So I have a 1-year old pibble and she's terrible at pulling when on the leash. We recently bought her this running harness and the info says that it has a front leash clip for training against pulling. The problem I'm having is that whenever we clip her leash to that particular loop on her chest, all it does is yank and shift the entire harness awkwardly in the opposite direction she's pulling and whenever this happens I almost want to laugh at the look I get from her which just seems exasperated. Anywhoo, is this a normal thing for the harness in particular, am I doing something wrong with it, or should I invest an actual pulling harness for this particular behavior?

Hi ! What an adorable puppy! To start off, I am not a certified trainer of any sort, but I do train puppies to be guide dogs.

We were always told to pick a side you want your dog to walk on, and we usually make them walk on our left side so they aren't tripping us up. We use A LOT of treats to do this training because treats to them are like candy to us :) And even though I can't stand the smell, usually the smellier the treats are, the more the dog likes them. Treat the dog when she is not pulling. We use a trigger word ("yes") when the dog is doing something right. This is the same thing as a clicker for other animals. It let's the dog know he/she is doing something right and will get a treat! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFgtqgiAKoQ

As for the harness, maybe it needs to be a little tighter or maybe it's not a good harness in general? I'm not too knowledgeable about harnesses. We use "t-touch" harnesses which are a little awkward to work with at first, but they work wonders once you get use to it :) http://www.ttouch.com/shop/index.php?productID=188

I hope this helps a bit!

With all the breeders and trainers I've talked to, they all are in agreement that harness' are usually not good for teaching leash manners. They're good for getting them to pull, or otherwise control for work, but not really general walking.

Popular alternatives I've found are The halti or a simple collar, but with clicker training.

Also if you sit the collar further up the neck, it helps them to not pull as it's not comfortable, but doesn't hurt them.

This is all advice and tips I've gotten from people who are from all walks of dog ownership, and the most popular options.

The biggest being clicker training. It's a really good training technique to get into. :D

I would maybe try a different kind of front clip harness as those ones are a bit bulky. It might also be that you have it sized wrong because it shouldn't really move around too, too much. I would also see if you can find trainers in your area that recommend or specialize in harness training to help you with the walking, and hopefully get your (seriously adorable) dog to display some nicer leash manners.

I worked at a place for almost a year and front-clip harnesses were all we recommended to people, but you could try it with different tools as well. A halti (like mentioned), might be helpful when you're just getting started too.

I don't recommend normal collars/choke chains/etc. on dogs that pull because we actually had a dog that came in with a collapsed trachea from pulling, and he was a small dog... Of course, this is in a more extreme situation, but it's a problem that can arise with a dog pulling so much on something around its neck.

First off, thank you for the tips and info all of ya. =]

Now, onward!

The harness itself wasn't bought for her pulling. Yes its an issue, but the harness was bought specifically for running and jogging with myself and the husband hence why the item itself needs to be somewhat loose. Originally we weren't aware of products specifically for pulling besides investing in expensive dog training for that one issue and were only informed of the leash point for training out that particular behavior on the harness as an after thought type of thing.

On the note of the Halti, will it also work for her extreme pulling towards people, squirrels, and other dogs? She's not aggressive, just overly friendly but as someone who has several spinal issues and has needed numerous 'band-aid' alignments due to excessive and violent yanking, this isn't really something I should have work for one issue and then have to buy more products for a similar but not exact problem.

I was actually going to recommend getting a Halti. It's not a muzzle, although it can sort of looks like one. It's just tight enough to stay on, but still loose enough that she will have full control over her mouth/snout - so long as she isn't pulling. You attach the leash underneath her chin, so that when she pulls, it will tug her head to the side (but not in a painful way) and she'll be forced to not pull at the leash in order to avoid the sudden jerking motion of her head. It's great for training dogs to keep pace with you and not constantly try and pull ahead. Harnesses like the one you got are usually better suited for dogs who are either already trained, or whose snouts wouldn't be able to handle a Halti (pugs or bulldogs, for example).

I would strongly recommend you pick one up - even if it's just to test it for a few days to see if you like it; you can always return it if you don't. Or hell, ask an employee if you can try it just around the store to get a feel for it first; we would let people do that all the time at the pet store I used to work at (a customer is less likely to return a product if they know they like it before buying, amirite? =P).

PS: Your pup is adorable. =3

As said, the halti should help with that as it makes pulling awkward and uncomfortable for the dog (though not like painful uncomfortable). Of course, if any dog is determined enough they will pull even with it on, but you could use it along with some little training bits (ie; getting her to focus on you using treats, toys, or something she enjoys when she sees something exciting, just to get her focus back for a bit before allowing her to go and explore whatever she's interested in).

That, along with the harness you already have, should help. But again, without at least some leash training, it's unlikely the aids are going to solve the problem completely.

Also, I see you mentioned the harness is moving on her body, there are double-ended leashes you can buy where you can clip one end to the front of the harness and the other onto the back, just so you have a bit more control, if you wanted to explore that as well.

You've got a lot of advice here! :) I'm gonna chime in with my own advice too ;) I train Search and Rescue bloodhounds (One of the "BEST" pullers you're gonna get LOL) and I work at a dog kennel (Top Notch Kennels) with amazing trainers! I am studying myself to become a KPA certified trainer :)

Have you tried a gentle leader? Harnesses, while they state the "stop pulling" actually encourages pulling. A Gentle Leader is more like a horse halter (without the bit) in that you have control of the face and can point the dog in the correct direction- NOW, Ruger (my dog in the video below) is an experienced GL walker, however when he first was using it he fought against it. Acted like it was gonna kill him and would roll and dig to get it off- this is normal and a gentle upward tug with NO verbal command is the best way to stop it. One upward tug and continue walking in the direction you want.

Pick the side YOU want your dog to walk on. If they want to go elsewhere turn into them (bump into them) and correct them. No verbal cues. Keep verbals to a minimum as its really not needed for walking. I use clicker training and its a beautiful thing ( i can send you some info on it if you'd like) for all dogs. When shes walking and doing well give her a treat every so often so she's being rewarded for what you want.

here is a video I made for a bloodhound group i'm in for a few folks who didn't know how to use the leader correctly....

Its an amazing tool <3 avoid C/prong collars as they are used like shock collars by most people, punishment for incorrect behavior instead of positive treat rewards for correct beahviors!

Edit: Has your cute pup had any training? heres a peek at clicker training :)

click

We use gentle leaders in this class as well as the regular collars mentioned (we fit them there to make sure each dog is properly equipped)

I just wanted to chime in and sencond (third? fourth?) how awesome halti's are. I have a big brute of a German Sheperd, but he walks like an absolute gentleman with the halti on, since he doesn't like the pressure on his face. It's just enough to keep his focus on walking, and a small tug will correct him if he decides to act like a moron.

Apologies for the absence, I've been working a lot and when I'm not working I'm sleeping due to lack of sleep because of work. Haha.

The advice I've gotten here is pretty darn awesome so I want to thank you all for that. We did end up getting her a Halti type of harness. We broke her in to it by using it for simple potty trips and have been progressing to using it every time we go for a walk. She didn't react as poorly as a co-worker led me to believe, which had me initially so freaked out by it that I was prepared to just deal with the pulling. She doesn't like it but she tolerates it and I'm able to basically lead her identical to a horse by touching the leash to the side I want her to walk. This thing is fantastic and I can already feel and see a difference when we take walks. Although, I wish people would stop assuming she's hostile because she has the halter on, it's not a muzzle people. But that my only pet peeve about it. =]

On the note of the clicker, we did buy one but I feel it was money wasted due to the simple fact that the 'clicking' sound is almost identical to a laser pointer we have, which she LOVES by the way, and she ends up focusing on the ground so intently looking for it that commands sort of go out the window. Oops. ^-^;;

thats great to hear!

A tip with the clicker- my first dog came "laser" trained... to "backwards" train them out of this behavior we clicked EVERY time she made eye contact with us and immeidately treat. The click is for the behavior you want- you don't want her looking at the floor as that is not making you the primary focus (which you should be)... get her used to eye contact and clicking when she looks at you and delivers a treat the minute she makes eye contact. If she looks at the floor when she hears the click, ignore it. You want to ONLY click for the behavior you want, in this case eye contact. Eventually she'll get used to looking at you for direction instead of looking for the laser :)