Customer Reviews

Premier Pet Gentle Leader Headcollar, Black, Large

5 star:		(212)
4 star:		(41)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

This thing is AWESOME!! I have a very boisterous 136 lb male Great Dane. Even though he has been through obedience school, and obeys very well on command while indoors, it is still VERY difficult to control him when he gets excited on walks. Put simply: the dog is much bigger & much stronger than I am & as is common with Danes, does not realize his size or strength. With just one lurch from his excitement over a squirrel (dog, butterfly...whatever the stimulus is for that day), he can & has pulled me to the ground. Believe me: we've tried everything to remedy this & all else has failed. After expressing concern to our Veterinarian, he suggested that I purchase the Gentle Leader. It was the best Vet advice I've been given to date. I no longer risk getting pulled to the ground, or becoming a human kite everytime we go out. Maddox now walks right beside me, and listens to my commands with just a very, very gentle pull to the leash. His mouth is able to open freely & he is even able to take treats while the collar is on his head. Since he's more obedient, we go out more & for longer & more exciting excursions each time. This makes Maddox a very happy puppy.

If you buy this, definitely watch the DVD. Don't assume that you can just put it together & train your dog yourself. There are some really helpful & important tips on how you should handle your dog while on the leash. These tips *could* make or break your dog's response to the collar. Also, I do recommend going to a professional obedience school if your dog has obedience problems. Especially if you are dealing with a large dog. The Gentle Leader has been a phenomenal supplemental tool for us in the areas that could not be cured with regular obedience training: such as going on walks. In my opinion, the Gentle Leader, nor any other peice of fabric or leather, does not solely take the place of obedience school (atleast in problem dogs or large dogs) for this reason: Just as the animal must be trained, so must the owner. If you do not know how to handle your dog, nothing will help you. The training you both get from obedience school will make the Gentle Leader that much more effective.

One thing. As for the comment that this collar is cruel & a torture device, I have one word: RUBBISH. It is a far, far cry from a pinch or choke collar, and is much more humane than just being passive & letting the dog get gagged by his regular collar while he drags & endangers not only his owner behind him, but himself, as well.

Gentle Leader gets 5 stars from us! Wouldn't change a thing!

I have used this particular head collar on four different dogs with mixed results. Please note that all dogs were slowly and carefully desensitized to the Gentle Leader head collar, as directed by trainers and the training materials included with the head collar.

- The first was a dog-reactive dog.
The collar did discourage pulling under low stress conditions and made pulling less painful. It allowed for greater control of the dog. However, if the dog was not kept soundly distracted he would return to fussing over the nose strap. He became so frustrated by the collar that he would rub his face on the concrete, claw at the nose strap, and come away bleeding. I returned to desensitizing him to the collar, assuming I had not given him enough time to adjust. I found myself spending more time training him to accept the collar than working on modifying his unwanted behaviors.
- The second dog was a fearful dog.
The dog would completely shut down whenever he wore the collar away from his safe zone. We spent more time trying to desensitize him to wearing the collar outside of his safe zone. Because he would shut down and stop responding we could not get any results.
- The third dog was a confident, social dog.
This particular dog had pulled his whole life. To my knowledge, no one had attempted to discourage the pulling behavior. I noticed improvement as soon as we left the yard. It didn't just lessen the pulling, it stopped it.
- The fourth was an untrained and social puppy.
Not accustomed to rules or boundaries, the puppy was constantly testing the limits of the collar. If he was not properly engaged in training he would return to pawing at the nose strap, hindering training. Distraction caused by the nose strap was lessened by padding the nose strap with faux fur. He was doing fairly well on the collar and with training. One day, another puppy approached and he began that endearing puppy wiggle, wagging his tail so hard his whole body shook. Without warning, he lunged forward. Despite being on a short leash, he hit the end of the leash hard enough that the collar jerked his head sideways. He let out an ear-shattering yelp and acted subdued thereafter. For safety reasons, we discontinued the use of the head collar.

Pros:
- Gives greater control to the dog handler, regardless of the dog's size and the handler's strength.
- Lessens or eliminates the pain and discomfort the handler experiences when dogs do pull.
- Discourages pulling.
- Can be used with either traditional punishment based training or progressive reward based training.
- Will not choke the dog when used with nose strap

Cons:
- Requires time for dogs to become accustomed to this training tool.
- Requires careful adjustment of straps -- improper fit impedes training.
- Can rub hair off and/or cause irritation if worn or fitted improperly.
- Capable of injuring a dog that lunges or does "zoomies" while worn and leashed.
- May cause fearful dogs to shut down and inhibit behavior change.
- May exacerbate reactive or aggressive dogs' unwanted behavior.
- The nose strap may irritate the dog, requiring padding to be sewn on by owner.
- The nose strap is not durable and can be easily destroyed by chewers.
- Dogs CAN learn to ignore the head collar and pull anyway, meaning you will still need to teach the dog how to walk with you.
- Short-muzzled dogs may find it easy to remove the nose strap.
- Results vary.

For successful training, I recommend developing mutual respect and trust with your dog. With mutual respect and trust there isn't anything you can't accomplish with your dog.

If I can teach my dog to walk nicely with me, ANYONE can. Don't give up!

I've tried everything from standard choke chains, prong collars, body harnesses and other more gimmicky collars in an attempt to get my Boxer to stop pulling so excessively when we walk. I can certainly tolerate the occasional pull due to a squirrel or a rabbit, but my dog pulls constantly. So hard, in fact, that she is left gasping for air. With a body harness, she throws up after the walk because of the pressure on her stomach.

The Gentle Leader head harness is the only thing that she responds to. Another reviewer here calls this harness cruel and acts like it's meant to stop dogs from turning their heads and looking around. In reality, my dog is able to turn her head in any direction she likes, because most of the time there is no external pressure on the harness. A little tug when she walks ahead is all that's required to remind her to stay by my side.

She does paw at the harness for ten - fifteen seconds a few times per walk, but then it's over and she gets back to walking like nothing ever happened. This very minor and short-term discomfort is much less traumatic than her self-inflicted choking/throwing up from other collars.

I can't say enough good things about this collar. Not only is it not cruel, it is the first collar I've ever found that protects my dog from the pain she inflicts on herself during a walk.

Despite what the previous two reviews say, I have found that this product WORKS! I have an 85 pound German Shepherd who loves to chase squirrels, and he is able to easily pull me off my feet when he wants to chase one. "Leash training" just did not stick with him. Perhaps I wasn't consistent, but it became a chore to take him for a walk and so I started to not do it. This ended up creating even more difficulties!

Contrary to what earlier reviewers say, if you fit the Gentle Leader to your dog correctly it does *not* apply constant pressure and is *not* like being mouthed over the muzzle by another dominant dog. What it does do is allow you to control the dog by its nose, rather than by its throat. This has huge advantages: A) the nose and bone are composed of bone under the Gentle Leader, as opposed to soft tissue (like the windpipe), so if the dog does run against it no damage is done; B) the nose does not have the large amount of muscle that the neck/shoulders have, so the dog is less inclined to pull against the halter; C) when a dog pulls a leash, his/her attention stays fixed on the object it is running after - when a dog pulls against the Gentle Leader, the dog's face (eyes and nose) is turned back to you, allowing you to recapture/refocus its attention. Think about it, would you try to control a big strong animal like a horse by putting something around its neck/shoulders? No, you use a harness!

I like this product so much I am getting 2 more (one has worn out with time - 3 years - and we have another dog as well). It allows me to control my dogs easily, and I don't have them gasping and pulling against the leash.

We've been using a gentle leader collar on our 6 month old Golden for over a month now. It eliminated his leash pulling immediately, he became comfortable with it in less than a week and we now all love to go out for walks (which means we're out there more often for long walks that benefit everyone). We also have three friends who have been using the collar longer than we have with great success. And our very compassionate vet highly recommends this collar.

So, I was shocked to read the reviews about the collar cutting under one dog's eyes, the lead ripping in another case and some supposed dog loving trainer who thinks the collar is like an alpha-wolf grip on the dog's muzzle. Preposterous!! If the collar is properly fitted, it sits LOOSELY in front of the dogs eyes, so how could it cut the dog? If the collar is used properly, there is virtually no pressure on it, so how could the lead "rip"? And what could be more humane than a collar that creates slight discomfort to correct unwanted behavior rather than the countless frustrated dog owners out there who beat their animals into submission or yank on regular leashes so hard they practically dislocate the dog's neck?

I thought Mark Twain's 11/7/05 review was the best. Check it out.

For the record, I'm not affiliated in any way with the Gentle Leader folks. I'm just a pet lover who wants to debunk the negative hype about this wonderful product. I wish I HAD invented it.

I bought this a little over 2wks ago for my 58lb, 15mo old German Shepherd. I adopted her from a shelter, so she didn't come with too many manners. While I am also in the process of teaching her loose-leash walking, the Gentle Leader has allowed me to take her on walks and runs in the interim without strained and pulled muscles, not to mention the hassle and embarrassment of her going toward every dog and person she sees. All dogs are different, yes, but I see many dogs wearing the GL and walking nicely with their owner. My dog will still rub her nose on the ground at times while walking, something she already did a bit before the GL. I just gently pull on the leash and praise her when she returns to her feet. She rides in the car with it on and doesn't try to get it off. If you follow the instructions and watch the included DVD, with persistence you will have success. My dog is really stubborn, I just have to be more stubborn than her. My vet, as well as my dog obedience instructor and another trainer all recommended I get one for her after seeing me struggle with her. I don't believe it is inhumane for the dog. If anything, they are happier and more well exercised. She is already doing better on her regular collar when we go out for short bathroom breaks, perhaps due to GL use all other times.

After trying a number of collars for my two medium sized dogs (one basenji mix and one cattledog mix), I was about to give up walking them when I found the gentle leader's collar. Walking two dogs that weigh almost 40 - 50 lbs each was quite the ordeal when they decided (as they often did) to go in different directions. I've notice a few negative reviews around the fit, etc. I watched the dvd prior to trying it and didn't seem to have any difficulting finding a good fit for my dogs. Each were trained separately on the collars and the difference between walking them now is like night and day. We now take them regularly to parks and have even gone on several vacations. Walking with the collars on is easy, and the dogs can easily open their mouths and drink, bark, or take treats. Again, I'm only speaking from my own experience, but the dogs are very eager to put on the collars anytime we go out now... and what used to be an ordeal is now a pleasure. Just my two cents. Thanks.

I was aware of products like the Gentle Leader(tm) but had never tried any of them. I have had dogs for decades, primarily larger breeds to include Danes, sled dogs and Weimers. I probably would never have become familiar with the Gentle Leader(tm) had I not attended a class at the Humane Society in preparation for becoming a regular volunteer several days a week as part of a group who handles potential adoptees to help make them more adoptable. My local Humane Society uses the Gentle Leader(tm) exclusively. The training is conducted by a Certified Pet Dog Trainer with eighteen years of experience.

First: without supervision I would almost certainly have applied the Gentle Leader(tm) incorrectly. I've not viewed the training video but if you decide to use the Gentle Leader(tm) you might want to check with your local Humane Society and find out of someone can give you hands-on instruction in fitting and use.

Second: most dogs will try to remove the Gentle Leader(tm) the first time you use it. Keeping the dog moving and distracting them will help alleviate this issue. Dogs love to go for a walk; once the dog accepts the fact that the Gentle Leader(tm) is going to always be part of that process, they'll accept it rather quickly. The first time you put a conventional collar on a dog, they scratch at it at try to remove it---but they accept it quickly.

Third: follow the directions, particularly the "correct and release". Constant tension on the leash will not work and can be uncomfortable and confusion for your dog.

Fourth: initially, try shortening up the leash considerably and keep the dog moving and active.

Finally, think about the challenges of walking and training a dog with whom you have no previous contact and no established bond--- a shelter dog. Then think about doing so with several dogs in succession---many of whom don't even know their name let alone have any previous training. Following less than half an hour of training, virtually every volunteer from teens to senior citizens is able to control virtually any dog in the shelter---even those dogs with a reputation for being "difficult" to work with.

Properly applied and properly used there is nothing remotely cruel about the gentle Leader(tm) and it should never cause breathing problems or hurt the dog. People who comment that they chose to ignore the instructions---and then complain that the products didn't work---should be taken with a grain of salt.

I've tried everything from standard choke chains, prong collars, body harnesses and other more gimmicky collars in an attempt to get my Boxer to stop pulling so excessively when we walk. I can certainly tolerate the occasional pull due to a squirrel or a rabbit, but my dog pulls constantly. So hard, in fact, that she is left gasping for air. With a body harness, she throws up after the walk because of the pressure on her stomach.

The Gentle Leader head harness is the only thing that she responds to. Another reviewer here calls this harness cruel and acts like it's meant to stop dogs from turning their heads and looking around. In reality, my dog is able to turn her head in any direction she likes, because most of the time there is no external pressure on the harness. A little tug when she walks ahead is all that's required to remind her to stay by my side.

She does paw at the harness for ten - fifteen seconds a few times per walk, but then it's over and she gets back to walking like nothing ever happened. This very minor and short-term discomfort is much less traumatic than her self-inflicted choking/throwing up from other collars.

I can't say enough good things about this collar. Not only is it not cruel, it is the first collar I've ever found that protects my dog from the pain she inflicts on herself during a walk.

We have an 80 pound lab who just turned 1. Our 10 year old daughter had trouble walking him because he pulled so hard, even with a choke collar. With the gentle leader, she has no trouble walking him. It works very much like the bridles used on horses.

Our dog didn't like it at first, but after a few minutes, he got used to it and now it doesn't bother him at all. We've had it for about a month and walk him with it almost every day.

It's also very easy to setup initially and easy to put on and take off. We only put it on during walks.