Mistake No 4:

Equipment

Your dog pulls like a steam train so you buy a basic harness, it’s what most people do.

Yes, it is better for your dog and will protect his neck from being damaged which is fantastic for your dog’s physical health, but with most types of harness your dog can actually pull harder because he can really get his shoulders into it – harnesses were designed to help Huskies pull sledges!!

You now have a lead attached to the middle of your dog’s back with little or no control over your dog or the direction he is going in. If your dog is reactive or sees something he is excited about and wants to get to all you can then do is drag him backward like a meerkat on his back legs facing the same direction.

But, the RIGHT kind of harness can be a fabulous tool to help leadwalking. A balance harness or a harness with a D ring on the chest to attach the lead to. A double-ended lead with one end attached to the back and the other end to the chest gives you more control, it can help reduce the pulling while you work on the problem.

Equipment isn’t training, it is management, so you still need to work on the problem but it may give your shoulders and arms a rest.