Collars & Harnesses - Opinions needed

[Stefie C]

What kind of collar/harness do you use?
What are the advantages & disadvantages of the collar/harness you use?
Is there one you've used in the past that you didn't like? Why?

My Sandy does okay with her flat buckle collar most of the time. But occasionally she gets "crazy" and will jump, lunge or pull so hard I'm afraid she's going to hurt herself. My vet recommends the Gentle Leader but I've also been considering the Halti or the Sensation or Sporn Harnesses. If you use any of these I'd love to hear your opinions about them. If you use something else that you'd recommend, please tell me about those too.
I know we need an obedience class but I haven't been able to find one that doesn't insist on using a choke chain collar and I will not use one of those. So I am trying to do this on my own but don't want to spend a fortune trying different collars/harnesses. Please tell me about any you have used and what you think about them. Thanks so much.

[Alberta Hanko]

Hi Stefi - I had used both the Gentle Leader and the Halti with my Linus, who lunges and pulls. I liked the Halti--but only because it had an extra piece hanging down, in case he broke the main part--and actually he did one day. However, I didn't desensitize Linus to it, so it was something that actually made him more nervous and frustrated. We hit a point where I would take it out, and he would run away from me. So we are working on a flat buckle collar, and I sure am observant when we go out--I am armed with treats--peanut butter works the best with him for other dogs--which really set him off. But I can actually stop him, or prevent the lunge, just by being aware of everything around me. Like you, I am working obedience with him, feeling if he can listen to me at all times :lol: he will gain confidence and be able to handle other dogs on our walks. I can't put him into class, it would stress him too much, so I work with him using clicker training. One other good thing about the head halters was that I didn't reallyhave a problem with people approaching me when they saw it, they figured it was a muzzle. Good luck with your Sandy. I'll be interested in seeing what others here have to say. Great learning experience here.

Alberta & Linus

[Summer Magic]

Magic has a nylon braded controled slip collar (I guess that's what it's called) for in the house and around, but when we walk with her we use a halti.

[Marsha]

My little terrier/hound mix uses the sensation/sensible harness. We've been pleased with it. It took a day or 2 for ME to get used to it, but Spanky never had any problems with it. And it's a breeze to put on which was very important to us too, since he would not sit still to have anything put on him at one time.

[imported_Ann Albers]

Stefie- Are you close to Cincinnati? If so, I can recommend a training class for you and your dog where you don't use a choke collar. :D

[Renee]

I'm a fan of the sensation harness and I also use the gentle leader.

[Grace Erick]

A harness is a must for chihuahuas, because pulling on a typical neck collar can collapse their trachea.

[Stefie C]

Thank you all for your replies! :D I think I am going to order the Sensation harness and try that 1st. I keep reading good things about them and nothing negative. The head harnesses intrigue me but I'm a little afraid of them too. Sandy's a boxer and I'm afraid with her short muzzle she'd be able to wiggle out of one of those too easily. Also, if she suddenly bolted, it seems like it would jerk her head around sharply enough to really hurt her. We had another episode of her acting "crazy" a few days ago. Usually, this happens for no reason that I can see so I can't try to prevent it. She will be walking nicely and suddenly without warning she'll just take off like a rocket. Sometimes she'll continue in the direction we're walking and other times she'll run in another direction or around in circles. It happened again the other day but this time I saw what triggered her behavior. I took Sandy out to potty and a stray dog came up the driveway. Sandy's eyes were immediately locked on the dog but she was quiet and sat down. Then she laid down. And then she bolted. All this happened in just a few seconds. I tried to hold her back but she's so strong she pulled me out into the alley right in front of a truck! Thankfully, the driver was going slow and paying attention and was able to stop before she hit either of us. Sandy was pulling to the point she was choking herself. The poor stray dog was crouching down and slowly backing up. I was never able to get Sandy under control. My son saw what was happening and ran to our aid. Together we got Sandy back into the house. Sandy always barks at other dogs but she has never gone after one like she did that day! At least not that I know of. She's 14 months old but only been with us 3 months. Maybe it was because the dog was invading her space. I don't know, I just knew I had to get something to hold onto to her that wouldn't choke her. So off the to pet shop I went. Unfortunately, they didn't have much to offer. It's a local guy not a chain and he doesn't stock much. So I ended up at Wal-mart and bought a knock-off of the sporn harness. It works pretty well. When she feels it start to pull, she stops and looks at me and sits down. But we haven't encountered another dog yet, so we'll see how well it works when that happens. At least it doesn't rub her raw like the 1st harness we tried.

Alberta, Thank you for the warning about going slow introducing a new harness. I let Sandy "check it out" while treating her with some boiled chicken. Her favorite treat! :D The 1st few times I put it on her I gave her some more chicken and it worked great. She doesn't seem to mind it at all and will sit nicely while I put it on her.

Ann, I live about 90 minutes from Cincy. Sandy loves to ride in the car but I think that's a bit to far for a class. :D Thank you anyway!

I got a flyer today announcing an obedience class starting next month at the community college. I called the phone number but the office people can't answer any questions except who to make the check payable too. :roll: They did give me the number of the trainer so I called but she's out of town until next week. The flyer didn't say anything about what methods she uses. Just dates & rates. I'm not optimistic though. I think if it was a clicker class the flyer would have stated that.

Edited to add, I am working with Sandy trying to teach her to "look" at me but that only seems to work when she knows I have a treat in my hand. :D So any advice you guys can give me to help teach her to pay attention to me when she get distracted outside will be greatly appreciated. TIA

[Eric Vecc]

Sounds like you are on the right track to progress. You might need to look into a personal trainer as a group class could cause major problems with a serious puller. We just started a class at a local community college and there are 20 dogs in one class. Thankfully, my dog does not pull and go after other dogs that much (well he tries, but I am much stronger :D ). Anyway, please look into the class before starting it. The class we just started uses choker chains and leash correction - neither of which I want to use on my dog, but we are already paid (see my other post in Doggie Chat for more on this).

[Stefie C]

Eric, A personal trainer. Yikes! I hadn't even thought about that. Probably not in my budget. I have looked into two classes so far. I insisted on talking to the trainers before signing up. They both said they only use positive rewards but then they said you must use a choke chain so I said no thank you. I made that mistake once, with another dog. It was a disaster for that dog. She was great on the chain. Top of the class. But off the chain she was uncontrolable and a little bit mean. I'll keep working with Sandy on my own if I have to because I won't put a choke chain on her. She's really not as bad as this probably sounds. She very well behaved inside. She's been with us 3 months and hasn't had one accident in the house. Hasn't chewed up or destroyed anything and she has the run of the house. Plus she's sweet & lovable. :D Outside she's good most of the time too. It's just occasionally she seems to be obsessed with something and will stop at nothing to get it. I think with the dog the other day she was scared. I remember her whining at 1st and then laying down. But when the other dog start toward her, she went "crazy" Luckily, we have huge fenced in yard. I'll just have to remember to shut the gates even if she's on a leash. I really want to be able to walk her though. But for now we'll just be walking laps around the yard.

Good luck with your class. Hopefully you'll get something out of it even though your not thrilled with the trainers methods.