Hi Everyone We want to get our Lola on a lead to get her used to it, would people recommend a harness ? Thanks Billy
ahh after reading lots of different topics I see that they are best off the lead as soon as possible!! which I will do!!
Off lead where pissible is great exlerience fir puppies but they also need to learn to walk nicely on a lead so a harness and lead is ideal and generally recommended. I recommend Perfect Fit to my clients and have only heard good reports on the harness and the helpful attitude of the company.
I highly recommend off lead as soon as you can to practise recall and get them following you and having some sniff time, but equally important is lead walking. I really messed up with this as the majority if our walks were off lead. It took me months and months to rectify her pulling. I use a cozy dogs harness as it is a Y-front. I have heard that puppia harnesses are good for pups.
I definitely recommend a harness and lead on a puppy over a collar and lead. From what I've read, its not good for them when they pull in regard to development of their bones I think....
I also do off lead with my puppy....usually look around or ensure its a safe place then let her off...she's good so far.
We did off lead with Bailey as soon as possible but also took him in the garden on his lead and flat collar to get him used to it. When out and about we have always had a harness on him as he can be a puller and I worried about any harm to his throat/neck by being on the flat collar. After trying tons we have just got a Perfect Fit Harness and it fits beautifully. I managed to find a stockist near me who fitted it to him, spent loads of time making sure everything was comfortable and fitting correctly. They are great as there is no one size fits all - we have a large top and girth and a medium front piece - first harness we have had that does not slip around his body and he can't step out of!!!
Off lead whenever possible, and safe, is good but you'll need to have a harness for those areas where it wouldn't be safe to be off lead. I much prefer a harness to a lead - Ziggy used to pull like a freight train and almost choke himself when we used his lead on a flat collar so we got his a harness and things improved almost straight away. He's now getting very good at walking 'close' when we ask him to and barely pulls at all. We prefer the Julius K9 harness. It seems to sit really comfortably on him and the reflective bits are really good. It's really well made too and luckily he was just at the bottom end of size 0 (at 14 weeks) so it should last him for a good long while.
Hi I used a harness on penny not sure the make ..good when eventally i get it on her she just wants to eat it ..i have tried recently to just using lead on collar ..she still pulls ..btw at vets today and she said no harness as they are using shoulder muscles to pull and have the upper hand then ..not sure whats best
The harness won't stop a dog pulling, you have to train that. What it does is protect the puppy's delicate throat area when she does pull. It's definitely a harness all the way from me until you've taught your pup to walk nicely.
I'd much prefer my dog used his strong shoulder muscles to pull rather than his delicate neck - even if it does give him the upper hand in the battle of strength. We are down to occasional lunges now in our loose lead journey - still better his shoulders bear the brunt.
Have to agree until you have trained your pup to walk nicely on a loose lead then use a harness - I still use one with Bailey even when he is walking nicely especially in a new and exciting place. I worry about the pressure on his neck when he pulls on a flat collar and lead.
I have gotten Aspen a harness that has both a front clasp and a back clasp for hooking a leash to.. I can't seem to get a treat that he is interested enough in to follow me for. Or, when I do have a treat, he jumps for it and when I don't give it to him, he is uninterested and continues to pull...I'm stuck on what to do
Hi @alschwahn Have you tried something really smelly such as a hot dog sausage/frankfurter? When I'm training something new or that I know I am going to have to get his full attention in a high distraction area then these are what I have with me. For Bailey's lead training I used the stand completely still until the tension on his lead released, then I lured him back to me with a small piece of frankfurter and started again, and again, and again, and again, and again - they will get it but it is not a five minute job unfortunately. It did take us about three months of every other day walking in the town centre to get Bailey to walk calmly on lead there (and to be honest he will still lunge after pigeons if they are right in front of him). Now we can walk through town with him on a loose lead, sit down for a coffee and he will just chill under the table/by our chairs quite happily. The first few times were an absolute nightmare, but with repetition and high value treats we got there, as will you.
