Best harness/collar/etc for a BAD puller?

[Paviche]

Rowan pulls on a leash. Like, horribly so. I don't even generally take him places he has to be on a leash because of it, other than a quick trip to the pet store here and there. He seems to pull not to get to any particular object/goal, but just to pull... it's incredibly frustrating and I've been trying to train a nice loose leash walk for years now and it's just not making much of an impact.

So, I'm curious what you guys think are the best management tools for this situation. He has a Gentle Leader that we use infrequently at best. I see all kinds of things customers use for their dogs at work, from Easy Walk harnesses to Starmark training collars to prongs. Any ideas on what might work for him?

This is basically the one area where Riff outshines Rowan... he's so good on a leash!

 

[LostAndConfused]

Freedom no-pull. Hudson can get.......let's go with 'a little excited' when we go somewhere new and there are lots of people. Clip the leash to the front and he can't pull

 

[Emily]

Blossom is a freakish puller when excited. Tried several things but she pulled through every but a well-fitted pinch collar. That is generally my preference for strong pullers, though I have had success with head halters and front clip harnesses as well.

 

[*blackrose]

I've always used a prong on dogs that love to pull and are two strong for me to handle if they are pulling (aka, most of the Pittie's of dog sat/fostered). Never had an issue with a prong!

 

[Greenmagick]

My super strong husky mix pulled right through a (properly fitted) prong. Never phased her a bit after the initial time or two...plus it exacerbated her reactivity. I used a leash wrap on her and it worked wonderfully but if I had her now I would go with a no pull harness. I tried a halti on her but she wiggled out of them.

 

[Maxy24]

How does he do on the gentle leader?

 

[FG167]

Blossom is a freakish puller when excited. Tried several things but she pulled through every but a well-fitted pinch collar. That is generally my preference for strong pullers, though I have had success with head halters and front clip harnesses as well.

I've always used a prong on dogs that love to pull and are two strong for me to handle if they are pulling (aka, most of the Pittie's of dog sat/fostered). Never had an issue with a prong!

Agree

My super strong husky mix pulled right through a (properly fitted) prong. Never phased her a bit after the initial time or two...plus it exacerbated her reactivity. I used a leash wrap on her and it worked wonderfully but if I had her now I would go with a no pull harness. I tried a halti on her but she wiggled out of them.

Something to consider with the pinch. They can hype a dog up depending on how they handle pain/correction...

 

[sassafras]

X-Back and scooter!!


(Someday someone is going to take me up on this.)

 

[Emily]

X-Back and scooter!!


(Someday someone is going to take me up on this.)

Hey! True story - Blossom was so effing miserable on lead, like really, could not stop spinning, squealing, and looking for squirrels/other prey. I hooked her to my belt and a harness one day and started playing Cani-cross (including pairing the commands with various actions) and she was like a new dog. Bitch just needs a JOB. LOL

I only stopped because my belt cut into my waist and the cani-cross specific ones are like $50 waaaaaaaaaah.

 

[CaliTerp07]

I have had really, really good luck with the easy walk. I gave it to my inlaws whose puppy is an insane puller, and just picked up a sensation harness off amazon that I tried today for the first time. It's amazing how immediately the pulling stops.

 

[sassafras]

Hey! True story - Blossom was so effing miserable on lead, like really, could not stop spinning, squealing, and looking for squirrels/other prey. I hooked her to my belt and a harness one day and started playing Cani-cross (including pairing the commands with various actions) and she was like a new dog. Bitch just needs a JOB. LOL

I only stopped because my belt cut into my waist and the cani-cross specific ones are like $50 waaaaaaaaaah.

Honestly this is the only way I ever "walk" the youngsters anymore. My skijor belt gets a little hot in the summer, though.

 

[Saeleofu]

Training.


Barring that, or before training is actually working, a prong with a backup.

 

[faustus]

I've always had good luck with front clip harnesses. That's what I've used at two different shelters for dogs that pull. I've used both the Sensation and the Easy Walk and have the Easy Walk for my own dog. That said, no matter what tool you turn to it won't be as effective when it isn't paired with training, so make sure you break out the cookies

I've also just leash wrapped dogs at work if they aren't fitted for harnesses yet and turn out to be horrendous pullers. It doesn't stop them from pulling, but it also doesn't feel like they're going to rip your arm out of your socket anymore.

 

[Paige]

Just used a front clip harness here and put pullin on cue versus teaching a loose leash. He caught on he was only allowed to pull when asked to very quickly I used Pliny as I reward for walking nicely

 

[xpaeanx]

Personally, I like head-halters the best when working on breaking a dog from pulling.

 

[ruffiangirl]

I usually try a head harness first but I have only had one dog not loose their crap and try to rip their face off. So I also use prongs to train. Gage now can be walked on anything. But I trained him with the prong so he learned what I expected on every collar. Now I will use it occasionally when we are going to an event or something.

 

[Flyinsbt]

Training.

For equipment, it does depend on the dog, but nothing is foolproof. I've used a prong, it never worked for long with any of my dogs.

Tully did pretty well on a front clip harness, but I don't know how it would have worked long term. I didn't like the way it restricted her movement, so never used it on longer walks. Tess houdini'd her way out of the same kind of harness, so I couldn't use it on her.

I tried a Canny Collar on her: http://www.cannyco.com/ Which is basically a head halter that clips in back, so it's safer than pulling on their nose. It works, except that Tess can get it off her snout. So I spend a lot of time replacing it.

So, I just walk my dogs on harnesses so they don't hurt themselves pulling, and accept the fact that if I was a better dog trainer, they wouldn't be pulling. There's a limit to how many ineffective pieces of equipment I'm willing to buy. :lol-sign:

 

[skittledoo]

With Joey I use a starmark and love it for him. I tried a prong on him and if he barely pulled on it I could tell he was pretty darn uncomfortable so I took him off it. Tried him on a starmark paired with a LOT of leash training and he is so much better on leash now.

Cricket was on a prong collar for a while, but right now we have been taking a break from walking her with a prong or leash attached to any collar for that matter. As much as I'm not typically a fan of back clip harnesses, but right now I'm walking her on a sporn harness. I tried easy walk, but the small and the medium didn't fit her right. Tried the S/M one and I was able to fit it correctly to her, but she was walking weird on it and I think it was just an uncomfortable fit for her so no easy walk for her.

 

[DJEtzel]

Prongs have worked the best on every dog I've used them on. Definitely easiest for me to handle and them to respond to.

I know a lot of people in my training classes use and like front clip harnesses, with or without a tightening martingale piece.

 

[BostonBanker]

For those that use the Freedom, do you find it fits well and stays fitted? Neither of my dogs pull (much) with me, but my mother cares for them during the day and has issues. They both have an Easywalk, but I find they tend to loosen and slide around a lot. I'm wondering if that extra strap between the legs would make a difference.