Are we the only ones who are right?

For us (+R exponents), the relationship with our dogs is at least as important as the outcome. It's bloody hard work, but so worth it. This is what we need to sell.

 

Yes, although I think that's the easy part of the sell. The difficult part of the sell is telling an over worked, time short mother (for example) that she has to put in the amount of work that some of us are able to put in. And on the other side is a salesperson for a choke collar/halti head collar/anti-pull harness (that will wreak the dog's elbows) etc. That's the challenge.

 

I’m assuming the anti-pull harness wreaks the dog’s elbows. How? (I’m not a proponent for any of these devices, but curious to know how the elbows are affected. I do use a chest-fastening harness if I’m in a situation when I need that amount control.)

 

If the dog is constantly pulling, the anti-pull harness will be constantly turning the dog's body, altering their gait and putting a lot of pressure on the elbows. If your dog rarely pulls against the front fastener because you're not simply using it as a management tool (ie you're actually putting effort into training a LLW) then the risk to elbow damage is obviously a lot lower. I had no issues using the front fastener with Luna for a week or so when she became excitable from being back in the snow, but if she had to wear it all the time and was constantly being turned towards me by her pulling, that's where the problem would lie. Of course, it is possible that even a single use could tweak an elbow, but we have to assess risk in all our decisions and, for me, that risk was low enough to not worry about considering the minimal amount of time I knew I would have to be using it, and weighing it against the potential dangers to both of us that her pulling was causing, as I had ended up on my face on the snowy road more than once!

Most sales outlets for the harness, or other device, will market it as a cure-all, and so people will use it as that rather than simply as a temporary tool to prevent damage during a training process.

 

Have you heard of the Sporn no pull harnesses....Are they not good to use?

 

Gosh, that looks very uncomfortable. When your dog pulls, it's going to pull right up under the legs causing, at the very least, discomfort and maybe making it painful. No, I would avoid that particular harness.

 

I confess We used the Sporn No-Pull (I knew no better). We got one for Belle because she pulled so hard on the collar she was choking herself, we just bought any old harness - it happened to be this one. As soon as the harness went on she didn't pull. I don't think it was much to do with the anti-pull mechanism though, more that she no longer had the lead attached to her neck - she really hated this. She wore it all her life with us.
Coco also wore one when we first got him (it was Scooby's old one but Scooby didn't wear it because his legs were too stiff to step into the harness - he had a Perfect Fit), it didn't work for Coco. I regret making him wear it. I don't think caused pain but it must have caused some discomfort. With hindsight, I would not recommend it, especially for a dog that pulls on a harness.