Should I Try a Harness for Walking?

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Psalms

Forums Regular
Hi, All!

So 6-month-old Sammy pulls terribly on the leash. I bought him a Gentle Leader. He hates it so much that he won't even walk when it is on but spends all his time pawing at it and trying to bite it. I was gazing longingly at the harnesses at PetSmart today, but I don't want to invest more money unless there is hope that it will work. Sammy is the guy who thinks his Thundershirt is a fashion statement....just sayin'.... Janet
 
When I asked my breeder about a harness, he strongly discouraged it, saying they never fit quite right and wind up being way more trouble than they're worth.
 
I use an Easy Walk harness on all of mine, just for the reason that they have slipped their collars on me and I will not go through the anguish of trying to find a lost dog. They do no pull with them, walking quite comfortably and I walk three at a time.
 
Every dog is different, so I guess my best advice would be to try it and see what you think.

We now use a harness for Lerwick, and it works well for us. We had the exact same experience with the Gentle Leader that you described. We followed the GL directions perfectly not only in the fitting process, but also the acclimation process. Trying to build up his tolerance, etc. Got completely the opposite reaction. Every time we put the GL on him, it was WORSE than the time before, not better, until it got to the point where we were having to chase him around the house for 15 minutes just to put the thing on him. And forget about actually WALKING with that thing on him.

We actually got the Easy Rider harness just to use to strap Lerwick into the car. We hadn't planned to use it to walk him. Frankly, we expected him to hate it, like he hated the GL. We were amazed... it didn't bother him in the least! We put the harness on him in the store to make sure it fit, and we expected him to struggle, or at the very least for there to be an adjustment period. Nope. He was perfectly happy from the moment we put it on him. We clipped the leash to the harness when we left the store, just to see how it would go, and no more pulling!

It is important to get one that fits well, of course. Ours is lined with fleece and some padding so it doesn't rub him wrong. As I said, he's never showed the least bit of discomfort with it.
 
Harness Response

Like Emmasmom I also use Easy Walk harnesses on my three and I walk them at the same time. Logan (18 months) and Holly (11 months) were both pullers - this harness did the trick for me. When I tried the Gentle Leader Holly would throw all 10 lbs of herself of the ground and refuse to walk and yet my neighbor with 3 Goldens swears by the Gentle Leader for his boys. Each dog is different. You should be able to return the Gentle Leader for a refund; I did. Best of luck with Sammy!
 
not all harnesses are created equal... and they aren't all designed for pulling!
I recommend the Freedom harness or any front clip harness to discourage pulling and then you are to start training.... much easier on the dog than a halti/gentle leader, in my experience.

Lots of dogs are fine and if they have been properly trained with a harness they can transition to a collar. As long as you put in the training, they can definitely learn with either :D I just prefer the harness (nowdays...) I was a LONG LONG hold out and thought a harness is foolish, lol.. but I am truly converted now after experiencing leash training with harness.
Good luck, I am sure he will do fine :D
 
Thank you so much, dear Friends. Your input has been very helpful. I am still strongly considering the harness.

And I do agree about the necessity for training. Today we had a very good day. Here is how it went. Shortly after I posted my question it was time for another walk, which as usual I dreaded. But I said to myself, "Woman, get a grip. If Cesan Milan can tame a 100-lb. snarling Pitbull, you can walk an 18-lb. Sheltie puppy on a leash, in the park, on a sunny day!"

First obstance: The park is about 3 miles away and Sam gets car sick. I was not to be deterred. Armed with a blanket, towels, water, and my new-found wisdom gleaned from the web ("How to Stop Leash Pulling") we headed for the park. This is a great place because it has a giant sports field that is not used in the winter, and apparently no other dog owners have discovered it because I never see anyone there.

Sammy made it there vomit free, for the first time ever! He was a little drooly, but he did not throw up. I put the leash on him and we started our training. Every time he started to pull I would step backwards, forcing him to look at me. Then I would praise him, give him a treat, and carry on. Because this park was so free of distractions, he got the idea pretty quickly, and after a little while he was doing really well. I think we are going to try to do this every day for a while. For a reward he got to play fetch in the beautful sunshine.

Home we went, no car sickies, one happy tired puppy and one happy woman. Janet
 
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