She's obviously scared about something. We don't always know what sets off things in their little doggy minds, but I highly doubt she is trying to be the pack leader. Something in her mind is suddenly telling her that harness = bad and scary.
Jackson went through a phase like this once, but I had pinched him once while snapping the harness shut so I think that's what triggered it. All the sudden he started running away every time I got out the harness/leash, even if he knew had to go potty. It took me a few weeks of de-sensitizing him to the harness again. I would put it on the ground and throw treats on top of it. I would slowly start putting it over his head but not fully putting it on yet. Now, in the meantime, I had to "force" him to wear it simply because he HAD to to be let outside, but after a few weeks he stopped running from it completely after some de-sensitizing.
I think anything that will make the harness a negative experience will just reinforce the behavior and make it worse, such as dominating her, or being aggressive back. Doesn't usually help in situations like this. |