I finally bought a head halter for my 7 month old pitbull who pulls like a draft horse. WOW! Instant success. I could never get her to check in with me, she was in her own world. On our first walk with head halter she was checking in with me regularly, it was the first time I came home relaxed after a walk. Thank you Joel, for freely sharing your knowledge with us.

Head halter was an absolute game changer for my JRT. I don’t use it all the time now, I bring it on every walk just in case. THANK YOU!

It occurred to me that 90 percent of what every dog training lesson is about has to do with being PATIENT and not getting frustrated. I love all the tip and tricks you are teaching and I'm much more confident that I'm going the right direction with my new Saint Bernard puppy. Thank you do much. I'll keep watching and learning and it's not costing me hundreds of dollars!!❤

I am impressed at how well River is doing at just five months old, he is a handsome and good boy! Wade is also very well trained, good job Joel😂

Forgot to add that I, too, have made up a “safety” command. When ANYTHING on wheels (car, truck, bike, trike, Segue(sp), etc., I just say “car”, and my dog moves slightly further in on the grass and sit/stays immediately until the “car” has passed. I say safety because I only have rescues, most coming with absolutely no info about habits, personality, training, etc. You never know if you have a wheel chaser, which could be dangerous, especially if it’s a kid on a bike or even a skateboard. The kid example really kills 2 birds with 1 stone, as oftentimes, these dogs are not overly fond of children; keeps the kid AND your dog safe at the same time. I’ve trained every dog I’ve ever had; makes the walk even more enjoyable, not having to worry about a wheel OR kid chaser. Works for me.

I just used a gentle leader today with my 5 month rottweiler and what an amazing difference in our walking. We went to socialize at my city christmas parade and with hundreds of people around us, I was able to control her movements with literally no pulling. I'm a super fan now!!

I really appreciate the tips that you provide about puppies and their development. I'm currently raising my first-ever puppy, and your videos have helped us a lot.

I came here from binging these videos to say thanks for the great training vids. Training that makes sense and isn't all about giving treats every 2 seconds. You got me motivated to start training seriously with my 2yo pup again.

I really appreciate how your videos explain how to train our dogs, and they have been a monumental help. I’ve seen others that are like an advertisement for their services, so again thank you for the step by step instructions.

So glad I found this. I was wondering and commented on one of your other videos asking when we can start using gentle lead. Thank you for doing puppy videos. My pup is 4 months. Your videos have made me and my pup more confident.

Seriously love your stuff. I have two border collies and the advice in your videos has helped with training them so much. Thank you

Yes. You are such a good teacher. And I need this repetition just like my dogs. Doorway sets the tone for the walk! Proactive stops! Time to walk.

I've used many methods and you're absolutely right. This is the best one!

you have so much acquired wisdom and your methods are so grounded in logic that it shocks me that there is such a divide or any controversy over them, in every video you make you have so many nuggets of dog training knowledge it’s incredible i feel like i should be paying for this 😂😅, but i appreciate you for the content. i don’t even own a dog yet but i know when i do i will be more than ready and i can say that confidentiality because of your channel alone

I can't say how much I appreciate your videos. I adopted a stubborn, wild dog about six weeks ago and she has made huge improvements. Now that she's five months old, I'm over the pulling on the leash, so I got her a head harness. Can't wait for our walk tonight! She's going to be a great dog and you're helping. Thanks a bunch.

River has such long floppy ears, I love it! What and adorable good boy. Thanks for all the work you do, Joel! I appreciate you sharing your knowledge with us 😄

Thank you for sharing this! I lost my dog recently and ever since then i being watching your videos and learning alot about your training methods cause when ever i get another one in the future i wanna train them right on the basics

River is a beautiful dog and looks great on the leash. I can watch these videos all day!

Very educational. Great demo & clear instruction - no treats every 3 seconds as so many do. Puppy was happy.

thank you from the Sunshine Coast Australia. I bought a gentle leader alternative and just took my five year old Border Collie on a walk. WE WALKED!!! Cannot believe how this worked for him. A lot of gentle reminders and following your door method I think I can once again enjoy walking my boy...so happy

Wow, he’s doing great! I’m impressed! What a beautiful puppy! He loves you. I’m one of the people you’ve helped have amazing walks with my dog Booker.❤️🐕‍🦺

I have a one-year-old and a three-month-old and the doorway method works for me! Thank you so much for teaching me this little trick and they're much better on walks! Love my fur babies

I used a gentle leader on my 5 mo. Puppy yesterday and it was the first enjoyable walk we've had!!! He didn't like it at first but once we started walking it worked great!!!

Joel thank you so much for your excellent work and service to All of us pet parents ❤.

I never thought a dog couldn't learn. I adopted last June she slept about 3 days coming from a shelter, Patience is everything!! I had her compeat with my 9 yr old service dog on everything, last week she passed her PACT test and now my 10 yr old lets her do everything she is now 2 Thank you for your teaching I enjoy wisdom,👍 Tam in Tex🤠

These are my favorite videos with River! I have a Great Dane too, 8 months old. It’s so good to gauge his behavior compared to River. Thank you for explaining their mental state at certain ages. Would love to hear about your training of tigers and how it differs in comparison to the dogs. Great videos, thanks for the awesome content!

I love how he looks at the camera while he is sitting waiting to go out the door. Like he knows. Good boy River.

I have always taught my dogs a "go potty" command. That way they know that I want them to get on with doing their business. It was always helpful when we have thunderstorms and you want to get them in and out quickly for a potty break.

I like that the connect to the regular collar. But Petco has one like the original GL and it's thin I like that just have to use 2 leashes jn cash it would come open. You crack me up Joel that intro was all your personality and a boundary that we should not be allowing! I had to watch you got me at the intro

Best trainer in my opinion, your methods work the best ❤️🍀thanks.

After him telling us to stop looking at the dog, I had a really hard time with that. 😂 Great Dane mom here. He's SOOOO cutteeeee!!! I also just got my 4& 1/2 month old great dane pup a gentle leader. He naturally does really well with leash walking but wants to walk a little further ahead of me than his shoulders lined up with my side. The gentle leader is the perfect tool to fine tune that. I have much higher expectations for him because he is my service dog in training. I have years of experience training dogs (It's been my passion since I was a kid) and have a very well behaved pack of dogs, yet I needed a much higher level of training for my service dog prospect. He's such an easy dog to train, and all of your videos have been invaluable to me for all of the little tweaks here and there. Thank you!

Thanks Joel - the head halter was a GAME CHANGER!

Back in 1995 I got a big golden retriever. Our walks especially early on were full of stops, changes in direction, figure 8s and so on. He was great.

Loved this, I have a 4 month old Great Dane using your method it’s working , mine all he wants to do is play rough with my other dog , but I’m still working it

Joel, I love how sassy you are. It keeps me coming back for more. 😅

I was literally thinking about how I needed this video. Perfect timing!

I loved the start of the video. Good for you Joel, the "Gentle Leader" people should be cutting you a check or giving you a brand deal. You should be reaching out to the big companies in the world of dog accessories and working on brand deals, your channel is growing and you have an extremely loyal fan base that defends you against detractors, I know do.

Your training videos work great with my Greyhound lab mix.

What a wonderful walk with a ‘gud boi’! Good decision to say head halter rather than GL. There are other better brands that aren’t as well known. I like the Halti because of their safety strap and it sits better on the muzzle.

Great video Joel! Gentle Leader has greatly helped with my 14 month GSD as all other tools did not work. Still work in progress, but I think I am on the right path. I would love to see a video where the dog walks with all the members of his family. My GSD is very difficult to walk when the kids are ahead of us.

River and Joel's energy is so good together.

Amazing progress

I'm glad to know that I helped my pup not use the head halter the right way. After a certain time, I would detach it at parts of our walk - and re-attach it I needed too. And it has worked!

Thank you for your videos, I’m planning on getting a dog and you teach a lot of useful lessons

What a lovely dog.

super awesome video... this is exactly the stage im in with my new pittie... this leader is absolutely gamechanging for walking reactive dogs...

I have a small shih tzu puppy, but your vids help me with training him

I bought the smallest they had for my Rat Terrier it’s still too small. She’s a small snout so I’ll get my hubby to get used to the slip leash bc he still lets the dog run amuck and that really ticks me off so I’ve got to train him too, so she doesn’t take him for a run. The way you teach is how I’ve taught all my dogs thru the years! Fantastic video😌👍🏽🌹

I have a 2 yr old German Shepard that has lived in a kennel with no people or dog interactions. Could not get her to walk on a leash. Tried a head harness and OMG she is like a new dog. Thanks sooooo much.

You’re a phenomenal dog trainer & I’ve learned so much from your videos! Remember it’s “Head Halter” from here on out. Yes, I always watch you but hard not to look at the great dogs. I’ve noticed most of not all your leash walking is with boy dogs. My 5 month Kelpie is a girl pup and she walks very well thanks to your education. Thank you.

Very helpful, thank you

definitely the best dog training videos on youtube, Robert Cabrall is pretty good too but hes against head halters...every trainer is different but guys that do balanced training is definitely the best (sorry Zak George and karens)

I agree , great job to have a dog be checking in to make sure everything is cool.

We began with the Gentle Leader at about 5 months old. They worked but my guys disliked. They'd want to roll around on the ground. We switched to Springer and still practiced your same method. We're at a year now. Walking solo, I can now switch to a regular collar. We still have to warm up, but when we're on the same pace, the leash can be held with 2 fingers. We practice our doorway stay every time. It feels awesome to leave the door wide open and they do not move until I say so. Breeds: pit bull and Presa Canario

Great Video! Thank You

I use the flat collar when I walk my very ‘in front’ dog, but I can manage the corrections on those…….thanks Joel. My husband has to use the gentle leader all the time as dog training isn’t his forte. This gives him better control and makes for a better walk for him. When I would go to a high stimulus activity, like agility, would use the gentle leader as my dog would get frantic when some of the other dogs would do their run through. He’s stopped all that now, that was a great way to train the reactivity. I would know which dogs he would he would be reactive with and would start walking, changing direction, stopping, use obedience and some play to keep him with me, before and during the other dogs run. He’s soooo good now, he stays ‘with me’ nearly 100% of the time at agility, stopped completely being reactive on walks. The improvement is amazing. It took a lot of work……a lot…..for a long time, just had to be persistent and persevere and there were times when I thought we will never get there. I’m not a professional trainer, so not as good and practiced as someone like Joel who would have been more successful sooner.

Thanks for this video I have a husky that loves to pull And bought a gentle leader today and gonna test it out with my husky to see how she does

Hey Beckman family,🐾🌼, This is another awesome video. Living in the city our boy has been with the gentle leader for months. I do take it off when loose lease in open field, some times clip to collar there's just so many dogs here that it's difficult.

He's awesome --- as are you. Great video, again.!

Much love from Las Vegas ❤ 💕

I have a 5 months old Doberman Great at door technique and heals when I stop very very well Once we get out she wants to eat and sniff everything Bolts and jumps today I’m off to purchase a head halter Top video! Thanks

Love this! Find the right tool and use it. 😍

I have an 8 year old rescue, lab/pitbull mix who is incredibly strong. Just got a head halter and after one day (three days acclimating) he is a changed boy. Such a relief.

i highly recomend using 2 leashes especially for saftey incase one slips of, great tips.

I use a gentle leader on my 8 month spoo but not for pulling. He’s an SDIT so I mainly use it for directional purposes but he already heels without it. Also, there’s a lot of misconception around it and people assume the dog is aggressive or something so will try to avoid it. My dog isn’t any of that but it helps deter people from trying to pet him or approach him when he’s on duty in public which is good because a lot of people think he’s oh-so adorable lol.

I think when people say leash reactive, or just reactive, they imagine it means aggressive. Not always. My dog is a social butterfly and wants to meet everyone... and chase anything that will run lol. He's friendly, plays well with 95% of dogs, and loves 99% of people.

I’ve been doing the down and to the side technique now for months. Works great for pulling and pretty good for one of my dog’s reactivity. I can say now though that it is not working for my little guy’s reactivity. Did it on the regular collar and gentle leader and he simply does not care that he’s being corrected. At my wits end with him.

Most well behaved puppy I've seen.

Love River! GD owner here and probably always will be.

lol "I know you stare at the dogs.. "🤣🤣🤣 river is such a good boy. Great Dane puppy?

Chester is doing great

If you haven't already recommend checking out the head harnesses from Genuine Dog Gear, they were brought to my attention by one of the veterinary technicians I work with and while they still do bother the dogs I've found them a bit easier for some to accept then the gentle leader brand due to where the leash clips and they personally sit a bit better on my dog.

Great video!

I call the chuff a "boof". We had Malteses growing up and they always did that! It was like they had to have the last word with a "boof".

Haven't heard of gentle leader in Australia but Halti's widely available. Sounds like you are plugging a company that really doesn't care, time to move on. I've learned so much from these videos don't ever stop 💖

I like the video so I liked the video 👍

Can't believe he's only 5 months old. He's so good! My female Australian Cattle dog is 8.5 months old. I trained her with your method. She's good indoors, backyard, driveway, but once we step off the driveway into the neighborhood she's like a different dog. She's pulling like crazy. I make 2 steps and need to bend and tug as you showed us to do but I feel foolish going through the neighborhood like that. She looks at me turns around and pulls again. I stop and don't move, she stops, but once we move she pulls again. I even put on a head halter today. She went nuts. rubbing her face on the ground, throwing herself on the ground, and wriggling with all 4 legs in the air to get it off. We didn't even get to go for a walk because she just would not stop. She's smart and obedient otherwise just the pulling is driving me crazy. She's also afraid of other dogs, of any size, even if she just hears them barking she tucks her tail in and wants to sprint home. She's not afraid of people though. Walks are no fun with her at the moment. My 12 year old dog, however, is a pleasure to walk now, he was awful too but when I started using your method over a year ago everything changed with him. So thank you for all your videos!

Dang that's an amazing 5-month-old dog! My street-rescue pitbull was pretty crazy till about 9 months. I thought I remembered u saying most dogs aren't ready for loose leash till 9 months? 🐾❤️

I'd love to see a product review of different head halters if you haven't done it already!

My girl is so obedient, I also use that (Item). but during day I can take nose part off and she's fine obeying. Thank you!

Oh man, I owe Joel something, at least a bottle of whiskey. I've been watching your videos for the past month and a half learning a hell of a lot. I managed to get a great loose leash walk a while ago, as long as there were no major triggers around, then it was time for a freak out. After establishing a good leash relationship with her, I finally felt ready for the head halter. After practising with it a bit before dinner, we went out for a real test just now. As luck would have it, maybe a minute after I left, my mother in law swung by our house for a visit. My Buttercup, was triggered, as always by the moving car and definitely tried to own me again with a public freak out, she whined for a few minutes while standing but after a few minutes she realized that those days were over and we proceeded to walk. Test #2 - These nice highschool kids were parked in their car just eating burgers and fries and whatnot. I asked them if they minded if I approached them cautiously, sure. We went up to the car, she even got to have a bit of BBQ sauce! We then went out onto the main road, major freak out zone. She seemed a bit nervous by the traffic, but nothing happened that was unmanageable. She is also majorly triggered by cars coming out of this one very specific street and as luck would have it, a car came out while I tied my shoe. No freak out!

A slip lead is working for my dog! I’ve tried that head harness before and it wasn’t secure enough and all he did was try to take it off. He’s walking perfect w the slip lead. I yank it a little when he tries pulling and make the NO sound. I praise him w GOOD BOYS and occasional treats. Now we have yet to meet up w another dog. We shall see….

Umm…I am super embarrassed, I can my Gentle Leader on upside down. 😮 🙈🤦🏻 Thank you for your help. I have a 6 month old | 65lb Great Dane and have had him 1 full day. This is going to help so much! I am so glad you used the Gentle Leader. I have one and now I know how to truly use it. 😅😊😂

Try a "walk n train." Ive used head halters for years, and this one is the best i have found. No i dont get a check from them either, but i recommend this brand in all my training classes.

Perfect!

Hi Joel , I have a question about young dogs. Mine is now 1 year and a half but I would like to know what the fear period is. You’re the first person I’ve heard this from and if I had that information I probably would have done things differently and not have to correct some behaviors. Could you do a video about the various stages of the fear period? Thank you for all the work you put into this channel!

Hi Joel this boy is amazing with your training… would you maybe do an exersice video (cycling with a dog) f.eg.?

Great video as always. I was wondering if you could put out a quick video about foxtails? I just learned about them and feel as though not many dog parents are aware of the dangers. Thanks!

Omg I need this so much. My dog flips out when I go to the door. He will sit for me to put it on after going crazy first. 🤦🏻‍♀️Going to try these methods asap!

The walk with my 8 months puppy dachshund was improving all thanks to ur method. But only thing is he bark at dogs, kids and runner. Should i go to the obedience courses. Thanks a million!

Can you address the different fear stages of a puppy? I got a boxer at 4mo... She is now 1yr and 10 mo. She has finally settled down. Thanks to your out the door method!!!

"Just a little stop in the middle of the road, no big deal" 😂

The “head halter“has really helped me Plus watching your videos on pulling in this video you mentioned that and in your other ones you that once you put your leash on and there is no pulling there is no criteria for pulling away but what if you take your dog to the park and then you want to practice recall or let him run then you hold them back isn’t that the same as pulling on the leash

Whoa what sorcery is this “Gentle leader” of which you speak. I must obtain one of these artifacts for myself. But seriously I’d never heard of one of these I’m going to get one asap

PLEASE I hope you, or someone reads this to answer!!! First, thank you SO MUCH for your wisdom and amazing teaching!! Secondly, I want to change all of my prongs and chain collars to what you suggest--BUT HERE IS THE MAIN QUESTION--searching for gentle lead and head halter come up with 2 different results--just “gentle lead” is where the leash attaches to the chest area so does pull them away as you suggest instead of pull their neck back BUT I’ve heard you say so many times “the mouth end is still out there” which to me means I should actually be looking at the head halters! My confusion lies in if you’re using the term interchangeably, because I see in some videos where the pup has the head halter strap on (not the muzzle ones I know there’s a big difference) and others where when you give the corrections it’s pulling them from the chest like a gentle lead would. Because you do it correctly and so smoothly with the loose leash so often (I swear you’re a wizard lol) it’s hard for me to tell where exactly the leash is attached all the time. They’re different products, I understand, but I’m not understanding the difference between maybe how you’re using the term or when to use one over the other. THANK YOU SO MUCH AGAIN!!! If anyone knows the answer or can make sense of what I’m asking, any feedback is greatly appreciated!! Keep up the AMAZING work!!!

He’s doing good especially for so young and being there a short amount of time. Enjoyed the video but how in the world did I miss the live stream questions??!!!!! I’m angry……but I can go back and watch so ok release myself 🤣😂

Joel, Will Atherton from Fenrir does proactive stops. I think you'd like him.

I just ordered one of these. My 1 yr old cocker spaniel loves to just take off. Hopefully this helps.

That’s Scooby Doo, right there

I recall seeing a head halter where the ring is placed on the back of the neck, I believe on Etsy. I haven’t tried it yet but every time I’m using one of these harnesses it comes across my mind. I have been using your leash method for a while on multiple dogs and it’s definitely been a game changer for me. I do notice though that some dogs respond better if I walk the opposite direction…mostly small to medium, very high energy dogs. Today I worked with a dog and for 30 minutes I was in front of a random house just going back and forth, the homeowners looked at me like I was crazy. But as we would start to advance he just wouldn’t stop going out on his own, so I was refusing to advance any further until he was next to me. I’m sure it’s something I’m doing wrong so any insight on that would be great. It’s worth noting that the owner has been walking him on a prong and that’s been working great for them, he walks right next to her and it makes the walk more enjoyable for her. Today, I was using his regular flat collar.