OMG – if you speak to anyone with a dog, they are going to have an opinion about what works for their dog and what you should use. If you speak to a Dog Trainer, they will also have an opinion about what you should be using AND depending on their training views they may be telling you to use equipment that could be harmful to your dog and things that simply don’t work/help with your issues.
Side note: if you had 3 dog trainers in a room arguing about an issue the only thing that can be agreed upon, 2 of the dog trainers will agree that the one is doing it wrong!
I want you to remember leashes, collars, and harnesses are pieces of equipment should be used as only a tool to help you manage your dog while they learn the proper techniques of walking on a leash– they are not meant to magically solve your problems. Training and working your dog in a non-distracting environment is the key to walking your dog without pulling.
I don’t want to be that opinionate dog trainer that is telling you to only do THIS and sell you this brand of equipment, I want you to be informed about your choice and find something that works for you – I also don’t want you out wasting your money on 5 different things and still have a pulling dog. If you are really struggling with a pulling dog, then training is required and using tools that work!
I want everyone reading this that I had a leash PULLER, in 2010 when I got my big 100lbs Chocolate Lab Bear. Plus, I have years of experience with pulling dogs as I was a full-time dog walker for 6 years. So, I know where you are and the frustration you are experiencing. I can completely relate to your situation. It can be so frustrating and painful. So lets get into the in’s and out’s of equipment.
Leashes
Let’s start with Leashes – So again, I am not here to preach! (Ok well maybe a little bit lol) what I want to say is this is what I use/and do, and I have walked a lot of dogs, with all kinds of different skills and abilities.
I personally use a regular 4’ to 5’ leash with my dogs. Lately I have been using Biothane Leashes -they are waterproof, easy to hold on to and easy to keep clean (with no stink!) As you can see I like to have shorter leashes when walking dogs because… (remember I own a reactive dog) if you run into a situation – you have more control over the situation if your dog is on a short leash, it doesn’t allow the dog to be far away from you and have you struggling to gain control over your dog. Most people will have the opinion that you have a longer line so the dog can explore and sniff and have a good time, get tired out- well they can do all that on a short leash as well not to worry – they are just going to do it closer to you, plus by walking them on a shorter leash and not pulling, you are working their brain which in fact will tire them out more than the exercise will.
I will also use a 20’ long line in situations when I want to do training with a dog who doesn’t have a great recall, or the dog is not familiar with me, using these in safe places (not on roadways, crowded areas with people and other dogs) the 20’ line gives your dog freedom, with no tension on the leash, you can control the leash with 2 hands and when trust is being built you can simply drop the line and let it drag (when practicing your recall)
When I was a pack leader and hiking upwards of 14 dogs off leash in the mountains – I would need to leash up the dogs from the van to the place in which was safe to let them free- so I used a dog walking belt with multiple leashes hooked to rings attached to the belt. Now this is also controversial because it can cause harm to you – you can be pulled down and get dragged, it can create back pain (if pulled in a funny way) you are essentially attached to your dog – so be prepared! So, I wouldn’t recommend this to all people or dogs, and I would say use a waist leash with caution and make sure you practice your no pull walking prior to using this tool. However the positives of using a waist belt is I find it very helpful when walking multiple dogs, hands are free to pick up poop etc, AND you may have better walks because sometimes it’s you that is causing the dog to pull - I will speak about this later on but you must assess what you are doing (creating tension, pulling back or up on the dog which will encourage your dog to pull) by having the dog on your waist you in a sense creating calmness.
Now that I have told you what I do use I will tell you what I would never use – and that is a retractable leash – and here are my reasons why.
Retractable Leashes normally have big plastic handles which are hard to grip and hang on to – which makes walking a pulling dog or multiple dogs difficult. PLUS, if the dog suddenly pulls the plastic handle can get yanked out of your hand very easily.
Retractable Leashes with the brake mechanism tend to malfunction– either mechanically or human fails – people “think” the brake is on and it isn’t which can create bad situations. Or the yank of the dog simply breaks the brake switch, and you have a failure!
When your mechanism fails – you cannot grab the metal line!!!! You will burn your hands; trust it is quite painful!
The metal lines tend to break/snap, heavy dogs can bolt and snap the line easily.
It’s super hard on your dog’s body when they have a 20’ long running start and then they get jammed to a dead stop! (especially if you are walking your dogs on a collar- more to come on that later)
Retractable Leashes creates pulling! There is always a tension on a retractable leash and dog instinctually will pull against tension so because there is that tension you may create a puller using this equipment.
I know there are some of you who walk or have walked with a retractable leash, and you love it and don’t have issues – again if it works for you and your dog, I am glad you have found something you like – it is just not for me!
There are also leashes with a bungy cord in the middle of them- I also dislike those leashes for several reasons. Again, you lose control of situations when/if there is a reaction to something and your dog suddenly pulls – you think they are only a few feet away from you and then suddenly they are bouncing off the end of a 7-8’ leash because of the stretch. I just basically feel like I have less control over situations when walking with a bungy leash – in saying that people who are runners the bungy leash works great with those situations. Again, you do you if you like them and have success then use it.
If you want a giggle about Retractable Leashes give this comedian a watch, I had a good laugh, and he covers many of the topics I am speaking about here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=um5XSNNvEdg
Collars
Here’s where things get interesting. Dog collars!
Flat Collars
Martingale Collars
Head Halters
Metal (Chain) Choke Collars
Pinch Collars
Electric Collars, scented collars, shock collar
Flat Dog Collar - The basic dog collar is a flat collar, they come in a variety of widths, and materials. These types of collars I suggest using only to keep their ID tags on – they really shouldn’t be used to walk your dog on leash, unless your dog is NOT a puller. If your dog is trained and walks well then certainly use it. But for Puppies or dogs who have not learned the skill of loose leash walking I highly recommend not clipping a leash to these types of collars.
Martingale Collar – this collar looks somewhat like a regular collar however there is an extra loop on it (could be cloth or a chain) that will tighten up on your dog’s neck when it pulls but it won’t continue to get smaller the more its being pulled on (it’s meant to prevent pulling). Now the Martingale Collar also isn’t the greatest tool as it still can be pulled on by the dog – training is required, and I also suggest if you are going to use one, get a wide one so that it doesn’t create an injury to your dog’s neck. I do like to use Martingale Collars as a backup security check – what do I mean by this? Well for NEW to you Rescue dogs I highly recommend you using this type of collar as it is very difficult for a dog to “back out” of it, if you have ever seen a dog that is fearful or being stubborn – they will put the brakes on by pulling backwards and flip their head which will get that collar off its head and break free. This can also happen with a Martingale as well so make sure that it is tightened correctly. My dog Slicks has gotten herself out of her Martingale collar even though the collar was in an appropriate setting (she has a small head and a wide neck). So just be cautious. What I now do is I use a front clipping harness along with a Martingale Collar and I use my leash and clip it to the collar and the harness- this way if they manage to get out of the harness or the collar there is a backup!
Head Halters or Gentle Leader – I have personally used both pieces of equipment and for the most part I don’t particularly like them and maybe because when I did use them, I didn’t do enough training with the dog prior to taking them out on a walk. Basically, they are straps that go around the dog’s muzzle to prevent pulling. They can work, when the dog pulls, the straps are designed to pull their muzzle down, restraining their heads from moving forward. Some disadvantages- it takes a lot of training to accumulate your dog to have it on his nose, it can cause chaffing of the nose and possible do damage to the sensitive area, when and if the dog continues to pull the strap sometimes rides up and effects the eye on the side with the leash. The dog typically gets upset about the straps on the nose and then paws at it to get it off, hence a lot of training before going out on a walk – trust me when I say that they can and will get them off if they want to and that means a sudden off leash situation, unless you have hooked up a safety harness to a collar.
Choke collar (please don’t use these) choke collars are usually a metal chain that loops around creating a cinch type contraption. As the dog pulls it cinches down onto the dog’s neck (making it uncomfortable????) Choking the dog- it’s meant to prevent pulling… The theory of this collar is as the dog begins to pull you are meant to give the dog a “correction” by yanking the leash snapping the collar tightly against the dog’s neck creating pain, so the dog won’t continue to pull. Well, as you can imagine it is not very humane and when you have big powerful dogs, they have a huge pain tolerance and likely will just continue to pull. The other issue with this type of collar is because you are choking the dog it’s losing its airway putting the dog into a frantic state which as you may know is not going to help with pulling, excitement, reactivity – it will actually elevate all those things.
Pinch or Prong Collar -These types of collars are banned in some countries such as Spain, France, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland, Germany and Australia. The intent of these collars is to quickly inflict pain and discomfort when there is any tension on the leash – there are metal prongs that dig into the dog’s neck (which obviously hurts) when they pull. Again the use of these collars are meant to give a quick correction from the handler when the dog begins to pull and it’s not supposed to cause a lot of pain for a long time, the problem comes from when the average Joe goes and gets a collar, doesn’t know how to properly fit or use this equipment then it definitely is a disaster for the dog.
From a personal experience and the reason I don’t like using these type of collar is, I used to walk a dog who’s owner insisted that I use this collar – the Prong collar was fit to be extremely tight on the dogs neck and well I never wanted to use it so I would walk her normally on a Martingale Collar, one day I had forgotten the extra Martingale I used for her at home and had no other options but to use this Prong Collar. This particular dog was not an off leash dog as she had no recall and she was also a bit reactive and would often lunged out to play with an off leash dogs who was running past – on this day with the Prong collar she lunged and the collar immediately pinched causing pain, she cried out- she thought the pain came from the dog running past and she then lunged out again attacking the passing by dog… and there I was in the middle of a dog fight. Dogs don’t necessarily understand where pain is coming from and can redirect other dogs and you!
So, using these types of collars will in fact “quickly” solve dog pulling, but the risk you have may not be worth it in the end. In my opinion spending quality time training your dogs, being patient and working hard at doing “the work” will have you walking your dogs without having to use force or painful correctors.
E-Collars or Shock Collars – These collars are also banned in some countries and provinces. The E-Collar is used quite often for all types of training. Typically, the collar comes with a remote and it will Beep, Vibrate or Zap the dog in the neck from 2 large prongs that are tight to the neck, the unit also has varying degrees of punishment meaning you set the dial to what you want the outcome to be. When the dog is doing some “wrong” handler is meant to push the button to let the dog know it’s a correction for that specific action… for the most part owners have the remote hanging around their necks so by the time you grab it and hit the button your dog could be doing a good thing and they are being punished for that thing. This downfalls of this devise in my opinion it creates fear and pain, but it also can fail- if the batteries die or unit doesn’t get turned on, dog needs to have the collar on for it to work, and lastly you must have your timing impeccable which it rarely is when using such a tool. Why wouldn’t you teach your dog what you want instead of relying on such a tool? People may say well I can use this when the dog is too far away from me! But what that tells me is you are allowing the dog too much freedom before it is capable of that freedom. Training the dog while it is in an environment which they are successful in first and then branch out to larger, more distracted environments, or have your dog on a long line so you have control of situations.
I have had experience with a dog handler using this type of tool with a huge failure in the end and another reason why I won’t use them. I was walking 2 large dogs on a wide trail and there was a man walking an off-leash dog towards me. I called out to the man to leash his dog because the dogs I was walking were not overly friendly. He yelled back “my dog is under the control” he reached down to hit his button on the remote hanging on his neck, but it didn’t work- the dog came rushing in at us, dogs that I was walking started to react – I called to the man again to call his dog, he kept trying to hit the remote button which was obviously dead. A fight broke out and the man finally managed to get his dog and apologized saying this had never happened before. My thoughts are wouldn’t it be better to train a reliable recall rather than depending on a tool that may fail? I think training is the better way.
Some things to think about with Collars
Collars can put your dog/puppy in danger if too loose. When the collar is too loose, and your dog could potentially get frightened or overly excited they can easily reverse themselves and flip their head and pop that collar right off, most of the time when a dog experiences “freedom” they will run off to explore- If you are dealing with a frightened dog or a new rescue, they will most definitely run off to escape. As mentioned above a dog can get out of its collar and harness quicker than you think – if your dog doesn’t have a recall, you could get yourself and your dog/puppy into trouble very quickly.
Also, when the collar is too loose it could get something stuck in the collar (a stick, another dog’s paw, random odd things you wouldn’t think about) could cause a choking hazard or injury.
In the picture is an example of a harness that is made to be way too big. It's inhibiting the ability to move her front legs freely and its sagging off of her, it doesn't even look comfortable on her. If this dog would get upset and put the brakes on while handler was walking forward it could easily slide right out of this harness.
Collars can be too tight! The proper adjustment is for your dog’s collar to fit so you can fit 2 fingers under the collar all the way around. A collar too tight causes all sorts of problems. The neck is vital to your dog’s health because it oversees the nerves, blood, and energy flow supplied to the muscles and organs, and it also connects the brain with the rest of the body. So, we are using a collar – especially one that is too tight, it will cut off that circulation very quickly. This is also a hazard when the dog is pulling, and the collar goes tight onto the neck.
Please be extra diligent in checking the collar of a puppy as we know they grow like weeds and within a few days’ time the collar can quickly become too tight!
Collars can cause injuries to the neck, spine, parasympathetic nervous system, also can cause a Tracheal collapse especially in smaller breeds, Thyroid glands damage- the thyroid glands are in that exact position of the collar especially when your dog is pulling on a leash attached to their collar!!!!
Other things to think about using collars – choking hazards there has been many dogs’ deaths/near deaths cause by dogs being choked accidently – in dog play dogs can get caught up in a collar and twist to get out of the situation which will obviously cause the collar to tighten lessening the ability to breath. Also, I have experience this we have tags on the collar and a dog will lay down over a floor vent or something similar and the tag goes down the hole and dog jumps up and can get freaked out/scared trying to get free spinning and turning tightening up on the neck, or the dog will run in panic to get away from the thing attached to him.
As you can see there is a lot more to think about than just strapping a collar to your dog’s neck and going for a walk.
Harnesses
Ok now we move on to even more controversy – the Harness!
We all know that dog sledding dogs wear harnesses – and there are a lot of “trainers” who will say that a harness will MAKE a dog pull. Well, that could be a very true statement. But for the most part they are painting every harness with the same brush and this statement simply is not true. If you have been in a pet store you likely know there are a huge number of harnesses out there all meant to “help” you walk your dog. Some work, some don’t, some never get fitted properly, some/most really cause more problems than they solve. There are so many factors to consider when buying a harness and the fit is extremely important. Most pet parents for some reason like to fit a harness loosely (I have seen this over and over) the problem is when a harness is fitted loose the harness slides all over the body when the dog is pulling, they can slip out of a harness if you grab the harness and they are wiggling and are excited about something. Loose fitting equipment rarely work well so please don’t feel like you are doing the dog a favour by making the harness loose or buying a harness that the puppy will grow into!
I personally use harnesses with my dogs, I use a product called the 2 Hound Freedom Harness. This is a harness designed to prevent your dog from pulling – however it still takes training to use even this tool.
With the number of different harnesses out there I don’t think I could get into all the good and bad with each individual one. However, in my opinion – a harness that clips in the back in between the shoulder blades or sometimes lower down on the back will create a pull and you as the handler have less control to diffuse situations with excitement or reactivity. Harnesses that clip in the front tend to work much better to control pulling, and in saying this some of these harnesses out there with the clip in the front also don’t work and that is normally because the harness doesn’t fit well and or the handler has the harness too loose.
The trick is to find a harness that has many points where the harness can be adjusted to fit, be somewhat simple and easy to put on, don’t cause chaffing under the armpits of the dog, work at fixing your pulling problem, and works for you.
I have found that the 2 Hound Freedom Harness covers all those points mentioned above and the best part of all this is I am a distributor for this company, so I do carry them in stock. They range in size from 2xSM to 2xL so can fit most any dog/puppy and have 4 size adjustments areas for a great fit, they also have a velvety band that goes around their belly to prevent chaffing!
Wow I think we have gotten to the end of this very lengthy blog, and if you got all the way to the end I hope I have helped you make some decisions about what equipment you would like to use on your dog, and how to prevent the equipment you are using from creating an injury to your dog. Remember everything isn’t foolproof and the TOP solution to most issues is to do training!
SOOOOOO guess what, I haven't done this workshop in a dogs age, but I am booking in the Fun and Focused Loose Leash Walking Workshop in a few weeks in Wheatley River PEI so keep a watch on the website and Facebook page for more information!
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