PetSafe Gentle Leader Headcollar No-Pull Dog Collar – Helps Improve Walks – Durable Nylon Construction – Padded Nose Loop – Adjustable Fit – Comfort Walking Halter – Large, Charcoal

For training barkers, learners, or wild cards
I have 3 doodles. Medium to Medium-Large in size (44 to 62 lbs), and varying degrees of poodle (75, 50, and 25%).The most poodle-y of them all (75%) is reactive when she is anxious. She just wants to sniff or play, but she barks like a maniac. She is amazing on a leash, but the barking is why I bought this for her. The walking is why I bought them for the other 2.They all hate the gentle leader. Why? Well, many reasons. 1) I did not gently coax them into wearing the leader. I just grabbed them and put it on. 2) Take an ace bandage and wrap it around your head and tey to take or eat. It isn’t bad, but you would rather not have it on, right? I would imagine the same logic with the dogs. 3) The poodle-y one cannot bark maniacally at new things she wants to sniff. I can get her to stop barking faster. She is not a fan of shutting up. She has to be desensitized, and the gentle leader helps immensely.The other two. One was causing me some knee dysplasia because he would lean into me during a walk, if he wasn’t pulling, when he was scared. (He is a chicken.) The gentle leader, with the leash on yhe opposite side of his head has stopped him from leaning into my knee. Its been great going feom thinking I might have to go have kneee surgery, to just getting the dog to walk on a leash properly.The 3rd dog… he isn’t super bright, but he makes up for it in being extremely happy. That means he is ALL OVER THE PLACE. I was able to put a gentle leader on him and lead him around with just my index finger in the loop.These have been fabulous and I am so glad my neighbor recommended them. She also recommended getting a little piece that attaches to the BACK of the gentle leader and onto the regular harness, in case the leader isn’t on well enough and they slip out.Can my dogs easily get the muzzle part off? You betcha. It does help to follow the directions for adjusting and putting it on properly.Does it bother their muzzle? They say it does, but I think we’ve had them for a month. I do not leave these on after a walk because they would chew on them to prove a point.They do have some padding on the inside of the muzzle part. One dog seems to be particularly sensitive to the hard edges (the melted nylon) on the front of the neck portion of the gentle leader. I corrected that just with a couple of bandaids over those spots. There isn’t a whole lot you can do for that.These have skinny straps, so a dog can chew threw them easily, if they get the muzzle part off. Again, if you just take it off after a walk, and put them away where they can’t get them, tou shouldn’t have an issue.I don’t even think I got these on sale. My neighbor gave me one to try. It was too big, but it worked well enough to convince me to buy them for all 3 dogs. So, it is worth the money, if you are struggling training with barking and walking.

It works great for our dog
Totally ripped off the below article from –> (http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/are-head-collars-on-dogs-dangerous-or-safe)…but it says it all. It works great for our dogAttached to leashes are tools designed to help you control your dog by guiding its head, just as halters and lead ropes are used to help control horses. An animal tends to go where its head goes. So, if the dog (or horse) wants to pull on the leash and its head can’t move, it can’t pull you so well. If the dog (or horse) wants to head in one direction and you want to go in another, gently (but not daintily) guide its head in the direction you want to lead the animal.The nice thing about head collars is that with some dogs, owners can just slap a head collar on and the dog suddenly walks nicely on leash, including around distractions that the dog would have barked and lunged at in the past. But in some cases, dogs randomly paw at the funny gear hanging off their faces the way you’d paw at pesky flies buzzing around your head. In other cases, the dog walks nicely and on a loose lead but, when he sees a distraction, he starts to sprint several feet to the end of the leash or barks and lunges and flails to get at the dog, cat, or person in the distance while fighting to get its head loose. Now if this were a person, flailing on the end of a leash attached to an apparatus on his head, he’d surely have a neck injury. But anyone who has seen a dog that goes to town playing tug-o-war knows that a dog’s neck is built differently. Because of this neck strength, few cases of injury due to head collars have been proven or medically documented (I actually haven’t seen any). Not to say injury could not happen. However, veterinary documented injuries caused or exacerbated by choke chain corrections and electronic collars are easy to find. . Most likely if dogs are pulling on their head collar a lot or running to the end, they may need massage or chiropractic care just the way people who work or study at a desk all day need back adjustments periodically. In fact, I think I need a lower back adjustment right now.The Basics of Teaching Dogs to Understand Head Collar GuidanceThe fact of the matter is, that as a trainer, if you’re concerned about injury due to head collars or difficulty accepting the collar, it’s best to learn the skills needed to actually train the dog to love wearing the head collar and walk politely on a head collar, as well as to teach the owner how to correctly guide the dog in an anatomically natural way. The first step of training dogs to love the head collar is easy. Just pair the head collar with food and systematically train the dog to stick its head further and further through. In most cases where the food and the collar are handled correctly, the dog can learn to shove his nose through in just a minute or two. Practice over several sessions if you’re worried that your dog will especially dislike wearing something odd on his head. On a side note, this method for training dogs to love their head collar is virtually identical to training dogs to love wearing a muzzle.Once the dog is good at shoving his nose into the head collar, then put the head collar on. Keep the dog focused on you instead of the funny thing on his face. You can lure him with a treat to hurry and follow you a few steps at a time; if he’s doing well after you repeat this five to ten times, increase the number of steps he must take to get the treat. You can also use targeting instead of luring if he already knows how to touch a target with his nose and loves it.Once your dog’s walking nicely and no longer has the desire to paw the head collar, it’s time to teach him that the leash has a limit. Every time his front feet pass yours, meaning he’s just a second or two from getting far enough ahead to pull, stop dead in your tracks. That will make it clear you’ve stopped and even the slightest pull will mean a halt to his forward movement. Once he clearly steps back towards you and then stands with a loose leash (or better yet, sits), walk forward briskly on a loose leash.In other words, he learns the leash hanging in a lazy “U” means he gets to walk forward. If the leash starts to tighten, it means you’re stopping. By doing this consistently for as little as one 5-10 minute session, Fido can learn that the leash has a limit that’s predictable. Note: in order for Fido to learn this and continue walking nicely you have to be consistent about how you walk and hold the leash. If you sometimes let him walk ahead and pull a little such that the leash is hanging but like a wide smiley face, or if you stop when his feet get ahead of yours but instead of keeping your leash–holding hand down low at your side– you let Fido pull your hand forward when he continues to walk, you’re sending mixed signals about what you want. Fido may never clearly get what you’re imagining in your head. Have someone watch you so that you can see if you’re always being clear.Now that Fido can walk with a head collar on in a non-distracting environment, you may be ready to guide him better when distractions appear. When you see something that normally catches his eye, react ahead of time so that he can’t run to the end of a his 6-foot lead. Hold his leash so it’s just one to two feet long but still handling loosely so that you can easily and quickly guide Fido in the direction you want to go. If you hold the leash that way, it will only tighten when you head in the new direction if Fido does not immediately follow. Then, so that Fido knows you have a direction in mind, you must clearly and quickly move in the different direction the same way you’d move if you and a friend were jogging and you had to grab her arm to guide her away from the hole she was about to fall in (To understanad the importance of movement, read Dealing with Difficult Dogs at the Vet: 5 Tips That Don’t Involve Food or Training Time).Head Collars Are Most Effective and Safe if You Have the Necessary SkillsOf course the choice to use a head collar is up to the individual; however, if you’re a dog trainer, it’s helpful to know why a head collar might be useful and how to use it more skillfully, beyond the basics described above. The number one reason I recommend head collars to some owners is that a head collar can level the playing field for owners who have mediocre timing and speed. Because the owners are able to guide the head, they can more easily get their dogs’ attention. The use of a head collar can greatly speed up the process of training dogs to focus on their owners and perform fun, polite behaviors instead of reacting to other dogs, people and stimuli. When used correctly, a head collar can even help control anxious dogs so that they can calm down enough to focus and take treats.

With our (now eight month old) cocker/retriever, we were struggling with pulling and lunging. Despite her intelligence and training, her exuberance meant every walk was a challenge. We tried almost every kind of collar, lead, harness and halter. Nothing worked: she’s still pulled like a train and wriggled out of anything on her nose. Until we tried this one. A complete transformation! Our pup now trots along happily and obediently. It’s a simple device without heavy, complex straps and buckles. Very easy to slip on (a persuasive treat helps but she waits patiently while it’s fitted now). She can still eat, sniff etc without discomfort. Most importantly, the lightest of touches turns her head to me when needed, so the lead is loose and our dog walks safely and alongside us with ease. I use it with a 2m x 6mm rope lead which is light (the clip is below dog’s jaw so a heavy lead would pull down). Now we use this halter every day and every walk is a pleasure for us and our dog. Cannot recommend enough!

Très efficace dès la première utilisation. Mode d’emploi très bien illustré.A recommander.

This is the BEST collar ever!! I bought this for each of my dogs and they immediately became excellent walkers! No more nose to the ground, pulling etc. Even though my dogs are small, they were difficult to walk to say the least! Now I can literally walk them with 2 fingers. Walks have turned from a nightmare to a pleasure. I would recommend these collars for any dog. The design is amazing. There was about a 3 minute adjustment for them to get used to the strap around their muzzles but now they sit patiently while getting their collars on. I highly recommend the watching to video to get proper fitting and technique but it’s pretty straightforward. My dogs are beige so added bonus to get a color to match…you can hardly even see it. I am so glad I put the money out to make my life sooo much easier. Similar collars at the pet stores are twice the price!