What sort of harness or collar is good for a dog who pulls on the leash

Dogs that pull on the leash is the second most common thing that people ask me about. Second only to housebreaking. If you have a dog that pulls on the leash there are loose leash walking techniques that you can learn. I will be happy to teach you how to train your dog to walk properly on a leash using these techniques.

For a dog that is really bad about pulling, in addition to the loose leash walking techniques, I also suggest a no-pull harness.

There is a difference between a no-pull designed harness and a traditional flat harness.

The green and black and the orange and black harnesses pictured above are both flat harnesses. The orange and black one is a mesh comfort harness. Both of these are good for their intended purpose which is to distribute the pull from the leash across the body rather than at one point on the neck ( as with a flat collar). They do prevent choking. However they offer no resistance to pulling. They actually tend to encourage pulling because the dog gets no resistance.

There are a couple of options that I recommend for no-pull harnesses:

The Petsafe Easy Walk is a very good solution. The handsome Labrador in the picture is sporting an Easy Walk harness. It has a D-ring in the front of the collar. The d-ring in the  front is attached to a buckle that pulls the two nylon pieces in the front tighter when the dog pulls, thus giving the dog resistance. When adjusted properly, the harness does not really squeeze the dog it simply gives him resistance. The Easy Walk is the harness that I used to teach Copper proper loose leash walking technique. It is a really good product however, my experience has been that it does not fit all dogs properly. The other caution I will give you for this harness and pretty much any no-pull type harness is that they are only for walking. After the walk they need to come off because the dog can easily chew them up. Copper chewed up two of the Easy Walks because I neglected to remove them after walking.

The Beagle in the picture is wearing a typical no-pull harness that is available in many different brands at your local pet stores. It has a little bit of mesh in the front but it is different than the mesh flat harness. Notice the padded strings that attach to the mesh and go behind the little beagle guys front legs. These strings are attached to the d-ring to which the leash is attached. When the dog pulls, he feels resistance on the strings. When adjusted properly, this does not hurt him, he simply feels resistance. This is the type of harness that I am using now to train Cody, our newest addition to the pack. This harness is generally about half the price of the Easy Walk and seems to fit a wider range of dogs. The Easy Walk is a little easier to get on and off the dog, however.  I will give you the caution again that this harness needs to come off  the dog after a walk. They will chew this one too!

The brown collar here is a martingale collar. These are very popular with people who own sight hounds (or greyhounds). The reason they are popular is that they do not easily pull over the head. This is important with the sight hounds because typically the neck is wider than the head. After your dog stops pulling as much, you may want to transition him to a collar for walking. The martingale is a good choice. When adjusted properly, the martingale fits snug when the leash is pulled but does not choke the dog. I have a martingale on Copper. I have the leash connected directly to the martingale most of the time when we walk. It took a while to make the transition.

These are the products that I have used in training many times and I know that they work. There is a new product that I have heard nothing but good things about from people I respect. That product is the Walk-in-Sync harness. It is a little more expensive but seems to have the advantages of the Easy Walk while fitting a wider variety of dogs. If you are interested you can find more information at http://dogwalkinsync.com/ . At some point later on, I will test this product and post the results on this blog. The black lab in the picture is wearing a Walk-in-sync.

If you have a dog that pulls on the leash and/or is not well behaved on walks, please contact me at any time. I will be happy to help you!

Till next time

-William-

William Moore

William Moore Canine Training

678-702-4791

fayettedogtrainer@gmail.com

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What to do with a dog who is malnourished or underweight

If you look closely in this picture, you can see
that Foster Girl Penny the Tiny Beagle was
underweight when we first brought her to the Dog
Training/Foster Shack

All too often, we , as dog lovers we have to care for malnourished or underweight dogs. Sometimes it is a result of some sort of illness. Sometimes we take in a stray or adopt/foster a little guy or girl who has simply not eaten regularly in quite some time.

Boomer the Beagle in his later years

As many of you know, in the early 1990s I adopted a sweet beagle from the Dekalb County (GA) Shelter. He was a 9 month old anxious little guy named Boomer. Boomer was my companion until he died of renal failure at the age of 15 years. We had lots of fun together and I learned a great deal about anxiety issues in dogs from working with him.

When he was about eight years old, I was working as a Computer Network Engineer/Consultant at a now defunct company in Sandy Springs, GA called Consultec. Boomer got sick. I do not remember exactly what the health issue was now but a nasty side effect was that he lost a lot of weight very quickly. I could see all his ribs and some of his backbone. His normally extremely healthy appetite had disappeared. He would not touch any of his favorite foods. This was very unusual for him and just not at all beagle-like.

At the time, I lived in Marietta, GA. Dr. Tyler Huhman and Dr. David Lawless at Tritt Animal Hospital in Marietta, GA were the veterinarians that helped me to care for Boomer and a few cats that lived with me at the time (or maybe I lived with them.... you know how cats are ).

The guys a Tritt did an excellent job treating Boomers illness! However, the home care was my responsibility.  I think it was Tyler who told me that the most important goal I needed to have was putting weight on Boomer quickly. I believe it was at his suggestion that I used Nutri-Cal in an attempt to stimulate his appetite and to load him up on the calories and nutrients that he desperately needed. I think Tyler gave me (or sold me, I dont recall) some prescription food that was formulated to help him gain weight (if I could get him to eat it).

You cant really tell now but, our little Cody was also
malnourished when he got to the Shack.

I worked from my small home office for about a week (we used to call that telecommuting). During that time I cared for Boomer almost 24/7. I gave him medication for his illness and almost constantly tried to get him to eat. He would eat some canned food and I slowly began getting him to eat the Nuti-Cal. Slowly he started to eating peanut butter that I offered him and eventually he began eating his dry food. It was a long week but he finally began eating well. After a couple of more weeks he was almost back to his healthy weight. And I seem to remember that after he put the weight on ,I spent a month in Minnesota on business over the next three days (at least that is what it felt like :) )

I did not just share that story with you so that you can see how cool my life was in those days (that is just an added bonus :) ) . I shared that story with you to make a few points about caring for a dog who is underweight or malnourished:

• If you notice a rapid weight loss, please, consult a really good veterinarian. There is generally an underling cause that probably needs to be treated.
• If your dog is not eating foods that he normally loves, if it lasts more than a day or so, you should really strongly consider taking him to a veterinarian.
• Once you have any health issues treated, it is your responsibility to care for the little guy or girl. You must be diligent about it! Always remember that your veterinarian will be more than happy to talk to you about methods that you can use to get him/her to eat. If your dog is not making progress, do not hesitate to contact your veterinarian for guidance!

I mentioned Nutri-Cal earlier in my work with Boomer. Nutri-Cal is a high calorie vitamin paste. There are other similar products on the market. Most large pet stores (i.e. Petco, Petsmart, etc.) have their own store brand products that are labeled for the same use. When I worked at Petco, I found that our vitamin paste was good but some really picky dogs seemed to prefer the taste of the Nuti-Cal product and the price difference is not huge either way.

In many cases the dogs will eat this stuff right out of the tube. However, in many cases you have to put it on the food. In Boomers case, I put some of the stuff on my finger and sort of stuck it to the roof of the mouth to get him started. It is really sticky and he had to lick it off the roof of his mouth. He did not really like this but it worked.

Foster Boy Sammy

I decided to write about this subject today because, The Lovely and Awesome Shane and I are working with our new foster boy, Sammy on the same issue. He is very thin. His ribs and backbone are clearly visible. I am happy to report that he is beginning to get his appetite back! This morning he actually finished his entire bowl of food for the first time since he got here three days ago!

If you have a dog who needs to gain weight, it is not a hopeless problem! It can be very frustrating but, there is hope and it feels really good to see a little guy or girl finally eat and gain weight!

Our foster girl Penny the Tiny Beagle had the same issue. She gained a little weight we she was with us. I saw her with her adopted family recently and she looks great!!

If you have questions about getting your dog to eat please contact me! Also contact me if you need help teaching your little guy or girl to be a polite dog. I always tell you: " Polite Dogs = Happy People". Let me help you get happy today!

Till next time

-William-

William Moore Canine Training

678-702-4791

fayettedogtrainer@gmail.com

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Who did it

Cuddles is as shocked as the Lovely Shane and I were...
She has no idea how this happened! 

A couple of days ago the Lovely, Awesome Shane and I were in the kitchen having a cup of coffee. While we were in the kitchen we heard a crash in the office. Upon closer investigation we found the scene depicted in the photograph. A chair was overturned. How did that happen?  Obviously, barring the possibility of paranormal activity, one of our canine buddies was responsible. Who, oh who, could it be???

Trigger surveys the damage .

The dogs looked at us as if they were as surprised as we were. Fortunately no dogs were injured. Even with polite little guys and girls, like we have in our pack, accidents sometimes happen.

This sort of thing occurs often enough at the Dog Training/Foster Shack that we have come up with a unique and hopefully humorous solution:

We assign a "head dog in charge" each day. That dog is in charge of pack behavior. We were at Wal-Mart the other day and found a little white board that sticks to the refrigerator with a magnet. This thing was on sale for less than a dollar so, we made the investment .We use this to post "head dog in charge" each day. (Yes..... we really do this.... we both have an odd sense of humor, I suppose). Even the foster pack members get to be "head dog in charge". This is a rotating title, a different dog has it each day.  Notice in the picture that Foster Boy Sammy has the honor today!

We enjoy our dogs and have a lot of fun with them. The point of posting this here is that you do not have to always be serious when it comes to dealing with your dogs. Accidents will happen. From time to time stuff will get knocked over. It is all part of having these little guys and girls in our families. I think what happened here is that Copper the Whopper Beagle jumped out of the chair too quickly and turned it over. It is no big deal. We allow him on that chair. He is about the best behaved dog I have ever worked with. He is polite and mild mannered. But, he is a beagle :) .

Copper relaxing on "his" office chair.

If you need help training your little guy or girl to be better behaved, please contact me. I will even help you teach them not to get on your furniture if that is what you desire. The point is that Copper is allowed on the furniture so, I  should not get upset with him when he accidentally knocks a chair over :) Besides, Sammy was in charge, it wasnt Coppers fault......at least that is Coppers story!.

A yard sign I use for my Lawn Maintenance
Handyman business... Yes that is actually an
old reel mower that I use to hold the sign up.

Well... there is more winter weather here in Fayette County, Georgia. We are in the middle of an ice storm here. We lost our electricity, here at the shack, for most of the day today. I understand that a large part of the eastern USA is having similar weather. As I have mentioned before, please, please, please, let your dog inside if you normally keep them outside. Also, make sure that all your dogs are in the house before you close the door if you let them out in a fenced back yard like we do. This winter weather is extremely dangerous for them (as it is for us as well)!

Till Next Time-

William
William Moore Canine Training
678-702-4791
fayettedogtrainer@gmail.com

Dog Training/Foster Shack in snow and ice. The
Lovely Shane and I are staying home until
the roads get better. Yes, that is the Awesome Mobile parked
out front!

A piece of yard art left by a previous occupant. I have not decided
if I like it or not. It is heavy so, I have not felt like moving it either.

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