Good Dog

[mewzard]

Ohhhh that Balance Harness looks really good - Oka has a Easy Walk harness, but i have a real nightmare with the fit as she has a very broad chest...It never sits straight. LOL, Sara maybe you should become a rep for them?!

I have found from numerous owners of dogs similar to Oka (shepherdy types) that the GL head collar is the best fit for them as the Halti one always gets in thier eyes...something to do with the shape of the face. I've never used one personally so i can't state that from experience.

 

[tigerlily46514]

WELL, i am tempted to get one of these. There are some outdoor parties we go to, and there are other dogs there, and Buddy is a handful...i have to give up all socializing to stay alert to keep Buddy from escalating.....it's no fun for either me or Buddy. I hate to leave him home, though.

if i had one of these, and he actually liked it, this might do the trick. I also own a lil chest harness, "Hug a Dog" harness....and i do own a GL head halter, but, he loathes it...
he tries to walk away if he sees it....if i use the GL, Buddy stops asking for walks.
and Buddy reeeeeally loves walks, so, for Buddy to forego walks, just to avoid the GL, means something....he hates it.
and yes, i followed all the steps on introducing the GL properly.

and yes, Buddy will walk along with the GL on, but, he looks so devastated, so sad...it is hard for me to use it on him.

wonder if he'd hate the Blackdog head halter....i'd hate to waste $35...

 

[Ina]

Actually, the Black Dog COMES from you're neck of the woods! I had to order mine from Australia! LOL WAAAAYYYYYY better than a Halti, Gentle Leader, or anything else on the market. It doesn't ride up on the dog's eyes, and adjusts to fit every dog perfectly, with only 4 sizes. I mostly hate head halters, but they certainly have their place, and the Black Dog is the best of the best! (NOT the Infin8, BTW, the Training Halter) It was recommended to me by an Aussie deaf dog owner.

I think I'm the only person in Canada with one! LOL

http://www.blackdog.net.au/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=2&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=5&vmcchk=1&Itemid=5

Smokeys Easy Walk Harness just broke completely today. Someone must have stepped on the plastic buckle. I have one size up, but it rubs so much under his arms.
So I finally got around to order the Black Dog. Smokes will have to live with rubbed on armpits till Monday or Tuesday.

It's now called the Training Harness and looking at the video makes a LOT of sense. Everything is adjustable ... can't wait to get it !!!

 

[mewzard]

Oka's easy walk is about to die too. It's been really great but she's chewed the front part RIGHT where I need the adjuster to sit so it keeps getting looser when we are using it. It has never fit *just right* i'll be waiting for your review Ina, then maybe next month i'll buy her a Black Dog.

 

[sara]

I bought the Black Dog Balance Harness. It's a front clip harness, with a d-ring on the back as well. LOVE IT! He now has: A Black Dog Training Halter, a Halter double ended lead, a Balance Harness, and a tracking lead... I LOVE the material it's made of! so light and easy to hold... I'll have to get a pic of Ollie dressed up in his green gear! LOL. Scout is going to be getting the Balance Harness, and the double ended leash as well, but hers'll be in purple.

Seriously, Ina, you Aussies know how to make dog stuff!!! I've never seen anything like it!

I dont like the Easy Walk front clip harnesses, they rub in the arm pits ALOT, plus, It's turning Scout's shoulder's black. Ollie was rubbed completely raw in his armpit from the Easy Walk... so that made my mind up to order the Black Dog... what a difference! and a much better design!

 

[mewzard]

I found it fitted Oka better when she was smaller - something to do with the depth of her chest and the distance from behind her shoulders to the front of her chest means it doesn't fit properly. It doesn't rub badly but it never sits like the one in thier "how to fit" video.
Really want to get her one but not enough pennies in the bank right now!

 

[mewzard]

Just bought Oka a Black Dog Balance Harness, Can't wait for it to arrive - we both (partner and I) are tired of having to adjust the Easy walk so often.

 

[sara]

I seriously dont think you'll regret it! I just got confirmation that Scout's new Balance Harness and double ended lead is on it's way... YAYYYY Maybe it'll be in time for our demo in 2 weeks! then she can be all stylin' in purple! LOL

 

[Ina]

Well, orders at Black Dog are processed promptly. I received mine today - hip hip hurray

It's so very easy to adjust and I can't see any rubbing under the arms. I only had a very very very short walk with it today as it's raining (again) - but tomorrow we will put it to the test.

So far it's Thumbs Up from Smokey. He doesn't even mind walking around in the house with it. Any collar or halter was irritating him and he was scratching. I left the Black Dog Balance Harness on to show my husband and Smokes wasn't concerned about it at all.

 

[sara]

Awesome! it'll take 2-3 weeks for it to get here... Ollie's stuff took 2.5 weeks, so we'll see. but I ordered it yesterday, and due to the time difference, I had confirmation that it's been shipped by 3 am, my time

 

[reveuse]

I think it's because it's bedtime and or I'm overtired but I am not getting the point of the double ended lead? Right now I just ordered the ez walk for whisper in the in between size (smalll medium) as the med ive borrowed is too big for her. I'm going to try some of the black dog stuff for my birthday maybe..... Ro seldom uses his GL these days or I would consider the training halter for him. The harness might be nice for whisper tho.... Also saw the agility collar , wondering if it might be nice for ro as every now and then I need to hold him during practice instead of releashing him

 

[Lexy88]

Just found this thread. I am keen to try out the Black Dog harness you are all raving about I have to say though, in regards to pulling dogs, I think I have one up on all of you - Blade is 50kg!! His ears come up to my waist [Im 5'7] when he is sitting so he is extremely large and by golly, I know it when he pulls. He walks reasonably nicely when there arent other animals around, he will pull to go see dogs but I generally just distract him and get his focus back on me, and he lunges at cats. And we have a crazy cat lady on our street [oh joy] so getting out of our street [either direction] is the hardest part [and getting back up our drive] due to having to avoid herds of cats. Am heading off to check out these 'Black Dog' harnesses now

 

[sara]

I use the double ended lead with one end attached to the front ring on the harness, and the other end attached to the training halter. I hold the leash so that if Ollie lunges, his head only gets turned halfway, so as to not injure his neck. You can use a double ended leash so many ways. you can use it hands-free by clipping it up and around your shoulder, you can clip it to both the front and back of the balance harness, the back as brakes and the front as steering, you can use it to tie a dog quickly, You can clip it to both the dog's collar and the head halter so if the dog manages to break or chew the head halter, you have added security, or you can use it as a regular 2 meter long leash ( 3.3333 feet in a meter). There are probably other ways to use it, this is all I've discovered so far.

I cant stop raving about the soft and light material their stuff is made from!

I just wish there was a supplier here in Canada, so I dont have to pay Customs and shipping! I've spent well over $200 on their stuff already!

Lexy, a front clip harness is great for pulling dogs, as it keeps a dog balanced on all 4 feet, it's tough for them to pull against... it wont stop the pulling, but it'll take some of the oomph out of the pull... I also find that when Oliver lunges against it, he tends to end up facing me! LOL

Oh and P.s. for those of you who are American, and dont know how many lbs in a kg, Lexy's dog Blade is 120lbs that is one big bonzo dog!

 

[reveuse]

Thanks sara. any thoughts on the agility collar?

 

[sara]

They look great, but I thought dogs weren't allowed to wear collars in Agility? but for training, I suspect they'd be handy!

 

[DuncansMom]

Hi all,

I have been working on dog manners on every walk since over a week. It's amazing what positive feedback can do to a dog. It has now become a pleasure taking my puppy out to meet other dogs and people. All I did was to tell him every few minutes "good dog". Everything I liked was reinforced with this "Good Dog".

A strange thing I found is that if I wrap the leash around my waste instead of re-adjusting the length of the leash with my hands all the time, the pulling disappeared completely. Passing other dogs doesn't even affect him and both my hands are free. I guess my constant jiggling the leash made him nervous?

I use the "Easy Walk Harness" which clips the leash on at the chest. Because the buckle on the belly seems to break soon I decided to buy another harness which connects the leash at the top. The moment I put the new harness on the dog pulls again? Use the old harness - perfect dog?

The funny part about it is that Smokey now thinks his name is "Good Dog" <snicker>

Thank you for this! I just took Duncan on a walk and praised him with "good dog" whenever he did anything I liked (usually when he walked with a loose leash). You give me hope that his walking will improve I never thought to put the leash around my waist. I'll have to try that on our next walk.

I usually use a harness which connects the leash at the top, but, yesterday, Duncan somehow jumped through it and escaped his harness and leash. I had to run after him into the neighborhood adjacent to ours where he, luckily, stopped to pee and I caught him by the collar and took him home. Since then I have just been clipping the leash to the collar. I don't know if the harness was stretched from his pulling or if he had lost enough weight from our long walks to just slip out of it, or if I somehow put it on incorrectly in the morning (before I had my coffee!).

So the goal is to get him to stop pulling soon! I was training him to walk on the leash with treats which worked well except that would jump and nip my fingers to get treats & the treats I had upset his stomach, so I can't do that until I get new, better training treats.

 

[Ina]

I usually use a harness which connects the leash at the top, but, yesterday, Duncan somehow jumped through it and escaped his harness and leash. I had to run after him into the neighborhood adjacent to ours where he, luckily, stopped to pee and I caught him by the collar and took him home.

Not sure if that will work for your dog - I made the sit-stay the most important command in our repertoire. Smokey has to earn playtime, sniff time, before going for a walk and so on with a sit-stay. I think he hears SIT 100 times a day and it has become rock solid.
My kids leave the front door open quite often and the dog slips through. The first time I panicked and chased him for 2 blocks before I was able to catch him. The next time I just yelled out SIT and because this command is so embedded in his brain by now he just stayed sitting until I came to praise him and put the leash on :-)

 

[Lexy88]

Just ordered Blade a green Black Dog Balance Harness and double ended lead. Super excited!!

Had a bit of a heart attack at the price in NZD but thats ok! Its almost my bday lol

 

[reveuse]

Oooooooooh.... When is your birthday? Mine is july 2.

Due to the off leash man eating issue ro is strictly limited to private (or semi private) agility anyhow. I thought the collar might be nice for when he is taking turns with his friends on a particular sequence instead of me holding him or putting his leash back on....? Also wish I could find one of those short "tab" leashes in a store to try

Whis might get the balance harness

 

[Lexy88]

Mine is June 18th and my son turns two July 2nd