Are harnesses good??

@elwhit1 I have a little shiranian she walks loose so very well, I have a puppy chi. Teaching her was like herding kittens, she is getting it now took about 6weeks
 
@musha Anyone who advocates for putting a prong collar on ANY dog let alone a tiny shitzu puppy is 1000% not someone I would take any dog advice from.
Aversives like prong collars are not necessary to train any dog and cause long term problems.
 
@musha Don't listen to them. Shih Tzus are prone to tracheal collapse, and a collar just increases the risk of that. Harnesses don't cause dogs to pull, but even if they did, a dog that pulls is better than one that can't breathe
 
@musha You have a Shih Tzu, you don't need a prong collar. Get a front clip harness and you'll be fine. Don't use a retractable leash... those will encourage pulling.

If your dog is doing fine, there's no reason to immediately jump to aversive training methods.
 
@kvasas There's no reason to use aversive training methods anyways. Instead of using the prong, hire a trainer to help if you're failing. A common reason that dogs don't pick up loose leash walking is reactivity, "failing" and jumping to aversive tools due to that will just make matters worse.
 
@musha I don’t listen to people that advice prong collars. If you’re raising a puppy from scratch and need a prong collar to do so, I’d argue you’re an absolutely garbage dog trainer. (And the people I’ve seem recommending it call themselves dog trainers. Ludicrous…)
 
@musha Also a dog on a collar in my personal experience won’t pull any less. If the dog wants to pull it will pull, the harness is just healthier. My last dog would pull and put pressure on her trachea to a degree she would hack and cough and had to stop walking to catch her breath. Switched to the harness, she didn’t pull any more than normal, she just also stopped hurting herself. Will never use anything but a harness again with my dogs. Get one that attaches to the chest to teach no pull or try one of the muzzle leads to teach no pulling but switch to a harness when the dog is trained if it’s really a concern. There’s also muzzle leads that can simultaneously connect to the harness I think which is a happy medium.
 
@musha Harness don't teach dogs to pull. That is a myth. I personally only use harnesses with all my dogs and I've only had 1 out of my past 9 dogs that pulls. If you are concerned about pulling, you should check out Kikopup's leash pressure game on YouTube. I've been doing it with my senior dog who is my puller and after 2 months he will finally look back at me sometimes on walks when he feels pressure on the leash. Most of the time, he doesn't notice since he is so focused on smelling everything, but he has made some good progress for being almost 14 years old.
 
@musha Harnesses were the only thing that allowed me to teach my husky not to pull and I continued using them with my Australian Shepherd and now my puppy. My Aussie was absolutely terrible about walking using his collar and he once choked himself so badly I had to bring him to the vet. Dogs learn not to pull by being trained not to pull
 
@fenfuro My 6 month old Husky was pulling so hard he would end up panting and rasping. Walking was a nightmare. He'd walk a foot yanking, I'd stop him and make him sit. He'd walk a foot yanking. I'd have to turn the opposite way. We never got anywhere.

Harness on with leash buckled to chest and he walks normally with little pulling.

Maybe I'm not training him properly, but he's not hurting himself and ripping my arm off.
 
@stingrayer I lost my 13.5 year old husky in August. She was so smart and so wonderful and a pleasure to walk. But she wasn’t always. I spent an entire summer walking her in circles around a park, stopping, turning, correcting. Sometimes I would be in tears because I just wanted both of us to enjoy the walks so much more. But we got there and the harness helped immensely. I never imagined while we were deep in the trenches that she would be my easy dog that I would pass off to my mom and friends to walk while I tackled my Aussie, but she was so lovely and the work was totally worth it
 
@fenfuro :( I'm sorry for your loss.

My Nicky is definitely clever. He picks up things quickly. But he's also a toddler Husky - so energetic. And he's already over 40 lbs at 6 months so I've got to rein him in now or I'll lose my shoulder joint from yanking!
 
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