SallyD Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Hi. We have a five month old labrador puppy who pulls constantly on her lead when we take her for a walk and someone had suggested we get a harness for her. I've looked online but there seem to be so many around that I'm not sure what to get. Has anyone had experience of these and could recommend one? Thanks Sally Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 A harness won't stop them from pulling - in fact it will encourage them to pull into it. Can I suggest that you combine use of a head collar (Halti or GenCon All in One) and some puppy training to teach her (and you) how to get her to walk to heel. I feel we need some pictures of the wee poopie though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SallyD Posted January 11, 2012 Author Share Posted January 11, 2012 Thanks for your quick reply That's very interesting about harnesses encouraging dogs to pull into them. I hadn't thought of that - It's all a learning curve when you haven't had a dog before! We're booked into puppy training classes which start on friday morning so hopefully these will help. Not sure if I'm capable of posting photos of her but will ask my son, when he gets back from work, to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Try her on a good (well fitted) collar and a short static lead, when she pulls, meet her strength then slack off, praise her when she walks well to heel. A head collar will stop her pulling but doesn't teach her to stop; you have to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaireG Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I agree with DM. Something i found useful, was stopping as soon as pulling starts and turning the dog in a full circle. It takes ages to get anywhere but worked well. Also nice smelly treats and lots of praise for not pulling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollyripkim Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Agree with everyone else, I have three dogs and the cocker was the worse so I just used to stop, felt silly and it took ages when she was a puppy but the hard work was worth it as she now walks alongside me on a loose lead. Above all - enjoy your new puppy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SallyD Posted January 11, 2012 Author Share Posted January 11, 2012 Thanks again for all your replies I'm just about to take her out for a walk so will try the 'stopping' tip when she pulls. Sally Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lillybettybabs Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Great advice guys, Dogs learn to just lean into a harness and pull more. You'll learn a lot from your puppy classes and having the best breed of dog ever (not biased at all) she will pick things up very quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Leia Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Bought one of the Halti head collars for our sons rescue border collie. It hasn't stopped it completely, but it's a lot better. Just be careful to get the right size if you get one. The stopping and reversing trick also does work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
