Dog harness

rising_from_the_ashes

Didn't want to hijack Polly's thread as my needs are slightly different.

Has anyone tried one of these


http://www.petplanet.co.uk/product_group.asp?dept_id=483&pg_id=437

Maisie walks OK on the lead most of the time but if we see other dogs she can literally drag me (and light I am not!:o).

She's not had much interaction with other dogs and does just want to say hello & play but not all dogs like that so have to put her on the lead if we see any and it's becoming more & more difficult to hang onto her!

krlyr

I did, back before I knew better, and really wish I hadn't subjected my dog to it. It tightens under the arm and made my girly quite sore (even with the supposed "non rub" sleeves), I only used it for a week max before binning it as she began to hate walks. I can imagine it making your problems worse as she may begin to associate the discomfort/pain with other dogs and get negative associations.
The harnesses mentioned on the other thread might help, with the front and back attachment points, they were designed to help with pulling. I would certainly try it over any style that tightens in any way. If you're not keen on the fleece style then look at the Mekuti harness or similar designs, they have the two points of attachment still.
Otherwise, as mentions, a headcollar could be an option just to give you that control.
You can treat barrier frustration in a very similar way to lead reactivity, though you have the bonus of using the incoming dog as a reward rather than it being a source of fear. So you keep Maisie below her threshold and her calm behaviour can be rewarded by getting let off-lead to play with the other dog. For obvious reasons, I'd recommend you start off with friends/stooge dogs for this but if you progress onto random dogs in the park, always shout over to the other owner first.

rising_from_the_ashes

Thanks Krlyr - will give it a miss then, the last thing I want is for her to be uncomfortable.

I don't really want a fleece one as the little minx runs through every muddy puddle when we're out & it would take a lot longer to dry out!

I am very selective about where she gets off lead (also have chasing issues which are being worked on too!) so we don't tend to meet very many dogs, which may be making things worse as when we do, she's getting more & more determined to get to them.

I will start working on taking her to more populated areas where we will meet more dogs but really want to know that I've full control before doing that.

Her recall is good when it's just me & her but if there's anything (dog, rabbit, cow, bird etc), I literally don't exist - a totally new experience for me as I've never had a dog that I've not been able to trust off lead before.

Hopefully with some training and as she gets used to seeing more dogs, she'll calm down a bit!

Caroline_a

If you're getting dragged on a normal collar, a harness will make it easier for her to pull you! They don't use harnesses on dog sledges to make it more difficult to pull...

I'm a Dogmatic fan, it means I can walk both of mine together (total weight about 90 kg!!) and still keep control if one or both of them sees something that they want to investigate.

krlyr

Caroline_a wrote: »

If you're getting dragged on a normal collar, a harness will make it easier for her to pull you! They don't use harnesses on dog sledges to make it more difficult to pull...

True, but there are so many different styles of harnesses. The style used for sled dogs, Cani-X etc. criss-cross over the body with a rear clip, to spread the force out and allow for maximum forward pull. The top position of the clip on most pet harnesses don't quite allow for this, and those with the additional front attachment are designed specifically to aid with pulling.

Front-attached harness demo'd on a "sled dog" here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTIoIoi6laU

In motion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QSjN31VfM0

Mekuti brand
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6L-EdCl-Lk

I have and use Dogmatics myself so definately find them useful, but given that the issue here is with Maisie's wanting to greet other dogs, I would try to use something that doesn't restrict her interaction with other dogs once she is acting appropriately - might be better to avoid a headcollar blocking her facial expression etc. (not a worry for me as mine is mostly for Casper's reactivity so I wouldn't be going over to greet the other dogs!)

Fridaycat

I haven't tried one of those either :p:D

gettingready

FC - want to see your lot pulling a sledge :P

Oliver14

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Didn't want to hijack Polly's thread as my needs are slightly different.

Has anyone tried one of these


http://www.petplanet.co.uk/product_group.asp?dept_id=483&pg_id=437

Maisie walks OK on the lead most of the time but if we see other dogs she can literally drag me (and light I am not!:o).

She's not had much interaction with other dogs and does just want to say hello & play but not all dogs like that so have to put her on the lead if we see any and it's becoming more & more difficult to hang onto her!

My mad 1 year old lab has industrial strength pulling at present. My Dog trainer who's helping me with her (as she is so wired and intelligent, a scary mix:eek:) anyway we were discussing the best way to stop her pulling because as much as we train her on a neck collar she only seems to walk loose lead for short periods of time. Anyway her opinion of those sort of harnesses are that they are more likely to encourage pulling and can make the dogs sore. I must admit I have seen some people locally being dragged by their dogs with those sort of harnesses.

So with her suggestion we have been using a Gentle leader head collar with a double ended lead (one part attached to the neck collar). I must admit I was amazed at the difference it's now a pleasure to walk her. So I am going to continue using it for the foreseeable future then at some point we hope to ween her off it back to the neck collar. One thing though if you consider going this route take your time and make sure it is used properly as one used inapropritely can make matters worse.

tango

Walkezee worked very well for us when our dog used to pull as it works on correcting from the side, now i can walk her on a normal lead , but it was great for the children

rising_from_the_ashes

krlyr wrote: »

given that the issue here is with Maisie's wanting to greet other dogs, I would try to use something that doesn't restrict her interaction with other dogs once she is acting appropriately - might be better to avoid a headcollar blocking her facial expression etc.

That's it exactly - once she gets to them she's fine, says hello etc - it's just I'd like to not be pulled over / have a battle to control her for the 500 metres in between her seeing them & actually getting to them!

Thanks for all the advice, will look into the options suggested - Oliver especially interested in the results with your young lab - but must admit the videos of the harness in action look pretty fantastic - just not sure how successful I'd be at getting her into one of them!

chatbug

Sorry only just seen this Rising, so pleased you did not buy the harness as the words of wisdom from Krlyr it is not a good harness. I got one for my young monster lab for the same reason you want one. He was so stressed out with it shaking his head out all the time on a walk. When it was walkies time he would go and hide not like him he loves his walks. At the moment gone back to old lead until i can find something better and he is now happy to go for his walks.
Got to get something very soon only 7 months and weighs 27kg.