Harness Recommendations, or....

[AmyMay]

other suggestions welcome.

Client is collecting a young collie from Rescue next week. He’s a young farm dog that was abandoned so has no ‘walking’ skills at all. Understandably walking on a lead is a whole new concept. Client is experienced with collies, but is going to struggle with him I think because of a previous back injury.

I know not everyone likes harnesses, but wondered if one might help initially- and if so, which one?

Or any other suggestions to help with the initial pulling etc (I know, training, training, training 😉)

 

[NiceNeverNaughty]

a harness wont do anything to stop him pulling

as well as the training, training, training.. a headcollar (halti, dogmatic, gentle leader)would be more helpful in the short term if introduced properly.

 

[vallin]

His back injury or hers?

Assuming hers, possibly a halti, a dogmatic or we tried the SWAG headcollar with Daisy (didn't get on with it and, slightly ashamed to say, we just put up with the pulling the majority of the time 😂 ) as the 'no-pull' harnesses restrict shoulder movement and never look good for the dog to me.

 

[AmyMay]

Tbh I was thinking about a harness short term as it may make things easier for her in terms of handling initially, not as a tool for stopping the dog pulling.

I’ll talk to her about the other suggestions from you two. Thanks

 

[Chiffy]

Hi Amymay, I am another who has avoided harnesses like the plague over the years but there is a place for them in certain circumstances and you may well be right in this one.
I bought a Dog Copenhagen harness for a recent rescue I took on. She isn’t pure Collie but has a large dose of it somewhere! She was approaching 6 months ish but had just spent her time shut on her own in a muddy little yard, she knew nothing. I certainly wasn’t going to hold onto something round her neck.
This harness fits beautifully, follows the line of the shoulder for freedom of movement. It is padded, lightweight and adjustable. It has a handle that you can hold while you attach the lead and it has a ring on the centre back and the front which affords very good control with a double ended lead.
Obviously you need to put in time in the garden just teaching a dog like this to be with you, follow or walk by your side, coming for treats etc but my girl learnt quickly and will now happily walk to heel on a normal collar. I will try to add some photos.
Sorry it won’t let me. Hope you can find the website. I could put it on a facebook page.

 

[paddy555]

Tbh I was thinking about a harness short term as it may make things easier for her in terms of handling initially, not as a tool for stopping the dog pulling.

I’ll talk to her about the other suggestions from you two. Thanks

I got a Julius K9 for the above situation. Young GSD that was being a pain about learning loose lead walking. I also got it because I wanted to feel safe and that I could grab the dog if he was looking like he was going to get out of control. The best feature is the handle so if you see a difficult situation you can just reach down for the handle.
I moved on to clipping it to a belt round my waist so it was there for an emergency and then put on a halter, collar etc to train him to walk to heel.

 

[AmyMay]

Thanks Paddy & Chiffy. I’ll send her links to both of those harnesses

 

[Cahill]

i would suggest a harness (not the nasty restricting shoulder ones) and a headcollar with a double ended lead.
then you can walk off the harness and have the other end attached to the headcollar for that extra when you need it.

 

[Magnetic Sparrow]

I bought a Julius K9 and my dog reversed out of it in less than a second. Fine for dogs that only pull forwards, disastrous if they pull backwards.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Whatever you use, if it's a farm dog which has never been physically restricted, the first instinct will probably be fight or flight and to evade the pressure. Whatever you use, it must be conditioned properly, don't rely on the tool, train the dog to want to be around people first and then be happy to have a strange bit of kit on it then train it to understand leash pressure and then go from there. It might take a while and in your shoes I'd probably go for running in a secure field over conventional walks.
If you read that link I post about collies all the time it gives a good insight into how they see the world.

 

[Follysmum]

I use a Julius and the cosy ones

https://www.cosydogs.com/