Weasels Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 (edited) I am currently walking both my dogs on sporn harnesses when we are out on the road. I am very happy with this for my girl but I am thinking of changing to a front-attach harness for my boy. The main reasons being a) he pulls (not badly, I can walk both dogs with one hand, but he pulls more than my girl), b) he is reactive, and will lunge if a bike comes close to us and I can't move away in time, and c) he is a leggy fellow, so he sometimes gets caught trying to get in and out of the sporn harness. I don't want to use a head collar due to the lunging and I don't want to use a check chain etc. because he is a fearful little man. I am leaning towards a Sensible harness, but I wanted to check first if anyone had any other recommendations or reviews for harnesses suitable & safe for an occasionally lunging dog? Of course we are doing training as well but out in the street sometimes things happen, so if a harness will help during the training I'm keen to give it a try. Thanks :) Edited May 22, 2012 by Weasels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvsdogs Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 My obedience club uses & recommends front attaching harnesses. Can't think off hand what brands they are. We have 2 types. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RallyValley Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Clean Run have some on free shipping, I just ordered 2 as my dogs are fine for me to walk but sometimes my mum takes them both and they don't behave as well for her... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tilly Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Black Dog has them ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weasels Posted February 23, 2012 Author Share Posted February 23, 2012 I had a look at the black dog ones, but I couldn't quite figure them out :laugh: *off to check clean run* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weasels Posted February 23, 2012 Author Share Posted February 23, 2012 My obedience club uses & recommends front attaching harnesses. Can't think off hand what brands they are. We have 2 types. Do you know the difference between the 2 types off-hand? -- On a side note I just found 4 things I wanted between the Clean Run home page and reaching the harnesses section Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charley101 Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 I love Sense-ible Harnesses, I have used them for years and have never had any problems. You can get them on Ebay from an Aussie seller :) http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Sense-ible-Front-Connection-Dog-Harness-medium-large-large-sizes-FREE-POST-/270825269002?pt=AU_Pet_Supplies&hash=item3f0e71a70a Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 I like the jenny ireland ones (formerly called harmony harnesses). The only problem is that they come with a lead, I wish you could just buy the harness itself, as I don't really like the lead provided. http://www.petpalspetcare.com.au/petshop.aspx These harnesses are very easy to use, you only have to slip it over the dogs head and do up a waist strap and are 2 colours so you can see which bit goes at the front. They also have a back attachment which personally i find more convenient, but I don't actually use the ahrness for a pulling dog. Otherwise the easy wlk ones are cheap and easy to use, but only have a front attaching part. http://www.petsplus.com.au/pet-shop.asp?id=1060 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuffles Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 (edited) I have a Gentle Leader branded one. I use it very rarely these days but it was valuable for walking my two dOgs together as the younger gets very excited. She learned to pull into it, and it alsO rubs under her legs. But I found it useful in the short term. Edited February 23, 2012 by wuffles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huck house Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 We use the black dog balance harness and leads. They are awesome, simple and safe. We have tried easy walk, rogez , sensation etc etc. It may depend on the shape of your dog as to which harness fits best. Some don't adjust well. Others too heavy, tricky to put on or don't have a front clip. Our big reactive boy is a different dog with his on. We use the black dog collar and clip th lead on it as well as the front harness ring as well . It works to help turn his head from distractions as well as backup if anything should break. With the other end of the lead clipped to his back, it is like steering a horse! Our chunky girl was miserable with all the others we have tried but pushes in to put hers on . She must feel safe and comfortable(she likes clothes on too) . The balance harness doesn't rub under the arms or restrict any movement. The company base is at theBasin just outside Melbourne. They do repairs and have 'tweaked' the product when problems have arisen . Make sire you get the latest 'model'. Their website is comprehensive and they are great on the phone too. As you can tell, I am a fan! We were desperate for safe, effective equipment when we got our dogs a year ago and spent hundreds on stuff that didn't work or the dogs wrecked. Good luck and let us know what you go with. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weasels Posted February 23, 2012 Author Share Posted February 23, 2012 Thank you for your replies everyone! I will research all the suggestions over the weekend :) I'm happy to pay a bit more to get a good product that will last us a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 why don't you use a martingale collar. His lunging needs to be properly addressed before you all get pulled over one day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 I started with Easy Walk & found it good, but the first two got chewed up So then I bought a Sensible one from Clean Run & liked it so much I got another one for my other dog. The prices on Clean Run ATM on free shipping are less than half the price of the one on Ebay. Clean Run Harness I found it great for training my BC pup heeling & loose leash walking. Now I only use them when I need to walk both my BC's together...I tie the leads together so I have more control in an emergency. When I'm walking the pup on his own, I just use a flat collar, but if he tries to pull, then I pass the lead loosly around his chest & walk him with a "handle", like you see with assistance dogs. When I do this, he is like butter in my hand & he walks like an old pro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weasels Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 why don't you use a martingale collar. His lunging needs to be properly addressed before you all get pulled over one day. I do have a martingale for my girl, I'm not sure if it will fit him though. But I don't like to walk them for any significant distance on collars, particularly since he will do a sustained pull in areas where we have seen loose cats running around ( ), so I don't like the pressure on their neck. Like I said we are working on it, and I have a one-on-one trainer engaged to deal with his his reactivity and he is doing better. But these things don't resolve overnight. We only walk/jog on the road a few times a week so LLW hasn't been a big training priority for me, I am more concerned about off-lead reliability, rightly or wrongly but if he tries to pull, then I pass the lead loosly around his chest & walk him with a "handle", like you see with assistance dogs. When I do this, he is like butter in my hand & he walks like an old pro I like it, will give it a try too, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weasels Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 why don't you use a martingale collar. His lunging needs to be properly addressed before you all get pulled over one day. But I don't like to walk them for any significant distance on collars, particularly since he will do a sustained pull in areas where we have seen loose cats running around ( ), so I don't like the pressure on their neck. Like I said we are working on it, and I have a one-on-one trainer engaged to deal with his his reactivity and he is doing better. Also, since I believe his reactivity is fear-based I don't want to add any more negative association with bikes & scooters, which I believe is a risk with anything pressuring the neck. A front-attach harness fits better with our overall training strategy of counter conditioning and focus work :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Miss Emma Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I used to use a Gentle Leader Easy Walk harness with Kenzie. It was great and certainly helped me get to a point where I was able to transition her out of it and not get my arm pulled off. We now use a Halti in places where we are likely to encounter dogs due to her reactivity, but this is because I had first mostly trained her out of the lunging (she still reacts but it is very rarely a lunge anymore) - that Halti seems to calm her in general when we're walking and distract her. This means that in terms of her taining in regards to her ractivity she is generally less likely to react (obviously we have methods for conditioning her and training her to be less reactive). I can now walk her on a flat collar so long as we have distance between us and other dogs and she won't react, and if she does it is a short spurt and she calms quickly. The other thing is, I use a martingale on her at obedience and agility training. I don't particularly want to use the Halti in these places (as I want to compete with her eventually so don't want her used to training in that environment with a Halti - but if you have to you have to!) and I find the martingale works really well. She doesn't pull in the same way she might on a flat collar, if she reacts she calms quicker, I feel like I have a bit more control than the normal flat collar. So I don't know if any of that is useful to you at all! But that's sort of what we do. I'm considering trying her on her harness again (more as an experiment just to see what she does and if she reacts any differently). I guess the other thing is I'm reluctant to walk her with other dogs if I think we're going in to an environment where she will react, I need to be able to give her 100% at times like that. So when I had my old dog I would walk them separately so that each could have the attention to the issues they needed attention for (and that really helped Kenz a lot in terms of dealing with the reactivity; also because there was no competition for the front spot the pulling decreased drastically!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 since I believe his reactivity is fear-based I don't want to add any more negative association with bikes & scooters what does your trainer think? Or is it a prey driven behavior? Considering he's going for moving object such as cats as well and doesnt respect your control a front harness will do little in curbing any of this at all. I don't see how a collar is going to create a negative association for him, that is such an old fashioned notion. He needs his drive decreased to a level where he will listen and be able to accept reinforcement for good behavior. Loose leash walking and focus are part of decreasing reactivity and lunging behavior, they're all tied in together. If you believe the dog reacts in fear to objects he should never be off lead anyway as his reliability will be very low. Fear is an automatic reaction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmolo Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 We buy and use Sensible harnesses- prefer the material of them over the black dog ones and don't like the martingale type fitting at the chest of the gentle leader ones. We (and many of our clients) are very happy with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weasels Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 (edited) So I don't know if any of that is useful to you at all! But that's sort of what we do. I'm considering trying her on her harness again (more as an experiment just to see what she does and if she reacts any differently). I guess the other thing is I'm reluctant to walk her with other dogs if I think we're going in to an environment where she will react, I need to be able to give her 100% at times like that. So when I had my old dog I would walk them separately so that each could have the attention to the issues they needed attention for (and that really helped Kenz a lot in terms of dealing with the reactivity; also because there was no competition for the front spot the pulling decreased drastically!). Yes useful! Thank you PME :) OH and I both work full time and study so we're pretty strapped for time during the week, but I am going to try walking Weez by himself with a martingale + looped leash on the weekend. Luckily the Foxdog is a trooper so she just hangs out while I am focussed on Weez, I don't know what I'd do without her! since I believe his reactivity is fear-based I don't want to add any more negative association with bikes & scooters what does your trainer think? Or is it a prey driven behavior? Considering he's going for moving object such as cats as well and doesnt respect your control a front harness will do little in curbing any of this at all. I don't see how a collar is going to create a negative association for him, that is such an old fashioned notion. He needs his drive decreased to a level where he will listen and be able to accept reinforcement for good behavior. I have had long discussions about the causes with our trainer and we think there might be separate things going on, they look different. The cause is not really that important anyway, given Weez's temperament and history I am happy with our current training program and am going to stick with it. He came to us as a teenager 14 months ago with a clusterfk of issues after bouncing from shelters to homes and back again and has made great progress in that time, I am confident that we can get on top of this too :) I think I might have overstated the case here as well, I would classify his reactiveness as 'rude' rather than 'dangerous'. We are talking about 2, maximum 4 barks, and he will respond to a multitude of commands spoken in a normal voice once I get my head in gear enough to give them. And once he is about 5 metres away from the stimulus I can get a sustained 'look', sit etc. The problem here is that in our suburb bikes are allowed on the pedestrian walkways, so every now and again a teenager flies around a corner on a bike straight for us and sets our training back again. Loose leash walking and focus are part of decreasing reactivity and lunging behavior, they're all tied in together. If you believe the dog reacts in fear to objects he should never be off lead anyway as his reliability will be very low. Fear is an automatic reaction. There are no bikes, scooters, or blind corners on our off-lead dog beach :) You can't even see the road. He is very appropriate with other dogs and aloof with humans. On the odd occasion some young feral decides to ride a motorbike down the beach you can see them coming a mile away and I put him on-leash. Edited February 24, 2012 by Weasels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weasels Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 We buy and use Sensible harnesses- prefer the material of them over the black dog ones and don't like the martingale type fitting at the chest of the gentle leader ones. We (and many of our clients) are very happy with them. Thanks Cosmolo :) I was looking at your website last night which is why I was leaning towards the Sensible in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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