He doesn't pull as much when he has a collar on bc he is choking himself. Again, you need to train him to not pull. You are just making up excuses so you can feel good about using an electric fence. You are not going to get much support from us about using one if that is what you are looking for. Many have given much more humane options to solve your problem and each one you have said no to. Train you dog, put up a fence in your yard, use baby gates in the house. There is absolutely no reason for anyone to use an electric fence, and for those that do, I am going to say it is just plain laziness on their part.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

If he is slipping out of his harness, then try a different style. My girl can't wear the step-in kind. She gets out of them. We have to use a more standard type found at pet stores here.

:thumbup::thumbup: Thank you!! Great response.

what about wild animals? Is his harness sized correctly?

He doesnt pull a lot when his leash is hooked to his collar because it hurts and restricts his air flow if he pulls. He probably "acts up" in the harness because he is more comfortable and might need a little training.

It's true... harnesses CAN bring out more of that "instinct" to pull. It's one reason why sled dogs wear them. But they can be just as easily taught to walk properly on a harness as on a collar. In fact I believe it's necessary. Jackson is a big boy at 16lbs but even his neck is pretty sensitive, I can't imagine having him pull at all against a collar.

I tie 3 of my yorkies out on the clothes line with retractable leaches. The clothes line goes from my house out to the woods. They can get to most of the yard. I put them out with supervision only. My 4 th Roxy is a shadow who is 99% responsive off leash. A few times a year she will run into the woods but comes right back.

Mine all wears collars just for ID purposes but are only walked on harness. I'm too nervous to walk them on collar. Too many stories of tracheal damage and collapse for me. Worked at a vets office- My vet doesn't recommend walking on collar unless 15- 20 pounds and breed- Neck too weak on Yorkies.

I'm a fan of real fences and not electric fences.

An electric fence does not keep a big dog out of your yard.

A dog that is willing to 'take the shock' to get out - may not be willing to 'take the shock' to get back in.

I have no doubt in my mind that Ringo would take the shock and run after whatever he wanted. Lucy would not - but she's too tiny for a shock collar, IMO.

my littles are trained NOT to run out the door when its open and it really didnt take that long to teach them.. They will both go right to the edge and pop thier little heads out past the door frame but will not go any futher unless they are on a leash. They are both so trained that when I say "you need to go potty" they go to the door, stand there wait for thier leads to put on and me to open the door step out and they follow me. When we come back in they walk in the door and stand untill I take their leads are off.. Sometimes Tucker will pull his lead out of my hand, but he will come to a dead stop untill I pick the lead back up and say ok..and none of that took more than a few weeks of patience, consistency, and praise just like house training.
I have a fenced in yard off my back door for my beagle and sheltie.
So I agree with the others, NO to the electric fence and NO to tying him out..TEACH your dog not to run out the door, keep him on a leash to walk or potty him.

I would never trust my dog's life to an "electric fence". Plus, who in the world wants to zap their dog when training is a far better and more fun way to go? Tibbe is going to be 4 years old 8-30-11 and has been trained never to leave his front yard - and he hasn't so far. I watch him like a hawk whenever he is out and he was really challenged the other night. There was a big cat fight 2 houses down and all that yowling and screaming was like a siren's call to him - he was shaking all over from anticipation and wanting to bolt but I told him to "Stop" and in a second told him to "Wait" - and he did! Another screaming and yowling bout followed and he raised up and restarted and I repeated "Stop" and he went back down!!! Not saying it will work every time but training has kept him in his front yard on more than one occasion when an ordinary, untrained dog would have been long gone.

I trained him not to bolt his front yard after my sister's dog did it at her home and got runover right before her eyes. If she had trained her dog to "Stop" and "Wait" on command, it might not have happened. Tibbe is very rarely let out in the front yard - usually only for training, but occasionally I permit it so that it is not a siren's song and not something he can never have so that it gets to be a big, big want.

For the back yard, if you can, buy a fence or accompany your dog outside at all times and train him not to leave the yard.

We recently completed a series of obedience and training classes for $120, I think, it may not have been that much. That was WAY cheaper than a fence and best of all Ernie was taught the proper way to act when outdoors on a leash or tie out. Give them the credit they are due, they are smart enough to learn how to behave with a harness on. ;)

The desired behaviors we want from our dogs takes work on our part too. We cannot expect them to act a certain way without properly training them.

Amen. And it's great fun and builds a wonderful bond between the two of you.

Since my boys come to work with me, pets become part of the initial conversations with clients. Way too often, the client includes a description of a past pet that got hit by a car, along with the comment that the pet was usually leashed/fenced/penned/obedient, but just in an instant had gotten away from them. I'm taking all comments to be cautious seriously, but other dog owners are telling me it's a once-and-done correction, only allowed after three or more weeks of training to avoid the flagged areas and to retreat when the collar begins to click, some 6 feet before the correction is administered.

The chances of my boys being bitten by a rabid animal are a gadzillion to one, but I wouldn't for an instance refuse to get them vaccinated because it hurts. Max cries when his nails are trimmed, when his ears are swabbed. He yelled bloody murder when the doctor nipped his loose baby tooth out -- but I never considered not doing those things.

I'm weighing the one time correction -- a static shock -- with the possibility my babies could get away from me and die a horrible death under a car or golfcart.

Training is the first choice. I and my guys are getting better each day. I don't have an appropriate back yard, and covenants don't permit front yard fences. The only 'tie-out' I've used is a lightweight cat line tied to a water jug while I sit in a lawnchair right there watching. I would never let either of them be in the yard alone -- leashed, tied, or fenced.

I'm reminded of the reprimands well meaning people aim at the young parents at Disneyland who have child harnesses on their kids... How awful, they cluck... but you never see a child standing at the Los Parente's pole with a harness on!