No Pull Harness

[Kat and Winston]

Winston is 10.5 months old and 24 lbs. He is  a fabulous dog, who we all love to death,  but he's strong and even with lots of training and two walks a day he would still pull when he wants to go see something bad enough.

It is very hard on my lower back and had meant I had begun to relent all his walks to other members of the family, which made me sad because I love to walk and want to take him with me, but I don't want to be in agony the next day.

I bought a harness at Walmart of all places that says it would instantly stop pulling. I was reluctant, but thought I'd give it a try.

I just tried it for the first time this morning and he didn't even try to pull. Not once. He walked along like he was a show dog....lol. He has the retriever strength but definitely has the poodle prance...haha.

So is there anything wrong with using these?

I seem to recall reading something before about them not being the best for some reason, but since he didn't even attempt to pull, I'm trying to figure out how it could hurt him. It's padded, goes over his head and his front paws go through it.

 

[Kat and Winston]

One of the dogs we pass on our daily walks has the gentle leader. I had considered trying it, so we'll see how things go and if need be I'll look into it. My daughter and husband are going to continue using his regular collar, but I will use the harness when I walk him and hope that since it's not every walk he won't figure out how to pull through it. It's good to know the gentle leader has worked for you though if need be for the future.

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Huge advocate for the GL. Yeti hates it and scratches after it comes off, but he is sooooo good on it. I can't not use it because he is that good!

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Kat ~ have you considered starting from square one with training?  It takes quite a bit of patience when you have a dog who wants to be the leader.  You should not walk forward if your dog is in front of you, stop, it make take a few minutes, etc., but if you are not moving, they will turn around to see what is hanging them up.  When you get that eye contact say "come" and when he does reward him for being a good boy.  Then start out in another direction.  Dogs are quick learners, but they need to know they are not the leader.  You might consider checking out Doggie Dan the online trainer under Preferred Vendors on this site  - he is a fantastic trainer in New Zealand and is videos are terrific. 

My second Doodle thought he should be out front so I know what you are going through.  My first doodle - Charlie is medium size and has always walked right by me looking to me for guidance, then along came second Doodle - Beau and he is not a dominate and knows he is second in the pecking order behind Charlie, but when he was a teenager and I would say lets go for a walk, Beau would be at the door wanting to be first one out and then try to make sure he was always walking ahead of Charlie and me!  It was crazy dynamics and was so irritating because our once wonderful walks turned into a nightmare overnight.  So I started taking Beau separately and really working with him so he knew I was the leader on walks, not him and he would be where I wanted him (at my side) or we were not walking.  He caught on very quickly.  You can do it.  Your doodle is precious and so darn cute - I hope I see a post soon that says you are enjoying walking your beautiful doodle.  Hang in there.   

[Kat and Winston]

Thank you...We are not giving up on training him. We have definitely made progress over the past few months, but we still have a ways to go and because of the lower back pain I was having to do less and less of the training and walking and letting my husband and 18 year old daughter do it.

Winston is pretty good about walking beside the person who has the leash and if other family members end up falling behind he will look back and want to make sure they are still there.  We also always make him wait for us to go out the door first, BUT when he sees a person or another dog, he wants to go say hello and will try to drag you over to them. He wasn't nicknamed the Walmart Greeter at training class for nothing...:-)

Anyways thanks for the encouragement. I am going to use the harness when I walk him for now and we'll see how that goes and my husband and daughter will continue without it for training opportunities.

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Ok - now I get it.  I hope your back heals and you feel well enough to enjoy your walks with Winston.  Remember he is still very much a puppy and really be thankful he loves everyone.  That is a good thing once he learns how to control his energy. I just love his color.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Some harnesses compress the shoulder.  Those are the ones you want to avoid over using.

[Joani, Skadi & Elli]

Wow!  I love Winston's coloring!  He is absolutely a head turner...no wonder you want him to behave HAHA.  Hope all is solved with the GL.  I have never had any luck with my girls with a flat collar so they are always on the prong...and they just seem to know when they have those on...still a mystery to me how they are so intuitive.  If you have found something that works for you that's great...praise and treats may help reinforce the new good behavior.  Have fun...he looks like such a love.