- People can see a lot of success
when they use a dog training head collar with their dog,
they get less pulling, they have generally more control.
But a head collar is a piece of training equipment,
you could see early success with it,
but you don't wanna become dependent on it.
So today, instructor Steve's gonna talk to you
about the process of weening off the Gentle Leader.
So before you choose a dog training head collar,
make sure you watch this video.
I'm Ken Steepe. - I'm Steve Walsh.
- Welcome back to McCann Dogs.
(gentle music) (doggy barking)
- So training aids like Gentle Leaders,
or other head collars are very powerful tools.
And the question comes up a lot,
when do we start to ween off that tool?
Because we don't wanna become reliant on it.
We don't want to use that as the tool
that has our dog behaving, or listening
to our voice or, whatever it is we expect from them.
And it's come up several times actually, lately,
people who have busy, outgoing dogs
that have found great success using Gentle Leaders,
which is sort of our preferred tool around here.
And then they get in a hurry to ween off of it,
Now, I understand that weening off is a important process,
it's something that needs to happen.
But what do I see from my dog?
What indicators am I getting from my dog,
that tells me, it's time to ween off of that,
and start moving off of it?
And I say ween very specifically,
because it's important to transitions away
from those powerful tools.
Incidentally we have another video on Gentle Leaders.
There'll be a link below or in the card, up here,
that you can click on if you wanna see how to physically
go between a full Gentle Leader, to removing the nose loop
and clipping that nose loop up, under the double D ring.
Or, going to a straight flat collar.
But, just taking the Gentle Leader off and hoping
that you get success, is not the best way
to set your dog up for success, oddly enough.
Now, we talk about wanting to have our dogs listen
to our voice, and verbal control is a big thing,
and a big portion of what we do around here.
And the Gentle Leaders allow us to achieve that by
being able to, let's say redirect a dog,
or turn a dog away from someone that's stimulating.
By speaking to them first and then using that,
we take away the big tug of war of a flat collar.
Everybody's had their young dog who has that big flat collar
on, and learns to sink their head and pull.
That Gentle Leader allows us to over come that very easily,
and build a little bit more success.
But if I start to find that when I take
that Gentle Leader off, my dog instantly
goes back to pulling.
I am way too early, in trying to remove
that piece of equipment.
And again, removing is not the best way to do it,
it's all about weening.
So what do we look for for our dogs?
Well let's just take walking for example,
if I have a young dog that is wearing a Gentle Leader
and we're starting to get some success
and we're working with a nice, loose leash walking,
left hand, or right hand side, wherever
you happen to walk with your dog,
doesn't really make a difference.
We work walking on our left hand side around here.
As long as my dog is starting to reliably walk,
in that position, on a loose leash.
and start to listen to my voice.
If I tell them let's go, come on over here.
Or if they get distracted by something,
and I can tell them leave it, and they're offering
that to check back in with me on that leave it,
then I might actually start trying to
not only just start to ween off
that piece of equipment, then.
But find harder distractions,
find things that are more difficult
for that dog to work through.
Environment plays such a huge role in dogs learning
that, before I take away any of these training aids
that are helping us be successful,
I will proof that behavior, by putting them in as many
different situations as I can.
So, maybe walking down my street, there they've walked
you know, three times a day, for however many days,
isn't very that exciting, every thing is not
that exciting for them anymore.
So maybe I'll go to the park, hopefully
the warmer weathers coming.
And you'll be able to get outside and work with those dogs.
Find a park where there's you know,
some kids playing basketball or find something else.
Go to that great park with all the squirrels in it.
Really find those things that help stimulate your dog,
and be conscious of building their success.
Use space as your friend, so if going too close
to that baseball game is to much for your dog,
start to work further away.
And I would use those opportunities to proof
my Gentle Leader skills before I even think about
taking them off.
And that time is different for every dog,
it really depends on what your dog is showing to you.
I often think about removing things when
I can't remember the last time they really had to use it.
That to me is really sort of a great analogy.
If I can speak to my dog and say hey buddy,
come on over here, and that dog willingly follows me,
without me having to add a little bump on the leash
or something to kind of regain their attention,
then I can start to think about,
you know what this would be a great time,
in this particular situation, to ween off of it.
Because again, if my dog can be successful in certain
situations, it doesn't mean they're going to be
successful in every situation, right away.
That's our job to be consistent with them,
and help them understand, no matter what.
That means my Gentle Leader, and my weening process
becomes a little bit more fluid.
So let's say I have worked through
that baseball game scenario, walking my dog back and forth,
passed all those exciting kids
while that games being played.
I might spend the next 10 or 15 minutes with
that nose loop off, clipped in, with the leash
clipped back into the double D ring,
and get some success, in that situation.
At maybe 50, or 100 feet away.
But again, my proofing process isn't just okay,
my dog is trained now.
I might go a little closer to that baseball game,
or to those benches where those kids are sitting
and eating hot dogs.
I would really push my dogs ability to understand
that no matter what's going on around them
I can help them be successful by listening to me.
And you will find there's a little threshold.
A threshold where my dog is comfortable in the situation,
calm, they are keyed into me, they understand
what it is I want.
And then you'll get to a point where they start to go well,
but those kids are very close and they're very exciting.
And that's the area that I always look for,
that sorta threshold, and I wanna sorta stay just
underneath it, and build towards it, closer
and closer, and closer.
If I cross it, and my dog says, ah, I can't do it anymore,
I need to pull, I need to go see those kids.
Great, no problem, I'm not mad at the dog at that point.
But that's where my Gentle Leader becomes fluid.
I kmve back away, reestablish some distance,
pull that nose loop up, put it back on,
work a little closer again.
To sort of reiterate to them, what I want them to do
all the time, okay?
And then I might come back, and then take that nose lip off,
and work at that threshold point again.
So it's really a fluid process, depending on what it is
I'm seeing from my dog.
And that may take some time.
Again, not every dog understands that, their environment
no matter what's going on in their environment
or around them they need to listen
in all those situations, so it's our job
to help our dogs be right, but still keep
that high expectation,.
One of the big mistakes that people happens is they miss
that threshold point, they miss where their dog start
to make mistake, after mistake, after mistake.
And we talk about this in agility quite a bit,
I know McCann's mentioned this before,
my dog makes two mistakes they don't know it, okay?
So I need to go back to help them be successful.
the same thing applies with walking my dog,
if my dog has pulled on the leash and I've spoken to them
and they're not following through,
and I've really had to help them with that leash
a couple of times, I gotta change something.
I gotta help them be right.
That's why I can put that fold back gentle leader back on,
and again, that's the big process,
is that nose loop off nose loop on,
that's the biggest step,
the transition from then, gentle leader off,
to flat collar, actually becomes quite quick.
Because the information that they're getting,
when I do need to give them a little information
with the leash, is the same, provided my collar
is well fit.
That's something I know Ken's covered in the past
on some of our videos, and I'm sure there will be
a link somewhere over here about collars,
or wherever it happens to be.
So really, when it comes down to it,
it is the process of weening, it's not an
on or off scenario, it is an as needed basis
to help my dog be successful.
I want my dogs to be correct,
I don't them to make mistake, after mistake,
after mistake.
You will find that every dog is a little bit different
but it's your consistency, your clarity,
and your high expectations that's going to help
those dogs understand what it is you want them to do,
any time, every time, no matter the piece of equipment
that they ware.
So if you'd like to get any more information
about gentle leaders, and how to fit them,
and how they can be used, just click that guy, right there.
- I wanna thank instructor Steve for joining us today,
now if this is your first time on the channel,
make sure you hut that subscribe button
we publish videos every single week to help
you to have a well behaved four legged family member
on that note, I'm Ken.
- I'm Steve.
- Happy training.