[Dailydrool] Harnesses/no pull collars

[Dawn Gardner]

Definitely go with a harness.  Here's some reasons why I say that:

1) Opposition reflex.  All mammals have it.  When a dog feels a tight
sensation around his neck he will pull harder, but with the harness the
sensation is not so profound so he won't pull as hard.  Pulling begets
pulling.  In fact we use this when training dogs to track.  Dog not moving
fast enough?  Pull BACK on his collar and he will pull forward!  A harness
just softens this enough to make it more manageable, and if you get a no
pull harness even better.
2) Many so-called training collars (choke, Ilusion) cut off oxygen as a
means of correcting the dog.  When this happens, not only can a dog not
necessarily process what is going on and think of a way to fix it, but it
also CUTS OFF OXYGEN!  Oxygen = Good.  No oxygen = bad.   Try this: put a
rope around your neck and pull until you can't breathe.  Now do math.  
3) When collars tighten, they can increase ocular pressure in dogs.  Not
good in a dog that may already have a predisposition for glaucoma!
4) Collars can cause tracheal damage.
5) Correcting a dog when they see another person (while walking) can cause
leash aggression.  Here's the scenario:  You are walking your dog down your
street and you pass a particular neighbor.  Your dog, being the friendly
goof he is, tries to go and see the neighbor.  He gets a correction.  This
happens every day for a month.  You think your dog is learning not to pull,
but your dog is learning to hate your neighbor because every time he sees
him, he gets corrected!  So he has to protect himself by trying to scare
your neighbor off before your neighbor can hurt him again.  The reactivity
gets worse and worse until your dog is going into a frenzy at the mere sight
of the neighbor.
6) There are a number of good training harnesses on the market right now.  I
like the sporn mesh no-pull harness.  I would browse www.jefferspet.com -
they have great prices on all sorts of dog supplies, so I always check
there, first.
7) Regarding head halters (there are several of these on the market):  Once
the dog is trained on them, they work well.  Some people don't like the way
they look, or the fact that it can take weeks to train a dog to wear one.
Think Gentle Leader or Haltie.  I don't use them because I'm too impatient
to spend two weeks training my dog to let me put one on.

Dawn Gardner
Behavioral Consultant & Trainer
Happy Hound Pet Services
336-432-8715
www.happyhoundpetservices.com

APDT Member #74988


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