A Better Way to Walk Your Dog

The other day as Vinnie and I waited to cross the street, an out-of-breath woman caught up to us. She had an exasperated look on her face, and no wonder. She’d been hauled to the corner by Mindy, her medium-sized doe-eyed retriever mix.

“She’s so strong and I just haven’t had time to teach her to heel,” the woman said. She was thinking of outfitting Mindy in a prong collar, hoping that would curb the leash-pulling.

I’m not in the habit of offering unsolicited advice but I couldn’t bear the thought of metal prongs digging into Mindy’s soft neck.  Actually, I don’t like the idea of prong, choke or pinch collars on any dog.  Those devices use pain and force to control dogs, can cause serious injuries to doggy tracheas, and aren’t necessary, as I’ll explain shortly.  

Now, I understand completely what a pain it is when a dog drags you down the street. Many an untrained dog has done the same to me. And no doubt about it, teaching a dog to walk politely on leash can take lots of time, consistent practice and patience. This is especially so if the dog has a long history of maniacal pulling.

Fortunately, there’s a far better, safer and humane way to walk your dog without him behaving like an Iditarod contestant. As I told Mindy’s person that day on the sidewalk, an anti-pull front-clip harness stops most dogs from pulling on leash.

Traditional harnesses are designed so that the leash attaches to a ring on the dog’s back. Anti-pull harnesses are different. They’re designed for the leash to clip to a ring positioned in the middle of the dog’s chest, hence the name, “front-clip” harness.

Dogs have a built-in opposition reflex. Very simply, this means that dogs naturally and automatically pull in the opposite direction of anything that’s pulling them. Pulling back on a dog’s leash or walking him on a traditional harness activates the opposition reflex and causes the dog to pull or forge ahead. Front-clip harnesses use the opposition reflex to everyone’s advantage. Leash pressure, if any, comes from the dog’s front and so rather than pulling ahead, the dog automatically pulls backwards.  

Front-clip harnesses are my favorite piece of doggy gear. I always suggest using them to students in dog training classes and to private clients. Even when people do have the time and interest in training their dogs to heel, walking the dogs on front-clip harnesses is the wisest choice because it prevents dogs from rehearsing undesirable behavior.

I can’t tell you how many people have told me that front-clip harnesses solved the pulling problem. Walking their dogs ceased to be a pavement-pounding wrestling match and became fun and easy again. In fact, lots of people decide not to bother training their dogs to heel and to always walk them in front-clip harnesses instead.  

The anti-pull front-clip harnesses currently on the market are listed below. Many local pet stores carry one or the other brand, and both are widely available on-line.  

Happy Walking!
•    SENSE-ible Harness and the SENSE-ation Harness, both made by Softtouch Concepts. (The SF SPCA has traditionally carried this brand for sale to the public.)
•    Easy Walk Harness, made by Premier Pet Products.

Many thanks for these fabulous Flickr Photographers: Bl@ck_Coffee and HorsesandHounds.

Lisa-Anne Manolius is the multi- talented owner/trainer of Oh Behave! in San Francisco. A graduate of the S.F. SPCA's Academy for Dog Trainers and U.C. Berkeley's Boalt School of Law, she's available for dog behavior consultations, private training sessions, and to teach a variety of group classes. She can be reached at lisaohbehave@gmail.com.

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