to,
I need to make sure that
pressure comes right off
and this nose loop and
the clip of your leash
hang straight up and down.
Now, I have the Gentle Leader on Sky.
Again, she’s never had one on
so this is a bit of adjustment for her.
But you’ll notice that
because we’ve done it slowly
and in a positive manner, she’s
quite comfortable with it.
Good girl.
Now, I talked about a minute ago,
making sure that I can add
pressure when I need to.
Hi girl, you stand and wait.
But that I let this pressure off.
And I’m just gonna walk
around with her a little bit
and I want you to keep an
eye on the clip of my leash.
As I turn and move, I
can add a little pressure
to give her that direction.
But when she’s moving with me,
I can loosen that up.
Make sure that there’s slack in that leash
and then praise her for moving with me.
Sky, let’s go, good girl.
Yes, good girly.
Let’s go, good puppy dog.
Yes, good girly.
Reward her for walking nicely with me.
Let’s go.
Good girl.
Yes, there’s my girl!
Good puppy dog.
Hooray.
Now, if I need her to turn
and add a little pressure.
I can use the leash at that point.
But then you’ll notice
the slack goes right back
in that leash and that clip
hangs straight up and down.
Good girly, very good girl.
So again, I’ve had some
success with Sky on this.
And this might be a time I would look
at transitioning off the Gentle Leader.
So again, I will take the nose loop.
Slide it right off her nose.
Good girl.
Slide it out and clip
it back up underneath
into that nice, high collar.
And now that we’re here,
I can do a little bit more walking.
Okay, Sky, let’s go.
Yes, good girl.
Good, let’s go, what a good puppy dog.
Hooray.
There’s my girl.
Yes, good girly.
What a good girl you are.
Now we talk about Gentle
Leaders for busy dogs
and some of our more excited dogs.
But I’ll be honest,
Gentle Leaders are also
extremely beneficial for
some of our bigger dogs.
You know, this dog,
if she wasn’t so conditioned
to working with me
and we’d had so much fun training,
it’d be pretty hard for
me to hang on to her
if she wanted to go somewhere.
So this gives me the control
without having to use a lot of force.
It’s very gentle on
them, it’s very calming
and really helps give them
the direction that they need.
So when it comes to Gentle Leaders,
they are a tool that’s available to us.
Our goal with you and your dog
is to help you be as
successful as you can be
and we want you to view these different
pieces of equipment that way.
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On that note, I’m Ken.
– I’m Steve.
– I’m Sky.
– Happy training!
(upbeat music)
