Hi! We are currently using the gentle leader head collar on our dog, Hachi (7 months old). We have been using it for about two months already but just recently he is starting to fight us on walks with it on. It feels like we are torturing him on every walk. We have also had it fitted on Hachi by our trainer so I know it’s not too tight and it is the right size. We have tried a lot of positive association with the head collar by giving him treats when we put it on but nothing seems to help. Our trainer is suggesting we try a no pull harness this week during class to see if we have better results. We have done some leash work without it but he is still pulling a lot without it so I was wondering what others have used with their dogs during training. Any feedback would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
Nicki

Dogs self-correct on a PRONG collar, and the Dominant Dog collar is worn simultaneously as a "fail-safe" backup just in case the Prong pops open, so your dog will NOT get loose <:-)

was a rolled leather collar with my dogs, we just did an awefull lot of sneakaways. Basically start with a 12 foot line, hold onto the end, when the dog bolts past you, turn around and walk the other way in linebacker fashion not saying a word. Keep doing this until the dog stays within 5 feet of you, at which time you turn on the charm and talk in a pleasant fashion to him. Do this for about 10 to 15 minutes a day for a week, then switch to a 6 foot line and do the same thing, only talking to him when he's within 3 feet of you. If your consistent with this, it will work, I've yet to really have it fail on any dog I've trained personally, and the numbers considerable. Here's a link to a training forum if your interested. There are a lot of trainers their I'm sure would have even more advice for you.
http://www.dogster.com/forums/Behavior_and_Training

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If the GL is going that badly, maybe it is a good idea to change, imo. My sister's dog ended up hating it so much, they would just show it to him, if he was misbehaving, and he'd do whatever they said, just so he wouldn't have to put it on (not saying this way right, just an example).

We use a prong, which when used correctly, works well. If you can try Cary's method, I think that would be perfect.

I use heavy duty choke collar in training. Leash pops! "stay away from walmart, very cheap and they will fall apart" It gets removed soon as training is complete. The only reason I put it on him now when we go out is for everybody else, so they have a warm and fuzzy. Josey really doesn't need a collar at this point but better safe than sorry.

Never heard of a dog going nuts once they have been wearing it for that long. Maybe your pooch is just showing out. Getting frustrated because he is not getting his way, sorta thing. Hard to say.