Thanks for the recommendation Bellasophia!

[sandi_84]

Just a quick thank you to Bellasophia for recommending the double ended training lead, got it not long after my thread. If he has a bouncy moment and I get caught by surprise, I'm not getting pulled along anymore.

It was a really good buy so thank you

 

[Bellasophia]

What a lovely update Sandi.I remember your post and obviously you’ve really persevered with the method .Isn’t it lovely when you can enjoy the walk without the worry .In time you will trust him not to pull or startle and can unclip the harness end of the lead.He can still wear the harness whilst you walk him on his collar,and your confidence in him grows.Keep up withwhat you are doing,go at your own pace and also bring in verbal commands..eg slowly,watch,heel in etc.Don’t forget to praise as well and I’m sure you will reach your end goal to have a lovely walk without the harness.
This post reminds me of a huge Labrador who had been essentially left in a garden for years,untrained and had been adopted by two lovely people.This dog pulled like a train on the harness they had put him in...I suggested the dual clip method and I didn’t see them again for months..One day a beautiful slimmed down dog ,walking to heel on a collar came along the path...two delighted owners raved about their dog and what a pleasure they had walking him now..I swear the dog was smiling too,it was a win win for him as well.The man told me his dog was much happier with the longer walks he was getting as they also enjoyed taking the dog out so much more now it didn’t pull.

 

[sandi_84]

Yes it's a lot less stressful as I'd sometimes get pulled off balance and end up doing a weird dance to stay upright in a tangle of all the legs My arm and hand would sometimes get sore because he'd lean on the harness and he's sodding heavy! Now he feels light as a feather, and he has no more slightly rubbed shoulder! He's doing very well but then, he's a clever boy so he does pick stuff up fast!

Aw that's a lovely story! I think we are both happier now too, it's quite funny really because I expected a lot of leaning on the collar but he didn't nearly as much as I had thought he would.