Pulling on leash....should I use a harness?
 
But Chiquita has started either pulling very hard or taking the leash in her mouth as if to say she's walking me. Does a harness help give me more control? And would it be a bad idea to keep the harness on her at all times? She has a collar that we never take off but she's about to grow out of it. I'm wondering what to buy next. If I buy a harness style collar do I have to put the whole thing on every time we want to walk? Or do you just leave them on? Thanks! You all are the best! I don't know what I would do without ya'll. |
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| FWIW - I don't leave collars on my dogs unless we are out and about.
For the pulling there are many methods to stop that. One of the most popular is to stop when she pulls you - better yet abruptly change direction. Somewhere I read that was referred to as the crazy person walk - cause that's what your neighbors will think. We use a variation of the crazy person walk along with a prong collar on our Newfie puppy and he is now very easy to walk and not likely to ever pull us (he still wears the prong on walks becasue he is only 13 months old and still training other behaviors) any collar or harness you use is really just a tool to help the dog learn a skill, in this case not to pull. that said I have to admit my agility OES still loves to pull me, its a work in progress with her. |
| I think a harness will allow the dog to pull you more, as the dog will be more comfortable pulling. A Halti would give you more control I think? Hmm.. maybe that's what I need too? |
| Just took her for a walk and tried some of the suggestions. Stopping and then waiting for her to get back with me seemed to help in connection with turning and walking the other direction. Mostly I think it kept her more interested in the walk. Just the other week I couldn't get her to stop sitting and refusing to walk. How fast it is that now the problem is that she's pulling. Seems like the challenges are changing from day to day.
Thanks! You all are great! |
| Because Mags has an extremely sensitive throat, we had used a harness and got completely dominated! When we finally took her to obedience school, the instructor got us humans over our fear we were hurting her with a normal collar and we completely stopped using the harness except when driving and she gets strapped into a seat belt. His words were, "Remember the swing as a kid? Did you try to swing on it while on your stomach? Didn't you work really hard to see how high you would get? Wasn't it fun? It's kind-of the same thing....the harness doesn't hurt the dog, but makes them work harder in attempt to get to wherever they want to go." Hence, he doesn't really like the harness when it is time to make some progress and get some work done.
Mags continues to pull, but when I am alone, we use the prong collar. It has worked pretty well and I have yet to get pulled to the ground! |
| what is a prong collar? |
DannyboyStephjoy's OES wrote: what is a prong collar?
it probably looks like one of the most barbaric collars on the market - in practice it is less likely to cause injury to your dog than any other collar available. It is hard to describe - but google it and you will find many many pages about the prong - emotions can run high on both sides of the argument. I use a prong currently on all of our dogs- for different reasons, one only uses it around other dogs (and she uses a baby prong cause she is a very soft dog); one has a big prong (the bigger normal prongs are actually used for the easier to train dog - its sort of counterintuitive) for some obedience training; one uses a large prong all the time on walks - he is 9 years old and never learned not to pull without it - but hey he is 9 years old, and we never need to really use the prong - its more of a safety net; one uses a mid size prong for basic training and since we train on walks he has it on then as well. The best thing I ever did was find a good trainer who uses a prong when appropriate and correctly - it saves a lot of time and effort and retraining. |
| I second the halti/gentle leader. A lifesaver for us! |
| I hate the gentle leader /Halti.
They do control the dog, but no actual training happens. They are the biggest cop out for people. They are under the illusion their dog is well behaved, but surprise, they only behave when the devise is on. Because they have no choice. If they pull, they will break their neck. (OK, not likely, but neck injury is going to happen). Take the gentle leader off, and you still have a pulling dog. Even dogs who have worn them for YEARS still pull without them. What a waste. |
got sheep wrote: I hate the gentle leader /Halti.
They do control the dog, but no actual training happens. They are the biggest cop out for people. They are under the illusion their dog is well behaved, but surprise, they only behave when the devise is on. Because they have no choice. If they pull, they will break their neck. (OK, not likely, but neck injury is going to happen). Take the gentle leader off, and you still have a pulling dog. Even dogs who have worn them for YEARS still pull without them. What a waste. and they can cause injuries. I have one for each of my dogs - we were made to use them in an earlier "training" class. They never learned not to pull with them. |
At least for us, we are very confident that no matter how hard Yuki pulls and she's an extreme puller... she will never be or cause an injury.  If we take off the leash and she's still a puller ...that's fine because this thing makes walks for us so effortless and enjoyable! |
| i also go for the gentle leader |
| just so you know - Dawn, who is advising against the GL is a trainer. |
| I found a normal collar is all that is required.
The harness was an aid to pulling, the haltie was a new puzzle toy that was fun to try and remove even more fun than a walk! So I stick with a nylon adjustable collar, kept reasonaly lose. But then I am a reasonably large person 210lbs 6'2" When Archi used to get his locomotion into gear, I would check him with the lead, sometimes lifting him clean off his front & rear legs, normally just checking him into my legs does the trick, and before he gets speed up and needs a serious check, I stop have a little chat to him, then proceed, over the last few months he seems to get the idea that it is easier to walk alongside me, and that soon enough he'll get some off lead play if he behaves. But obviously each dog is different and they all control us in different ways  |
Hint of Mischief wrote: I think a harness will allow the dog to pull you more, as the dog will be more comfortable pulling. A Halti would give you more control I think? Hmm.. maybe that's what I need too?
I'd agree with that! We had Bally on a harness when he was littler and the pulling got pretty awful. Now he's on a Halti, and although he hates it at the beginning of the walk and tries to step on his own head,once he's past that it's made walks so much more enjoyable for us. So now I have the patience to work on correcting the pulling through training
EDIT: The Halti we use just gently closes Bally's mouth when he pulls.... nothing to do with his neck. He could safely keep pulling if he wanted, it's just that he doesn't like the sensation |
**Bally** wrote: Hint of Mischief wrote: I think a harness will allow the dog to pull you more, as the dog will be more comfortable pulling. A Halti would give you more control I think? Hmm.. maybe that's what I need too? I'd agree with that! We had Bally on a harness when he was littler and the pulling got pretty awful. Now he's on a Halti, and although he hates it at the beginning of the walk and tries to step on his own head,once he's past that it's made walks so much more enjoyable for us. So now I have the patience to work on correcting the pulling through training EDIT: The Halti we use just gently closes Bally's mouth when he pulls.... nothing to do with his neck. He could safely keep pulling if he wanted, it's just that he doesn't like the sensation it does affect the neck believe me! |
| I have used both a Halti and a prong collar for Bella. The Halti provides slightly better control than the prong but the prong is significantly easier to put on and Bella readily sits while I put it on her. Neither stopped her from pulling all together but along with changing directions and just stopping she's learning, or I am getting trained. Not sure which. |
| harley is the exact same way...he first of all wouldn't walk on a leash now he walks normal until we are circling back around the block and on our way home and wants to bolt to the house...and we are a block away...i tried the reverse direction and it didn't really seem to do anything kinda my fault i tried it a few times and then headed home in annyance and freezing my butt off in canada...lol....im just trying to hold him close to me...and he also holds the leash in his mouth too until i say no bite...lol...when he is a bit older and if he is still doing it i would highly recomend the pinch collar...love that thing...not a fan of the haltie |
| I am a fan of the harness that when you pull the leash the harness tightens on the chest. Quercus was easy to walk with it on and didn't mind it. We kept it on him all day until bed when it was taken off. He has outgrown his harness and I cannot control him with just his collar on. Today he pulled me across a parking lot of ice! I think I will be getting a prong collar for training purposes.
Good luck with your decision! |
| I think it all depends on the dog, our first sheepie Sam a sweet gentle little lady only needed her regular collar, our second sheepie , the big goof Dudley needed a prong , and now Dutch, our bossy little madame walks best with a Gentle Leader |
| Winnie was a puller. Our trainer taught us to stop when she starts to pull us, and then back up. She also recommended the Easy Walk harness - and we use that all the time.
The Easy Walk harness fits so that the "ring" the leash is attached to is in the front. Winnie simply cannot pull with it in that position. Problem solved. |
| ^^
I've thought about getting one of those too! |
Joahaeyo wrote: ^^
I've thought about getting one of those too! I'll third the front-ring harness. I got one of those when Basil's mom was having trouble with him pulling on walks. It doesn't seem to control him, but rather makes the project of pulling a futile one. It really can make the walks easier for someone not confident in their ability out-muscle a big dog. I've been walking him on a regular collar more often recently, and in-line with comments on the GLs he'll, sometimes, pull... however working on the heel command has reduced it significantly. |
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