Avoiding Leash

[Lhamilton]

Hi,

Our pup is a year old now and loves going for walks but isn't very fond of putting on his harness and leash.

Although the harness fits properly and is clearly comfortable, I have real trouble getting the pup to the door to put it on him. Even offering a treat doesn't make a lot of difference. He'd obviously like to either be chased through the house (of course, that's not about to happen) or simply be let to run outside with no leash (also not going to happen).

Any thoughts on what I can do to get him to put on his harness more readily?

Thanks.

Linda

[seastheday]

I have two tiny puppies and bought the puppia harness' for them. I love the harness and have been using them for two years now. My biewer has no problem with putting the harness on, my yorkie hides behind the crate when I get ready to put it on. I walk to the door and she follows, then I am finally able to get it on her. Both dogs seem terrified when the walk is over and the harness' come off. I give them treats and praise them, but it seems to be getting worse. This weekend I mentioned it to my son who happened to be home (he watches them when we are away). I said it seems like they are terrified of the harness. Nope!!! They are terrified of the sound of the Velcro closing. I never thought of that. Since they are always running free in our yard, I thought they hated being on a leash, except that once we are out, they walk beautifully. It was getting the harness' on and taking them off that was the problem. I also have the choke-free harness' (again Velcro) but my Bandit hated that one and chewed his up. Today, I am heading out - road trip! Going to buy the Buddy Belt harness and see if those take the stress out of our walks. Could be that your pup doesn't like the harness or the sounds of Velcro closing the harness around him. Just a thought.......

[maxdog]

Sasha was afraid of the Velcro for a short while when I 1st started using the harness but it was my fault. Her hair got caught in the Velcro and it pulled on it when I went to take it off. It did not pull any hair out, just a yank but I am sure it hurt. I have been extra careful since then and now when I grab the harness she runs right up to my feet waiting for me to put it on her.

[Magnus]

Don't know what type of harness you have but if you don't have one already, I highly recommend Buddy Belt. A member here (Maximo) sells them and if needed will answer any/all question regarding them!

Also, how about you leave the harness on for few hrs at a time throughout the day? Get him used to the feeling and then later on, latching the leash.

[Lhamilton]

Hi,

No velcro at all -- I'm using an iPuppyOne harness and it uses regular plastic harness snaps. I've tried several harnesses (none that my pup liked), but this is the first I've found that he can't easily pull out of when he faces me and pulls. It's very like the Puppia harness except that the head section is adjustable as well as the body. It's definitely not too tight. I'm glad to finally though have a harness that I don't feel he can easily abandon.

I like the look of the Buddy Belt but the instructions say that it needs to be properly fitted and I would hesitate to buy anything sight-unseen at this point without being absolutely certain it would fit perfectly and that my pup couldn't get out of it.

He definitely seems to dislike all harnesses, however. It's clear he'd like the walk but no leash and harness....

Linda

[Yorkiemom1]

That harness and leash is the only safety link you have to your pup....you can jerk him right up over your head if another dog attacks....you can of course restrain him when he sees a squirrel or cat or other delectable morsel running thru the neighbors yard.....so regardless of how much he hates it, he must be protected with a halter and leash! I always put the halter on my pups and let them run around inside the house for 15 minutes at first, then building up until they have the halter on for an hour or more. I have a fenced in yard and my dogs do NOT leave my property, but I want them to be leashed trained. After they get used to wearing the halter inside the house, I put the leash on the pup, then go out to the back yard and walk around with a tiny little bucking bronco on the end of the leash!! I do this for short period of time, and the instant that pup manages to behave for even a minute on the end of the leash, I reward and turn pup loose. I repeat this for about a week, lengthening the time on the leash a little each day.....then we take a short trip down my driveway....but I do not allow my dogs to walk around in public....toooo many doggie germs/diseases/worms that I do NOT want brought back onto my property! (Also, alot of my "pets" are tiny and wear harnesses that ferrets use.) But if I DID take my dogs off my property for walks, I would just continue the length of time spent outside on leash.....until you are spending as long as you want to on your walks!

[Lhamilton]

Hi,

I fully agree! It's terribly important for the harness to fit properly and that there be no possibility of the dog escaping it. I heard from one Shih Tzu owner once who had her dog slip through the railing of a small bridge and it was only the harness that kept him safe and allowed her to pull him up.

I'd never thought of a ferret harness! What a wonderful idea for a small Yorkie! My Monty is 8.6 pounds so too big for that, but I'd been wondering what people did with dogs that were in the 3 pound range....

Linda

[Jkpal]

If you can get him to associate that the harness and leash mean 'going for a walk' he'll probably help you help him into it! As I've said before, Piper practically lives for walks, but totally "gets" that she has to pick out and put on a harness in order for that to happen---NOOO problem! As I've said before, I think she'd try wearing high heels if it meant going for a walk!

[Lhamilton]

I think you're right -- the association between the harness and leash and the walk just hasn't happened yet. I think Monty is just seeing the harness and leash as a misguided impingement on his walk enjoyment (though he walks quite well on the lead when we're on the walk). The trick is how I form that association between the harness and lead and the start of the walk....

Linda