Dori, I entirely respect your opinion. I thank you very much for standing up for it as well. There are cases where I don’t think a harness would work – like a large dog who’s been spoiled for a bit too long. That dog already knows he’s stronger than me, and he’s gonna drag me around if I put a harness on him. Yes, I was in that situation. I was asked to work with a 100lb Rottie/GSD who was a freight train. I attempted the harness with him, got down to the end of the road (opposite end I was aiming for), reached up to hold his collar, and bring him back to the house to reassess. I ended up using just a flat collar on him since I had nothing else. Within a day, he was doing a great loose-lead heel on my cue.
I definitely avoid the pinch/chokers whenever I can (I saw a gruesome pinch collar once….it was basically a leather slip collar. It only had 5 little double-spikes, but they were literally like sharpened nails! They weren’t that classic round blunt at all. I was disgusted to see it!). If I went collar-less for a big coo-coo dog, then I’d probably go with a head collar (yes, I’d let the dog get used to it….I hate seeing people who just throw one on the dog and immediately start pulling/scolding) or I might try one of those front-clip harnesses.
The only reason why I don’t use a harness on my well-trained boy is because I’ve already engrained in his mind that when the harness goes on, he’s allowed (and encouraged) to pull. Quite useful when I’m going up a hill though!
It’s also wonderful that you have the determination to teach a perfect heel (or at least somewhat at your side/loose leash) to your dogs with a harness 😉 we need more trainers like that out in this world.
I’ve also seen some AWESOME methods to teach a show-stopping heel. The best part? The trainer didn’t even start with a leash, OR the dog at his side. He started by teaching it to keep it’s front paws on a target and pivot it’s hips around. Sounds pretty unrelated to heel, right? I’ll have to show you the video if I ever find it….it’s so cool!
