[Fenris-wolf]

Hey, PF peeps! I was wondering since I decided not to get a Pinch Collar, what's are the best no-pull harnesses? I got Sisko a Sporn Harness and it works very well, but I think if I took him to a new indoor place and he saw other dogs, he would loose his mind and pull with all his Poodle might, and I don't think the Sporn Harness would be good in a situation like that.

So far Sisko has had 3 Rabitgoo Harness, 2 Gentle Leaders, a Freedom Harness, and a Petsafe 3 in 1 Harness. None of these had worked like the Sporn Harness does, but I'm wondering if there's anything better then it?. I really want to take Sisko to PetSmart, and other places, but I know he'd loose it and need something better then the Sporn Harness.

Poodlebeguiled recommend the Halti No-pull Harness?

Thank you! Sisko says thank you too?

 

[PeggyTheParti]

I tend to think that no harness can help in a "lose it" scenario, unless it's extremely aversive (in which case, it still doesn't address the underlying issue, and might even make it worse). The Sporn has a pretty aggressive tightening action, and if Sisko's ignoring it, he's way over threshold.

Are you working with a trainer now? In my very humble opinion, that's probably where your money's better spent.

 

[scooterscout99]

What she said! (Peggy) Maybe work up to PetsMart. In my town there are dog friendly stores that have enough distractions without adding potentially reactive/untrained dogs/owners. These are Lowes, Home Depot, Farm & Fleet, and Rural King. I was taking my dogs for a walk-about at Rural King last weekend (my beagle mix loves all of the smells!) and ran into one of my obedience instructors doing a long sit-stay with her lab next to the rabbit pens.

These stores are generally pretty large so that you can escape to a quiet area if need be. I've been visiting alone with my spoo more often as I'd like to have him certified as a therapy dog and this is a good place for friendly human interaction. I take the two dogs together when it's for their pure entertainment, or as a walking spot out of the weather.

 

[cowpony]

For going to Petco I wouldn't use a no pull harness at all. Been there done that myself. Pogo can be very reactive. No pull harnesses work by restricting and redirecting the dog's movement: spinning him around, etc. In Pogo's case the no pull harness would take my already agitated dog and frustrate him further by putting him off balance. Pogo's lesson became simply that Petco was the place to go to have melt downs.

What helped a lot was to take him to a manners 101 class. (We repeated the same class twice to reinforce the lessons.) Being in a roomful of people who were all there to work on their dog's behavior took a lot of the pressure off me. I knew everyone expected some doggy tantrums. I also didn't need to worry about a little kid or a dachshund on a retracti leash getting into our space and pushing Pogo over the edge.

What the training class did was to make useful behaviors (sit, stay, heel) into games I could play in any setting. The other dogs in the training class were distractions Pogo needed to learn to ignore while playing the games.

Pogo is never going to be an entirely calm dog in public. He's just not wired that way. When Pogo loses his mind he is completely uninterested in treats. Even his beloved squeaky tennis ball only gets his attention about 30% of the time. Therefore, in a setting like Petco, I need to start the game before he ever spins up and loses his mind. Mostly, I need to keep him moving and heeling, so he is too busy paying attention to me to pay attention to anything else. That means I need to pay constant attention to what's going on around me and decide how to react before Pogo does. It doesn't make for a restful shopping experience, lol. However, if I've been good about practicing sitting during our walks, he will be capable of getting through a checkout line without having a meltdown.

For training classes I had him in a Kurgo car harness, which at that time only had a back clip. (Newer models have both a back and front clip.) The harness is strong enough that, when things go pear shaped, I can grab the back strap and haul Pogo off like a suitcase. However, I've failed if the situation gets that far.

 

[Fenris-wolf]

I tend to think that no harness can help in a "lose it" scenario, unless it's extremely aversive (in which case, it still doesn't address the underlying issue, and might even make it worse). The Sporn has a pretty aggressive tightening action, and if Sisko's ignoring it, he's way over threshold.

Are you working with a trainer now? In my very humble opinion, that's probably where your money's better spent.

Okay, thank you! I found a trainer 2 days ago and she looks like she really good and she's one that makes you more interesting to your dog, so I hope we can join soon. ? She has classes for some other things I'd like to do.

 

[Fenris-wolf]

I e-mailed the trainer that I found.

 

[Fenris-wolf]

What she said! (Peggy) Maybe work up to PetsMart. In my town there are dog friendly stores that have enough distractions without adding potentially reactive/untrained dogs/owners. These are Lowes, Home Depot, Farm & Fleet, and Rural King. I was taking my dogs for a walk-about at Rural King last weekend (my beagle mix loves all of the smells!) and ran into one of my obedience instructors doing a long sit-stay with her lab next to the rabbit pens.

These stores are generally pretty large so that you can escape to a quiet area if need be. I've been visiting alone with my spoo more often as I'd like to have him certified as a therapy dog and this is a good place for friendly human interaction. I take the two dogs together when it's for their pure entertainment, or as a walking spot out of the weather.

Okay, thank you! Sisko has been getting better at Mudbay, so maybe we can start there and like do basic training inside Mudbay and then maybe PetSmart? Nice??

I don't think there's a Home Depot or Lowe's close to me, but that doesn't mean we can't go. That's a good idea to take them there while the weather is bad, I'll have to do that too. I wish you luck with your Spoo becoming a certified therapy dog?

 

[Fenris-wolf]

For going to Petco I wouldn't use a no pull harness at all. Been there done that myself. Pogo can be very reactive. No pull harnesses work by restricting and redirecting the dog's movement: spinning him around, etc. In Pogo's case the no pull harness would take my already agitated dog and frustrate him further by putting him off balance. Pogo's lesson became simply that Petco was the place to go to have melt downs.

What helped a lot was to take him to a manners 101 class. (We repeated the same class twice to reinforce the lessons.) Being in a roomful of people who were all there to work on their dog's behavior took a lot of the pressure off me. I knew everyone expected some doggy tantrums. I also didn't need to worry about a little kid or a dachshund on a retracti leash getting into our space and pushing Pogo over the edge.

What the training class did was to make useful behaviors (sit, stay, heel) into games I could play in any setting. The other dogs in the training class were distractions Pogo needed to learn to ignore while playing the games.

Pogo is never going to be an entirely calm dog in public. He's just not wired that way. When Pogo loses his mind he is completely uninterested in treats. Even his beloved squeaky tennis ball only gets his attention about 30% of the time. Therefore, in a setting like Petco, I need to start the game before he ever spins up and loses his mind. Mostly, I need to keep him moving and heeling, so he is too busy paying attention to me to pay attention to anything else. That means I need to pay constant attention to what's going on around me and decide how to react before Pogo does. It doesn't make for a restful shopping experience, lol. However, if I've been good about practicing sitting during our walks, he will be capable of getting through a checkout line without having a meltdown.

For training classes I had him in a Kurgo car harness, which at that time only had a back clip. (Newer models have both a back and front clip.) The harness is strong enough that, when things go pear shaped, I can grab the back strap and haul Pogo off like a suitcase. However, I've failed if the situation gets that far.

Okay, thank you, I'll make sure to just use his collar when we go. Nice, sounds like you have an awesome training atmosphere. Lol I get the un-restful shopping experience.

I was thinking about getting the Kurgo for car rides.

 

[VanessaC]

When transitioning from other stores to PetSmart, I’d suggest going as soon as they open or close to closing (maybe on a weekday) to minimize the amount of people that you’ll run into. You can then work up to peak hours.

 

[Fenris-wolf]

I tend to think that no harness can help in a "lose it" scenario, unless it's extremely aversive (in which case, it still doesn't address the underlying issue, and might even make it worse). The Sporn has a pretty aggressive tightening action, and if Sisko's ignoring it, he's way over threshold.

Are you working with a trainer now? In my very humble opinion, that's probably where your money's better spent.

I got an email from the trainer earlier and she said he sounds like a great Poodle, but, he needs some extra help with impulse control, so she wants to do a private lesson with him. It made me so happy to read that.

 

[Fenris-wolf]

When transitioning from other stores to PetSmart, I’d suggest going as soon as they open or close to closing (maybe on a weekday) to minimize the amount of people that you’ll run into. You can then work up to peak hours.

Thanks! That's a very good idea/advice. I'm going to follow that. I just have to find out what PetSmart's peak hours are.

 

[Fenris-wolf]

Thank you, so much to everyone, your advice/help is much appreciated as always.

 

[VanessaC]

Thanks! That's a very good idea/advice. I'm going to follow that. I just have to find out what PetSmart's peak hours are.

Google Maps will tell you ?

 

[Fenris-wolf]

Google Maps will tell you ?

Okay, thank you ?