Husher

gettingready

Hi all,

A friend of mine who works as dog behaviourist told me about HUSHER.

Has anyone got any experience of using one?


HUSHER

The link above is to an Australian website but I googled it and it can be also bought in UK via :

Paws Ability

It looks like a muzzle but it is not - a dog can breathe, eat, drink as normal while wearing this - it just stops the dog barking like mad.

I have seen reviews and recommendations but.....

Any personal experience of using those on yoru own dogs?

Thanks a lot

Raksha

A dog barks for a reason - find out what that reason is and you can usually stop the barking.

Prevent the dog from physically barking and you set yourself up for all sorts of other unwanted behaviours from licking (lick granulomas) to pacing, scratching at doors, aggression etc.

What studying has your friend done? What bodies is she a member of?

chay22

Totally agree with the post above.

Find the cause of the barking and address it, it may take time but better for all concerned n the long run.

gettingready

Raksha/Chay - and your point is?

I am not asking about advice on dog barking
- I am asking for personal experince of anyone who may have used the HUSHER.

I have asked a simple question - if you have no personal experince of using one (HUSHER) why do you even bother trying to reply, wasting your and my time with irrelevant comments?

giantmutantbroccoli

The HusherTM is a very simple but effective training aid. It is made from stretchable elastic, with webbing around the elastic to limit the expansion of the dog's snout. The elastic exerts a firm yet humane pressure around the snout, similar to that applied by a canine pack leader to maintain dominance.

When pressure is applied around their snout, the controlled expansion of The HusherTM tires the muscles very easily. After a few short barks, dogs find it easier and less tiresome not to exhibit nuisance behaviour.

This amount of pressure though still allows your pet to breathe (from both the front and back of the mouth), pant, drink and eat with ease.

The bolded line makes me very wary of this product and their claims for it. I have never seen a dog "apply gentle pressure" to another dog's muzzle. They lick and chew on each other's faces, sure, but they don't hold each other's mouths shut! I've also never read about it - and I've read a lot about dog and wolf behaviour. If they did, the pressure would only last for a few minutes, tops - not for however long you leave the muzzle thing on the dog.
It's also "scientifically proven to be 100% Humane!" I'd love to SEE that proof, but I don't know how you would get it.
I don't always agree with Raksha where aversive training methods are concerned, but I'm absolutely with her on this one. I'm pretty sure all this is going to do is distress the dog and make it find some other, possibly more destructive, outlet for its feelings. It certainly doesn't resolve the problem.

[EDIT]

why do you even bother trying to reply, wasting your and my time with irrelevant comments?

gettingready, people are trying to be helpful here. Their comments are certainly not irrelevant - they're explaining why they would not use something like the husher to quiet their dogs.

gettingready

Oh and again....people on high horses .... and not on topic...

I do not particularly care who agrees with whom and why - this is not what I have asked in the opening post....

Just curious if anyone has used it - nothing more...

I can read and google and read and google and read and google ....
myself thanks a lot....

Looking for personal experiences - there is enough theory on the net....

gettingready

It is not about "would you/wouldn't you" though , is it?

It is about "have you"?

Sigh.....

OK, leaving you to it... giving up. It does not seem to be possible to have any kind of question posted here without the army of do goodies putting their 2 pence worth regardless of it being relevant/not relevant....

Enjoy the slanging match that will no doubt start any minute on this thread - I am out of here.

giantmutantbroccoli

All three of us answered your original question:

Any personal experience of using those on yoru own dogs?

Answer -No, and then an explaination as to why not.
I'll admit I might have gotten a bit carried away with criticising the product but it is in no way an attack on your good self. You don't have to defend yourself, nobody is attacking you (AFAIK).
OT
I'd love to stay for the slanging match but I'm suffering altitude sickness from the unexpected height of the moral highground. Guess I better get off the soapbox before I fall off.

mrcol1000

Hushers, choke chains? Have you considered getting help from a dog trainer rather than trying to punish the bad behaviour out of your dog(s)? Have you tried googling it again to see if you can get any first hand experiences of it as the dogs in the photo do not look that comfortable so I doubt there are many people on this board who have used one.

Just look at the eyes of the dogs in the photos on the website to see the dead miserable look on their face while they are wearing

~Chameleon~

Can't see anything humane about gagging a dog to be honest!

sarabe

Have a look at this link. It is a better solution.

http://www.mekuti.co.uk/calm_bands.htm

I would have welfare concerns about the husher.