[Valerie and George]

I bought George an Anti-Pull Harness today because I'm afraid he'll hurt his neck, he pulls so much on his collar when we first start off and he's so eager and full of vinegar. It's got sherpa padding for the part that goes under his front legs and it apparently tightens under there when he pulls and it's supposed to stop him pulling, but I don't want to hurt him in any way. Anyone have one of these? What do you think of it?

 

[Anonymous]

I bought one recently and returned it. It had the little pads, etc. It had too many parts for me to work with. My dog is flipping circles when it's time for "walkies". When I walk towards the area where we keep the leashes, she goes wild. I could't get it on her ...couldn't figure it out!

There was a discussion on here, about a month ago, concerning the different kinds of these things. Lots of good advice. I use a standard harness. I keep it in position and slip it right on and out the door we go. IF you can work with that one, I'm sure it will be great. I think it's called the Sporn or something like that. It's one of the better ones.

Good luck.

 

[Anonymous]

I initially had a harness for Jasmine, but she quickly decided it was a tool of the devil, and would run and hide as soon as I brought it out, even though she loves walks. I wish you the best of luck with it, as we still have to battle with Jasmine every time we have to put her car harness on her.

 

[Anonymous]

i bought a sporn anti pull callar for ryobi (need one for atticus too) and it works great, although the pads often move so you have to keep an eye on it and the little mecinizim(sp) on top that tightens to callar and holds it in place does often slip and move, but all in all it doesn't seem to bother him and it does keep him from pulling making our walks much more enjoyable.

 

[Valerie and George]

I don't think George is going to like this much, either. I haven't tried it yet. If he hates it, I'll give up and try to think of something else. Or learn to run. LOL

 

[jmm]

i havent used this collar but many have had success....with the "the gentle leader"

 

[Valerie and George]

No, I've seen pictures of those and I'm not going to do that to him.

 

[Milly and Lily]

Have you tried teaching him to heel using treats, keep his focus on you and not whats on the ground? That worked for Lily and I.

 

[Valerie and George]

Oh, I don't mind if he's sniffing and peeing and stuff. It's HIS walk and I want him to do what he wants. I just don't want him to hurt himself pulling too hard on his collar. The idea of the harness is not so much to keep him from pulling on me as to keep pressure off his neck.

 

[Anonymous]

"The Gentle Leader" was the best $30 I ever spent

 

[Anonymous]

Valerie, Francis wears a harness because with glaucoma any extra pressure in the head is bad. He loves the harness and frankly, I feel like I have better control with it. A dog who pulls on his lead with a collar increases pressure in his head. It's not the cause of glaucoma but it can exacerbate the condition.
A lot of people have had more success with harnesses (plain ones) than collars when it comes to training your dog. Either was the same for us, we just switched to the harness when he got sick.

 

[Mikey T]

I use the sporn for training but discard the padding. The very nature of the device is to create discomfort when the dog pulls thereby lessening there willingness to do it. If you do have an aversion to causing the dog pain you need a different device but it must be noted that pulling against any restraint will cause some discomfort for the dog that is self induced.

The gentle leader is not without risk THE PROBLEM WITH HEAD HALTERS if you are looking for a device that is suppose to stop the dog from pulling but does no induce discomfort you may want to investigate the sense-ible harness

from page 7 of San Francisco Samoyed Rescue Newsletter Summer 2005

Have problems leash training your dog?
By Beverley Andalora
I do. Leash training a breed that was bred for pulling is not easy! And one of our dogs would pull until he choked himself, then pull some more. So I decided to try some of the no-pull harnesses on the market. I thought I’d share my experiences.

I tried the Sporn Training Halter, the Holt Control Harness, and the SENSE-ible harness. My personal preference ended up being the Sporn. Our most intense puller, Vergil, seemed most comfortable in the Sporn halter. He took to it right away, prancing along on our walk rather than pulling until he couldn’t breathe. Suddenly, walking him became a pleasure! Our other puller, Niku, didn’t like any of the harnesses, but he seemed most comfortable with the Sporn, and the Sporn did greatly minimize
his pulling.

[ April 05, 2006, 11:20 PM: Message edited by: Mikey T ]

 

[Valerie and George]

The halter I bought looks like the Sporn, though it's a different brand -- Yuppie Puppy (the name and logo are very tiny on the package and the words "Anti-Pull Harness" are huge so I thought that must be the brand name. It doesn't look as though it would hurt him, but if it does, out it goes and I'll get a regular harness to keep from hurting his neck. They didn't have any regular harnesses at Wal-Mart -- I think they were just out of them -- which is why I bought this one.

 

[Mikey T]

The founder of sporn is also the founder of Yuppie Puppy the first doggie daycare in the country Sounds like very old packaging. Yuppie Puppy pre dates sporn which was formed in approx 1999.

 

[Valerie and George]

whattya know. Must've been old stock they were getting rid of.

 

[Anonymous]

Any luck with the harness. I just bought one today before I read this and am really hoping that it will work. They said I could return it if it did not "look used." Wonder if they get that alot?

 

[Valerie and George]

I have tried it on a walk with him and while he isn't too thrilled with it, it doesn't hurt him, I don't think, and it does seem to keep him from pulling so much. The main thing it does, though, and this is why I wanted it, when he does pull, the harness pulls against his chest and shoulders and NOT his poor neck. You do have to adjust it to fit, though. The first time, I didn't have it adjusted properly and the padding on one side wouldn't stay where it was supposed to. The harness does NOT help with Flat Basset. LOL When he decided he'd had enough walking and it was time for me to have Scotty beam us up, that was that. We just had to stand around looking stupid until he decided he was rested up enough to move again. I tried tugging on the harness a bit and saying, "Come on, let's go" but it had NO effect. So, we rested.

 

[Anonymous]

Tried the Sporn harness out today, and it's well worth what I payed for it. Copper walked like a dog that had been trained to heel mostly the whole way. I can't believe the result, but the true test will be at PetsMart. So far, anyone else thinking of making this purchase... I say do.
Valerie, "Flat Basset" is so cute, I laugh everytime I have seen the reference here. Would never have understood it if I hadn't become a Basset mommy.

 

[Anonymous]

Like I said Copper Top.. best $30 I have ever spent When you put the gentle leader on Minus he is a completely different dog. When he misbehaves without it on, I put it on him and he settles right down, ASAP !! It's amazing the instant results you get from it.

Jenn