does anyone have a suggestion for a harness that i could keep on my puppy all the time, rather than trying to put it on each time we go out. she is an australian shepherd, so her hair is kind of long and i don't want it to pinch or pull. i use a regular collar now, and she pulls so hard that she chokes. and i am afraid she may slip out of it at some point. i have a choke collar, put it on her one day and just can't do that again. my vet suggested the harness. and when she was temporarily blind, the harness would have felt much better. thank you.

[Lara's mom]

I wouldn't suggest leaving either a collar or a harness on all the time.

I would not leave anything on your dog all the time. Why does your dog need a harness? Does she have a Collapsed trachea? A harness is going to create a lot of BAD walking habits. They should really only be used on a dog that has a health problem that prevents then for wearing a collar. A harness was developed to help dogs pull so putting one on your puppy will encourage her to drag you down the street.

Is your vet a trainer? I would also not use a choke chain (they are a very outdated training tool and hard to use correctly) I would suggest a Gentle Leader or a pinch collar. Are you working with a trainer to help with the pulling? Remember all these things are only tools to be used with a proper training program.

IMO I wouldn't leave one on her at all times and feel a gentle leader is a better way to go. Talk with a training professional to understand more.

i had a similar problem with a white german shepherd dog and realized that i was incorrect with the way i was correcting the dog so i dont know how you stop your dog from pulling but i found that if you jerk the leash with a firm but light tug toward you while keeping the leash short works best and if you feel yourself getting tense while you are walking you should immediately stop and take a break because as the dog senses that you are getting tense in my experience they pull more. i also read that if you pull straight back on the leash to try to stop the dog from pulling it triggers an instinct to pull in their mind which is why you correct them by pulling to the side.

[Popcorn]

i suggest a good collar and lead, harness are ment for huskie to pull sledges, not good for general everyday walking.

when you set off if your dog pull, immediately turn and walk a different way, keep doing this and it keeps the dog wandering where its going. Do some figures of 8, i know you don't getvery far, but the dog will soon get the idea that it's to stay by you and walk, as it dosent know which way your going. Also you can try holding a tit bit in front of it's nose and saying heel, don't let it have the tit bit straight away, let it folow your hand for a while then praise and give the treat.

If you practice this for a while the dog will get the message and walk nicely, but it does take lots of training and practice.

let us know how you get on.

I don't leave collars on mine while in the house in case they get in to difficulties and caught up on something when i'm not in the house. It';s for safety reasons.

Originally Posted by orangedog

I would not leave anything on your dog all the time. Why does your dog need a harness? Does she have a Collapsed trachea? A harness is going to create a lot of BAD walking habits. They should really only be used on a dog that has a health problem that prevents then for wearing a collar. A harness was developed to help dogs pull so putting one on your puppy will encourage her to drag you down the street.

Is your vet a trainer? I would also not use a choke chain (they are a very outdated training tool and hard to use correctly) I would suggest a Gentle Leader or a pinch collar. Are you working with a trainer to help with the pulling? Remember all these things are only tools to be used with a proper training program.

I also, would not suggest leaving a harness on your dog at all times. She needs to get used to you putting it on and off. Use treats while you put it on and take it off...practice just doing this a few times with the treats every day - you want to make it a good experience, not an experience that makes her anxious. As far as a harness creating bad walking habits, this is untrue, especially if you get the right kind. Premiere makes a harness called the "Easy Walk" and we use it on our Pit mix and she is doing very well. You have to get it fitted just right though, so make sure to watch the DVD on how it is done if you get one. You can get them from your vet or from Target. The Easy Walk has the clip in the front on the chest instead of on the back near the shoulders. The dog can't pull you because if they do they end up turning themselves towards you...which is something the dog will not like. Dogs want to move forward not back...And yes, do not use a choke collar. I use a Gentle Leader on my Doberman and a Pinch (Prong) on my GSD...you may have to do some experimenting to see which one your dog will respond to best. And yes, these are all just tools...you have to know how to properly trainer the dog to walk as well as use the correct tools.

Originally Posted by *tc*

IMO I wouldn't leave one on her at all times and feel a gentle leader is a better way to go. Talk with a training professional to understand more.

Gentle Leaders don't work for every single dog, so try it out and see if it works, if it doesn't, try something else...but don't expect it to work miracles right away, sometimes it takes time.

Originally Posted by Popcorn

i suggest a good collar and lead, harness are ment for huskie to pull sledges, not good for general everyday walking.

when you set off if your dog pull, immediately turn and walk a different way, keep doing this and it keeps the dog wandering where its going. Do some figures of 8, i know you don't get very far, but the dog will soon get the idea that it's to stay by you and walk, as it dosent know which way your going. Also you can try holding a tit bit in front of it's nose and saying heel, don't let it have the tit bit straight away, let it folow your hand for a while then praise and give the treat.

If you practice this for a while the dog will get the message and walk nicely, but it does take lots of training and practice.

Harnesses can be great for every day walking, really its all in the fit...Harnesses with the clip in the back are probably not going to help much, but the Easy Walk harness works pretty well. My GSD doesn't respond to it much, but my Pit mix does. The part I made orange in the quote would be something I would tell you to try also. The second that dog starts to pull, turn around and walk the other way...it really makes them go "HUH!?" haha