HARNESS An Insecure Dog

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Starlit is shy and nervous in most new circumstances and with all unfamiliar
humans.

It is common modern day practice to swaddle infants.  It helps them settle and sooth them when irritable. This weekend we were told it was also good to swaddle a shy insecure dog.  

Starlit saw a trainer and the first thing she said was, " Ahh, good.  A harness is a good thing for this insecure girl to help her feel safe."   I actually have to agree.

So just a bit of information to all of you who are dealing with or will deal with a dog who really just needs hugs all the time    :) 


 

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

There was a version of the Weiss ( I think F. Parker posted this last year ) that you could make yourself. A staff member at the Humane Society actually showed me how to make this harness.

Often I refer to myself as engineeringly challenged. The dog I tried to do this with looked like a rubber band ball or a dog in some kind of sick bondage :)

For now, the Gentle Walker Harness is working fine--doesn't bother her underarms and she prefers to have it ON rather than off.

As much as I love to do it the "Homemade method", I'll just stick to store bought this time.

[Holly Doodle]

This makes sense to me. Holly can be insecure on car rides, but when we use the car harness it helps a lot, I'm assuming since she can't move too far. Good to know!

[Christine and Daisy]

Starlit sounds exactly like my pup. However, everytime I put the harness on her and seatlbelt clip in the car, she gets out of it! Of course I can't see what tricks she has up her sleeve while I'm driving and she's in the backseat! I will have to try the harness in the house and see how she feels, but since she bites her leash so much (she's gone through 2 already in 3 weeks that we've had her, she may just chew her way through the harness at well. It is still worth a try. Thanks for the tip, I will try anything with my little girl who's so shy around new people and any new change.

[Carolyn Robbin]

My two cents on Temple Grandin.... wonderful, intelligent, gutsy woman....she's written a few books and travels tirelessly around the country advising and advocating for humane slaughter. She has made an impact in a male dominated profession implementing her design of stockyards, lairages, corrals, races, chutes, and loading ramps. She is a professor of animal science at Colorado State Univ where my daughter is a veterinary student. She gave a lecture recently in one of my daughter's classes and blew her away! She sees things in a very unique way. HBO recently made a movie about her life so far, Clare Dane played Temple, if you can, watch it....it's very good. In addition to animal science, she, of course has made a huge impact on autism awareness and 'thinking in pictures'....incredible woman!