Front Clip Harnesses: Why we love them so much!

Probably everyone that reads this has seen these

babies.  A simple contraption of a harness that has the D-Ring for attaching a leash on the front.  At least, I see a lot of dogs with them on these days. Trends come and go in dog training and the tools we use to accomplish it, but right now, I am hoping this trend stays forever much like the collar, which is still great for accessorizing and attaching ID tags to, but c'mon...can you think of any other animal we put a collar on and expect to lead around on a leash? Pfft-I'll bet you can't, because it just doesn't make sense to lead animals around by the most vulnerable part to the ongoing survival of their entire body.   

The second you a properly fitted collar on a dog and then put a leash on a collar, the dog's body starts trying to preserve itself by increasing blood cortisol levels and adrenaline levels.  Even though the dog doesn't consciously think anything bad is happening, the autonomic parts of the brain are getting ready for survival mechanism action (i.e.: fight or flight)  just like it does when we put a collar and a leash on a cat, a rabbit, a horse, a goat, or a grasshopper.  These changes in the brain are why a lot of dogs start to pull like freight trains when they are wearing a collar and leash.  And once they pull the adrenaline increases even more! 

Many years of working with a lot of different dogs has me convinced that many dogs are adrenaline junkies, so they actually start to enjoy the whole walking on a leash, dragging a human around as much as I enjoy catching air on my mountain bike.  It's just super fun and it feels great, and the more you do it, the more you want to keep doing it.   A lot of dogs think of dragging their human around on a walk the same way.  There is no food reward that can possibly be more  valuable than the adrenaline rush the dog gets from that pressure on his throat.  But if you can stop the pressure on the throat from happening, the dog will gradually lose the need to pull ahead.  Dogs pull on harnesses too- there is also a reflex that causes animals to push against pressure.  If you put pressure on a dog's rear end to push him into a sit position, the first thing he's going to do is push against your hand with his butt.  He's not stubborn, he's just not sure what you are getting at, and his reflex is to push up against your hand.  Which is why lures work so much faster than force when we teach a dog to sit.

But back to the front clip harness:  If I use one of these on a dog instead of a collar, there is no pressure on the throat, or pressure on the chest to pull against.   Fit is really important! The harness should fit very comfortably (but snug)and not impede the motion of the shoulders at all. There is no pressure anywhere if you fit and use a front clip harness correctly to gently simply turn the dog to face you while you make a kissy sound and take a few steps backward.   After he is following you you can turn back to your original direction with him either on your left or your right side.

 Of course like all behaviours we train, you needto start loose leash, connected walking in a distraction free environment  and then gradually increase distractions and distance.  Your job is to teach him what you want as clearly as possible, and have fun doing it and his job is to cooperate and have fun with with you.   Like everything you do with your dog, learning to walk on a leash should be fun, simple and easy , it should reward both of you.  

Want to learn more about training your dog using fun, easy, force free techniques?  Click here!

About Alice

Click here to Find out more about clicker training and Go Dog Go! Positively Fun Training

I love my little Alice.  Skinny, Feral and Shivering in a dark cage at the Merced County Animal Shelter, Alice was tagged with an orange tape around her neck signifying she was to go and get gassed within hours. In her nearly final hour, Comox Valley's own doggy angel, Larissa Whitby of Newbark Dog Rescue and Rehoming showed up and picked her and twenty other promising looking dogs off death row in a hellishly difficult decision. They then set off in a borrowed van to the North.  I didn't know Larissa then, but when I heard that a woman had driven to California to save twenty death row dogs at a high kill shelter, and bring them all back in a rented van, I was floored.  I knew that fostering was the least I could do to support this amazing woman.  So I found out Larissa's phone number and asked her to pick out a cute one (that would be easy and fast to adopt out).  Larissa picked out a short legged red dog with more integrity than a lot of people.  Sure she would be easy to adopt out.  Lucky girl, lucky me! It only took Alice a few minutes to make me fall in love with her. I wasn't looking for another dog at the time. She doesn't know about governments or nations or borders. I am so glad she did not die. I wasn't looking to the states or anywhere else to adopt, and no, I would not have adopted a Canadian dog in her place. Because there is only one Alice.

How to get your dog to stop jumping on people!

Simply the Kindest, Most Effective Solution

 for Jumping Up

Dogs jump up because they love us and think the proper way to greet a human is by jumping up and demonstrating how happy they are to see us.  Dogs don’t jump up for any other reason.  Dogs are not out to rule the pack.  They are just trying to do what they think will make them fit in.  Think about this:  We humans are always touching one another in greeting with hugs, kisses, arm touches and handshakes.  Dogs learn human social behaviour from watching and interacting with us and imitating our behaviour.    Some rare dogs even learn to smile by showing their teeth, just like humans, which can be a little disconcerting if you don’t know they are smiling in a happy greeting ritual.  It’s called imitative behaviour.  When they are developing puppies, most of our puppies  usually don’t have other dogs to learn social behaviour from, so they learn it from us.  Here is how to teach them an appropriate dog-human greeting ritual.

1. Start in a non-distracting environment.  Make it as easy as possible for the dog to learn.
2. A clicker is a very useful tool for this, as it will tell him he is doing a good job without elevating his level of excitement, and it is very easy to time your behaviour marker using a clicker.
3. At no time say “Down”, “Off”, “or anything like that.  
4. When the pup is approaching you,  Click to mark the behaviour of four paws on the floor and toss a treat onto the floor in their direction. 
5. Always put the reward on the floor to make it easier for the dog to learn by keeping his focus on the floor.
6. Click to mark the behaviour  you want (four paws on the floor), before the jumping up occurs.
7. If the dog jumps up, turn sideways and step away, so he isn’t on you, and as soon as his paws hit the floor, click and put/toss a treat on the floor.  Toss another one on the floor while he is down there.
8. When he seems to “get it”, start doing some “set ups”.  Walk through a doorway, practice. Walk through the doorway again.  Practice more.  When he gets it, start doing things that might elicit him to jump (ie Jump up and down, wave your arms in the air) If he jumps up, turn sideways and step back and return to calmer, less enticing body language.   Then when he gets it try again or if he is successful after your proofing and really gets it:
9. Enlist the help of a dog friendly friend or relative that doesn’t spend a lot of time watching TV dog trainers.  Get them to repeat steps 2 to 8, with you doing the clicking and rewards.  If your friend is amenable to it, get them to click and reward too, after showing them how it’s done
10. Once puppy is really good at staying off, (after a few lessons) you can start asking for a “Sit”  if he knows this.  
11. Give yourself a pat on the back for doing a great job.