There are many tips and tools on the market for walking your dog and training them to behave appropriately on a leash. After all, walking a dog that is constantly pulling, weaving, or chewing on the leash is not a pleasant experience. Using a Gentle Leader head harness instead of a collar or even a chest harness eliminates pressure put on their throat and lungs and gives you significantly more control over your dog.
The gentle leader is a simple head harness with a loop that fits your dog’s muzzle and attaches to the leash and a collar that clips behind the ears. It’s become popular among trainers to help teach dogs to heel, focus on you, and discourage pulling or lunging. It’s a tool meant for training; once your dog understands how to walk with a loose leash and not lunge at objects or other dogs, you can phase the gentle leader out of your walks.
What Does A Gentle Leader Do?
In short, the gentle leader redirects your dog’s attention onto you when they try to pull. With a standard collar or harness, they still face forward even though they meet your resistance. Instead of thinking that they aren’t able to go where they pull, they feel that they just need to pull a bit harder to reach their goal. Yanking back on the leash only endangers their safety and encourages this behavior further. With a Gentle Leader or front-clip harness, when the dog pulls in one direction, they are instead turned around to face you. Your pup will quickly realize that pulling doesn’t get them where they want to go; they need to keep pace with you to keep walking forward.
Use a gentle leader when training to heel, walk on a loose leash, redirect attention to you (“eyes on me”), and put a stop to leash aggression or reactivity.
How to Properly Use This Harness
- First, you need to get your dog used to wearing it. Depending on the pup, this may take some time. Put your dog into a “sit”, reward them, then calmly slip the harness over their nose and clip it on. Reward them heavily once the harness is on and give them lots of praise. After a minute, remove the Gentle Leader. Continue putting it on and taking it off for a few minutes, then end the training session. Do this until your dog is comfortable wearing the harness.
- If they paw at it or whine, tell them “leave it.” If they still can’t refocus, gently tug on the leash so that they look up at you, then reward them. Again, this process may take a few days before they are ready for a walk.
- Take a practice walk. Walking on the leash with a Gentle Leader feels different than a collar, so let your pup get used to it before hitting the pavement. In your yard, walk in small circles that gradually get bigger. Then, turn around and retrace your steps. This provides a low-distraction environment and allows your dog to sense how it feels when the leash pulls on the harness. You will likely already see a difference in the amount of pulling they do.
Once you’ve practiced and both gotten used to the gentle leader, you’re ready for a real walk. Regardless of which skills or behavior modifications you want to make, the gentle leader is sure to be a helpful tool during your walks.
If you need further assistance with your dog training or obedience goals, call Gulf Coast K9 Dog Training today. We are located in Bradenton and love meeting dogs from all across Sarasota and Manatee County.
