The Gentle Leader Headcollar has been specifically designed by beaphar to work with your dog's natural instincts, to allow you to control unwanted behaviour, regardless of breed, size or age of your dog. The gentle leader patented design is recommended by many leading trainers, vets and behaviourists around the world and will allow you to control, train and manage the behaviour of your dog so that you are no longer pulled on walks!
Regardless of size a dog's natural tendency is to pull against pressure, when they wear a traditional collar, choke or harness, even though pressure is applied to the throat causing pain and choking, especially when owners try to gain control of their dog's behaviour by yanking or tugging their lead.
Walking and training your dog doesn't have to be an unpleasant experience, where you tug at your dogs lead and shout to make them to stop and listen to your commands to sit, wait or stop pulling.
Ideally you should begin using a gentle leader with your puppy from approximately 8 - 10 weeks of age to get them use to wearing one, but no dog is too old to benefit from wearing one. Puppies instinctively relax, when a mother picks them up by the scruff of the neck, who gently applies pressure as not to hurt them, so that the puppy can be moved with the minimal amount of fuss to remove them from threats or harms way.
The neckstrap of the gentle leader mimics this instinctive reaction by exerting pressure on the dog's neck when they try to pull forward. Dogs of any age, but particularly puppies often seek reassurance from older more experienced members of a pack, by offering their muzzle for them to hold onto momentarily in their mouth, the act promotes social bonding and offers reassuring security especially to young adolescents.
The gentle leader does not choke your dog, but is designed to direct your dogs entire body by controlling their head and nose like a halter on a horse, where the nose goes the body will follow. The gentle leader dissuades your dog from pulling on the lead, by transferring the pressure caused by your dog's pulling to the back of their neck via the neckstrap, while pressure on the nose loop communicates your reassuring control.
Your dog's instinctive reaction to these redirected pressures causes him to stop pulling, all without the need to choke or tug at the lead to relieve the pressure at the back of the head to relax and walk by your side.
Are the Gentle Leader fitting instructions easy to follow?
A gentle leader headcollar is easy to fit and is supplied with simple to follow instructions, explaining how to adjust the fitting of the head collar so that it comfortably fits to the contours of your dog's face. The gentle leader should fit securely around you dogs nose and head, but please allow one finger to fit under the nylon straps behind ears, so that the head collar fits snugly and allows your dog to pant easily.
The nylon strap around your dog's nose should also be positioned no closer than 15mm from your dogs eyes, ideally behind the corners of your dog's mouth and the sliding clip under the chin should be adjusted so that one finger fits underneath, so that the gentle leader can't be pulled off your dog's nose if your dog pulls forward.
Unlike other head collars or halti's the Gentle Leader has the following features:
- Won't come off over your dog's head
- An adjustable nose loop for a custom fit
- There's no need for safety straps or awkward double leasing
- Coverts to a traditional collar when pulling is no longer a problem.What sizes are available for the Gentle Leader?
There are currently 3 sizes of gentle leader that will comfortably fit most popular breeds from small to large dogs, for example:
Small Gentle Leader
Breed sizes - Westie, Yorkie, Jack Russell, Toy Poodle, Lhasa Apso
Also suitable for Medium/Large Puppies
Medium Gentle Leader
Breed Sizes - Labrador, Cocker & Springer Spaniels, German Shepherd, Boxer, Retriever, Dobermann, Staffordshire Bull Terrier
Large Gentle Leader
Breed Sizes - Large German Shepherd, Large Labrador, Rottweiler, Great Dane, Newfoundland.How quickly will my dog adjust to wearing the Gentle Leader?
Most dogs will take approximately a week or so to adjust to the sensation of wearing a gentle leader head collar, but we have listed some helpful step by step tips below to make training as easy as possible:
1) Always have treats available, to help distract your dog or puppy when wearing the head collar and to reward good behaviour.
2) Hold a treat in your hand and allow them to nibble at the tasty reward, if this helps you to distract them from fitting the gentle leader, but once fitted give them the whole treat, never tease them.
3) Owners sometimes find it helpful, if they initially associate the gentle leader with having fun only, so we suggest you adjust and fit the head collar accordingly and then play with them or allow your dog to play with their favourite toy for several minutes before removing the collar.
4) Repeat the above two steps 3 or 4 times a day so that your dog acclimatises to wearing the gentle leader and associates the collar we having fun with their owners and nothing to be concerned about.
5) When your dog or puppy is completely oblivious to wearing the gentle leader and pays no attention to it for at least five minutes, the next step is to attach a lead to the head collar and again play with them or allow them to play with their favourite toy to draw their attention away from the collar.
6) Once you feel your dog is happy wearing the gentle leader with a lead attached, you can gradually build up the amount of time spent wearing the collar and take your dog or puppy on short walks.
7) Please don't rush this process as you want your dog to associate the gentle leader with having fun, so don't try to achieve all the above steps too quickly as the aim is to be able to train and control your dog or puppy on walks with ease and without any undue stress or drama!
