Freedom No-Pull Harness

[Donna, Emma, Bender & Busby]

Hi, All!  I've never posted before, so I hope this comes out all right.  I was recently at our local mall and stopped in to a USA Dog Shop.  While talking with the proprietor about Bender, (my 90lb labradoodle who thinks he can pull me anywhere he wants while we're out walking), he told me about the Freedom No-Pull Harness (on which they have a patent) and said he was SURE this would work.  Does anyone have any experience with this and is it worth the money ($30 - $40)?  Thanks!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You can save yourself a lot of money and monkey business with two leashes and all those straps by just buying the Gentle Leader Easy Walk harness. I've been using it for years with my 85 lb doodle, and it works great. There are a lot of positive reviews here from others who are using it, too.http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum2/topics/2065244:Topic:83572

Be sure not to confuse this with the Gentle Leader Halter, which is what many people think of when they hear the name "Gentle Leader".  here's the difference:

THIS is the Easy Walk Harness:

NOT THIS:

 

[Donna, Emma, Bender & Busby]

Thanks, Karen.  The No Pull Harness looks like it's two leashes; actually, it's one that has clips a both ends. It can be used as one leash (clipped at both the harness end and the handle end) or a shorter, double leash (harness clips at both back and chest).  I was intrigued with the No Pull Harness because it clipped on the back instead of the chest.  I HAD tried the Gentle Leader and that didn't work at all.  Haven't tried the Easy Walk Harness yet, though.  Maybe that will be my next step.

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

I remember reading somewhere that harnesses that have the leash attachment on the back only encourage the dog to pull.  It had something to do with their instinct to pull (think sled and cart dogs) and with the reaction to pull against the force pulling you.  (I want to go right, you pull me left, so I pull even harder to the right to get to where I want to go).  I think that is why the easy walk harness works better for a lot of people.  My 2 dogs wear harnesses in the car and sometimes i'll just attach the lease to the harness instead of their collars when we walk down to the car and I have noticed that I have zero control over them when I do it that way.  But when the leash attaches to the front of the easy walk, you can lead their body in the direction you want to go.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yep, I agree. The reason the Easy Walk stops pulling is because the leash attaches to a martingale attachment at the front of the harness, and there is no way the dog can pull forward; if he does, the snap on the leash slides to the side, and the dog ends up tunred around, which is not the way he is trying to go. The harnesses with the leash attachment on the back have been useless for me.

[Donna, Emma, Bender & Busby]

I thought the same thing about the harness encouraging pulling and said as much while in the store, but their response was that there is a small bungie at the place where the leash clip attaches.  The theory is that when the dog pulls, the bungie tightens slightly around the chest and if you stop walking immediately, the dog can't go anywhere (and is not choking).  After a few times, they stop pulling.  As you can see, I'm not convinced yet. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And you shouldn't be convinced, because the person giving you this information is the person who stands to make the profit if you take his advice and buy it, lol. That's called a sales pitch.

If you wanted to know if a certain kind of car was reliable or a good buy, would you ask the car dealer who sells it? No, you'd check independent consumer sites and read reviews.

 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Donna, I had a similar harness for a 115 lb foster dog, (it came with the dog), where the leash attaches at both ends, and it did nothing for the pulling.

[Camilla and Darwin]

I agree with the easy walk recommendation. It works perfectly, doesn't bug Darwin at all, and is easy to find and affordable. One of my favorite purchases of all time for Darwin

[Marcey Peyser Friedman]

My puppy just chewed through the second gentle leader harness. Has anyone else had this issue?

 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The harness or the head collar?

Your puppy should not be able to get his mouth on the harness in order to chew through it. The only time he should be wearing it is when you are holding his leash, which is attached to the harness, and of course in that case you would be supervising him. No dog should be able to chew through anything when you are walking him.

[Carol and Banjo]

Banjo chewed up two Gentle Leaders as well.    It always happened in the car.  Both times I sent the harness back to the company and for 6-7 dollars they replaced them.    Great company!  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Carol, are we talking Easy Walk or the head collar? I can't figure out how a dog could chew through the Easy Walk, even in the car. The head collar, I could see. Even the leash,  but not the harness itself.