Pets
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
? about collar vs harness
in Pets
hi all,
i lurk a little bit on this board, and have been learning a lot. we're about to bring home an american staffie/hound mix. he's about 6 months old and has been in foster for 2 months. he's pretty well trained--fully housebroken, and knows sit, stay, and shake, plus he's got excellent focus on his leader.
his leash manners could use a little work. okay, a lot of work.... so, i'm wondering if you guys could weigh in about whether to use a harness or a collar, and any specific types of harnesses or collars you'd suggest.
TIA!
2012 Races:
Emerald Nuts Midnight Run (4m) 1/1/12
Coogan's Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks Run (5k) 3/4/12
Colon Cancer Challenge (15k) 4/1/12
Purple Stride NYC (5k) 4/21/12
Run to Combat Autism (5k) 4/29/12
RnR Philadelphia (Half Marathon) 9/16/12
Emerald Nuts Midnight Run (4m) 1/1/12
Coogan's Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks Run (5k) 3/4/12
Colon Cancer Challenge (15k) 4/1/12
Purple Stride NYC (5k) 4/21/12
Run to Combat Autism (5k) 4/29/12
RnR Philadelphia (Half Marathon) 9/16/12
Re: ? about collar vs harness
I use an Easy Walk harness with my fosters to encourage good leash habits. It is a no-pull harness that clips at the dog's chest. I've had great success with it. I prefer this over the Gentle Leader for two reasons: 1. Many dogs don't like the GL and I want dogs to associate walks with good things. 2. The GL kind of looks like a muzzle to people who don't know what they are and I have (and foster) pit bull type dogs. I don't want any more negativity associated with them if I can help it.
For collars, some people on here use prong collars with great success. You'll need to have some training in using them though and ensuring they fit properly. I don't use one so I'm no help there.
We currently use a regular harness and are thinking of switching to the easy walk to get 100% there on the loose leash walking.
We prefer a harness in comparison to a collar in because it doesn't choke the dog when he or she pulls, and the dog is less likely to escape it while on a walk. However, I from what I understand, you can get both of those benefits from an easy walk harness and help in the the loose leash training process since it forces the dog to the side when he or she tugs towards something, instead of letting the dog tug directly towards the object of his or her interest.
Ditto all of this.
If you really want to use a collar, though, I recommend a martingale collar. It's similar to a choke collar, but due its construction, if it's fitted properly, it can't harm your dog's neck, but still gives a correction.
i am definitely concerned with this stigma, too. (as a matter of fact, before i knew what they were, i was asking my husband if they were like "muzzle lite")
also, being that staffies pretty much ARE pitties, i don't need anybody giving the side-eye to my sweet boy!
Emerald Nuts Midnight Run (4m) 1/1/12
Coogan's Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks Run (5k) 3/4/12
Colon Cancer Challenge (15k) 4/1/12
Purple Stride NYC (5k) 4/21/12
Run to Combat Autism (5k) 4/29/12
RnR Philadelphia (Half Marathon) 9/16/12
Emerald Nuts Midnight Run (4m) 1/1/12
Coogan's Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks Run (5k) 3/4/12
Colon Cancer Challenge (15k) 4/1/12
Purple Stride NYC (5k) 4/21/12
Run to Combat Autism (5k) 4/29/12
RnR Philadelphia (Half Marathon) 9/16/12
We purchased this harness from a local pet store and it has worked great for our husky mix who loves to pull:
http://www.wiggleswagswhiskers.com/newsite/freedom-no-pull-harness.htm
Our pit mix did not like the gentle leader at all and we got a lot of dirty looks & questions about it being a muzzle. We have had great success with a front clip harness by the gentle leader brand. The front clip harness does not encourage pulling the same way a back clip harness does.