Walking harness

[Caro]

Isn't there a bunch of controversy about those harnesses negatively affecting how the pup walks?

There is a tendency to pull in a harness because the dog needs to lean into the front strap to move forward. Every dog should be taught how to loose lead walk on a collar first. It is actually much easier to teach a dog not to pull in a collar, and this then translates much better to a harness, whereas teaching not to pull in a harness is much harder. All our beginner and level 1 classes are taught in a collar (flat or martingale) and then once the dog has mastered loose lead walking the owners can switch to whatever collar or harness they use everyday.

When Deska was more able bodied we'd go bushwalking in harnesses and I'd have a flexi-lead on the harness which, while it gave more freedom, did teach him to pull slightly in a harness (he never pulls in a collar). But that was actually good for me because I have mobility issues and the slight pressure helped stabilise me. But since we don't go bush walking and I rarely use the flexi-lead, he's reverted to his normal walking in a heel position. Shame for me: it's probably one of the few reasons to value a pulling dog.

 

[Cubby2014]

Cubby absolutely refuses to be controlled by a collar of any kind. From the time he was a pup to now he utterly goes insane with neck control. When I figured this out we went to a Ruffwear Webmaster. What I did is taught him to walk by shopping. We would go to pet friendly stores and literally just wander. Left, right, U turns, stopping, waiting while looking, taking 5 steps and waiting, then going back where we were before. This taught him that apparently there is never actually a goal of going anyplace. Thus, Cubby has never pulled. It's when you teach them there is a goal and they want to get there faster than you that they pull. I've seen a whole lot of dogs pulling on flat collars, pulling on martingales til they gag, and of course pulling on harnesses. By and large it is in the teaching.

 

[SKNerissa]

Isn't there a bunch of controversy about those harnesse negatively affecting how the pup walks?

Yes, our veterinary chiropractor is against most harnesses and all halti/head collars. The front and side attach harnesses affect thier gait and can do quite a bit of damage when the dog's pulling is corrected. The other harnesses encourage pulling and most interfere with the shoulder movement which can cause problems over time. Head collars/halti's are bad for the dog's neck. Her recomendation has been to use a martingale collar until she saw my sheltie's ComfortFlex harness now she reomends those as, according to her, the floating ring, padding, and strap locations make it an ideal harness for the chiropractic health of the dog