Freedom No Pull Dog Harness From Clean Run Free Shipping

[littlesev]

I personally wouldn't use a prong collar because mine is a small breed prone to trachea collapse and can only wear a harness. So when choosing harnesses, my priority is comfort. Now I let him run for a good 15 minutes, then he gets tired and I have a dog who's reasonably nice on lead.

I realise most people here have larger breeds, but is there an alternative to teach dog to not pull without prong collar?

Edited March 7, 2013 by littlesev

[Aidan3]

Front-attach harnesses, correctly fitted, are completely unrestrictive across the chest. A dog could run quite happily off-leash in one, I can't see how it would be a problem unless the front strap was pulled far too tight.

I don't see too many front-attach harnesses around, but of those I do see, it's rare to see a dog pull in them. I'm not sure what damage they could do, even if the dog were pulling, but if anyone knows of any dogs injured (acutely or over time) while wearing one I'd be interested to hear about the circumstances.

I would suggest that if someone has fitted a front-attach harness and the dog is pulling, that they seek the help of someone competent in their use to check fit and then teach how to avoid having the dog pull. It's very awkward for a dog to pull in a front-attach harness and they aren't in a strong position to do so unless you (subconsciously) "help them" pull by giving them something to pull directly against.

[Salukifan]

I personally wouldn't use a prong collar because mine is a small breed prone to trachea collapse and can only wear a harness. So when choosing harnesses, my priority is comfort. Now I let him run for a good 15 minutes, then he gets tired and I have a dog who's reasonably nice on lead.

I realise most people here have larger breeds, but is there an alternative to teach dog to not pull without prong collar?

Of course! You can start by never reinforcing the dog pulling by allowing it to move forward by doing so. This is best started with baby pups and those who allow a pup to pull are setting themselves up for a lot of sore arms as the dog gets bigger and stronger.

You can use a clicker pretty effectively to reward a loose lead.

Or you can train the dog to walk in a position that doesn't allow it to pull on the leash eg. walking by your side.

But for powerful dogs that have no understanding of walking on a loose lead OR for powerful dogs capable of dragging their owners, you need an effective method to control the dog while manners are taught. What the tool will be that assists with that will depend on dog and handler.

[Aidan3]

I realise most people here have larger breeds, but is there an alternative to teach dog to not pull without prong collar?

Yes, the vast majority of dogs I work with wear either a flat collar or martingale and learn not to pull on the leash. Effective use of positive reinforcement and consistency are the keys.

[corvus]

Do these harnesses cross the dog's chest/shoulders or are they Y harnesses? If they are the former, they will be inhibiting natural movement in the front legs and muscle issues may occur. This is one of the reasons Guide Dogs are supposedly looking at redesign of their traditional harness and their dogs do not wear those harnesses 24/7.

They cross the dogs chest and shoulders, but as Aidan said, they are loose unless the dog pulls. I've been watching them and wondering about the restricted movement. They kind of have to walk slow anyway, which I expect also alters their gait and may not be entirely natural. As long as they are walking by your side or on a loose leash their movement seems free to me.

As for raising puppies, I am not sure why they make the decisions they have about it, but I think a lot of the point is to keep the dogs out of kennels as much as possible. They are a charity and just don't have the resources to raise puppies themselves. They have recently partnered with a training and pet sitting company and are hopeful this will result in some dogs that can at least walk on a leash. They do train puppy raisers, but that doesn't mean the puppy raisers will retain any of the information or be good at applying it. They downgrade dogs almost automatically if they come in pulling a lot because it takes too long to retrain them and it eats into their service dog skills training, so it's a source of enormous frustration. I'm sure it's not an easy problem to solve or they would have solved it by now.

[Salukifan]

Do these harnesses cross the dog's chest/shoulders or are they Y harnesses? If they are the former, they will be inhibiting natural movement in the front legs and muscle issues may occur. This is one of the reasons Guide Dogs are supposedly looking at redesign of their traditional harness and their dogs do not wear those harnesses 24/7.

They cross the dogs chest and shoulders, but as Aidan said, they are loose unless the dog pulls. I've been watching them and wondering about the restricted movement. They kind of have to walk slow anyway, which I expect also alters their gait and may not be entirely natural. As long as they are walking by your side or on a loose leash their movement seems free to me.

They're actually using thermal imaging to test the impact of service dog and race dog harnesses in the USA now. If there's any impediment to movement, it shows up as muscle heat.

This is an interesting article on the subject

Edited March 7, 2013 by Haredown Whippets

[NaturallyWild]

The most beneficial way of using any of these harnesses that have a connector at the front and the back is not just to connect it to the front and then pull back if they pull or get out in front. This is going to put strain on the body (as will any form of pulling back on a lead, be it harness or collar of any form). What works best (particularly with the freedom harness and the sliding loop) is to actually lift up and forward (gently - not so you lift them of the ground). This results in them rebalancing their own weight back to a less forward motion (simple physics and avoiding the opposition reflex). For dogs that race forward a lot you can add some lightly greater grip/tension on the leash and "stroke the leash" one hand after the other (you allow the lead to slide through your hand but are offering about the same resistance as they are pulling forward with).

All this type of leash/harness work comes from TTouch concepts where it is about helping the dog actually move in better balance - not about forcing a stop in motion. I still come back to using a "balance leash", particularly when I have no harness, and it often does a better job.

For most dogs if you take the pressure off the collar and transfer it to the front of the chest they will shift their weight backwards and slow their movement (some back up so we loop it through the legs). I don't like seeing dogs pull in anything harness/collar/chain (or have their collars jerked/corrected) as I know of the deep physical problems it causes and what needs to be done to correct this.

For anyone with the Gentle Leader Easywalk harness we recommend reversing the part that goes underneath the chest to over the top of the shoulders. This usually raises the height of the front chest strap so it doesn't pull down into the shoulders/elbows. The Blackdog harness has a sliding buckles for the strap around the front that allow it to be moved up/down. People should keep an eye that this hasn't dropped low over time.

Nekhbet - these harnesses are not about causing discomfort of correction and should not be used in this fashion. Many of them are about redirecting movement (like a head halter used correctly), and if used in the best way they are about improving balanced movement. Regardless of what perceived pain threshold you see, if you have to rely on overcoming this then I would recommend you attend a TTouch training to see that this is not necessary.

[sheena]

I had a look at that video, & interestingly, I have been using my leash like that for a long, long, time not realising that the method had a name. It works well on my guys & I can controll them with my little finger, if I make sure both loops are very loose & low down on their chest, almost lapping on the top of their legs. That is until, they stop suddenly for a sniff or a pee, then it comes off over their head. Havn't tried it with the leash under one leg though. Would it be inclined to rub under their arm

[NaturallyWild]

Havn't tried it with the leash under one leg though. Would it be inclined to rub under their arm

You don't want to have constant pressure there if you can. If they surge forward, a gentle up-lift and then soften. I often tell people to lift, catchup to the dog so you are at their shoulders and then soften because they no longer in front. It shouldn't really rub because it ideally goes across the middle of the chest.

For people that find that any of these things do not work, what usually changes it all is helping the person become better balanced. Same ideas as a horse rider who is off balance will lead to a horse with issues. We transfer a lot through the lead/saddle/reins.

[BoxerB]

Just thought i would give a little update on this. I went ahead and bought the Freedom and it arrived a couple of weeks back, and all i can say is wow!! I have no idea how it does what it does but it in a word it's amazing. (in my case anyway :) )

I have no connection with the company at all, want to get that out of the way, and purchased it cause of this thread.

My boy is a 7mnth old Boxer pup and on a normal collar and leash, he would pull like crazy. I was working with him pretty hard to change the behaviour and we were progressing, but no doubt, he was stall pulling like a train whenever he decided it's time to pull.

As soon as the harness came, i threw it on him and there was an instant change. I really mean instant.

He still does every now and then pull, but as soon as there's any pressure, he stops and looks at me and waits. It's not that continued, I'm going this way i don't give a crap what you're doing, kinda pulling :)

I'm only using the connection on the back not both. I tried the back first it works and so have never needed to add the front connection at the neck.

End result is that i am absolutely rapped at the difference. Again no idea why but it's working.

It's so good that where before i actually dreaded taking him out for a walk, i now look for excuses to take him out and we now do multiple walks each day. Right now at work thinking how many hours left till i get home and can walk him :) - pretty sad!

I can see he's more confident on his walks cause he's no longer choking himself, and I'm more confident cause he is.

Like i said, he still does get ahead of me a little every now and then but as soon as he's at the end and there's tension it's an instant stop.

Love this thing!!!

[sheena]

That's great BoxerB. Just make sure, being a pup that he doesn't chew it up. My boy went through three harnesses till he grew out of the "chew" stage at about 18 months. :)

[FHRP]

Has anyone used these front attach harnesses on a dog they later did (or did at the same time) tracking with? Having seen how effective they are on a young border colie that had to be the worst puller I have seen, I am tempted to try it out for certain situations with my own dogs. However, will they learn not to pull in a tracking harness??

[BoxerB]

That's great BoxerB. Just make sure, being a pup that he doesn't chew it up. My boy went through three harnesses till he grew out of the "chew" stage at about 18 months. :)

Thanks Sheena, and haha yes, have already had the "talk" with him about chewing things that we need to take him for walks and play.

If he goes anywhere near the lead/collar/harness with his mouth, off it comes, back inside it goes and so do I :)

He's a pretty quick learner when the end result is no walk/play

[Podengo]

Has anyone used these front attach harnesses on a dog they later did (or did at the same time) tracking with? Having seen how effective they are on a young border colie that had to be the worst puller I have seen, I am tempted to try it out for certain situations with my own dogs. However, will they learn not to pull in a tracking harness??

My dog was taught to walk in a front attach harness from the moment I took her home (she walks loose lead on a flat collar now). It has not interfered with her tracking at all. I guess they know the difference between the harnesses, and the situation? When tracking I will get the specific tracking harness out which is heavier and thicker, and a different build, I will put my gloves on, untangle the line, we're generally at a big field or up the hills somewhere... The other harness would get put on while we're at home, then we would go for a walk around the street.

[Staffyluv]

That is great news BB..

I wish Zig's had worked out - I have spent a small fortune on 'training aids' with him and all it took was time and persistence in the end.