Quote:
I'm glad that you like it, and it's obviously fitting in with your family. I don't mean to imply that someone who uses it is a bad owner or anything similar. But my question - as a person who trains dogs without one - is this: If I took the harness OFF your dog, and put her on one of my show chokes (tiny paracord choke collar), could I shift her gait up and down with the pressure of my pinkie finger moving?
A TRAINED dog would never pull, regardless of whether they are wearing anything, and they're acutely aware of a tiny signal from the handler.
A MANAGED dog is somehow physically kept from pulling. The owner may think this means they're trained, but on another collar or with another handler all of a sudden the dog is a pulling machine again.
Dogs don't have a lot of "pay attention" nerves around their fronts. What they have are nerves that tell the brain to move forward in response to pressure backward. I use this in the show ring to get the dog to set his weight over his front end; I will actually push a bit on the front of the dog and it'll push back into my hand (watch the handlers on TV when they televise Westminster or one of the other shows - you'll see this a lot). The pressure of a harness tells the dog to surge forward; that's why sled dog harnesses work and why tracking harnesses work and why weight-pull harnesses work. The harder you pull back on a harness the harder the dog pushes into it.
An ez-pull harness doesn't have any ability to send "pay attention" signals to the owner. The dog eventually learns that every time he walks forward he's going to get swung around again by his own weight, but he's not saying "I will not pull because my handler doesn't like it when I pull." That drives me nuts; I want a dog who is making a decision based on what I want, not based on what he thinks he can or cannot physically do.
I know it "works" for a lot of owners and I know a TON of trainers recommend them. However, those trainers forget that the point of any tool is to get rid of the tool. The goal is a dog who will heel off-leash despite any distraction, or will move out ahead of you on a very thin leash acutely aware of your signaling. However you get there, whatever tool you use, from a choke to a clicker to a prong to a harness, you're supposed to be able to chuck the tool as fast as possible. The ez-walk harnesses tend to become a permanent piece of clothing for the dog, and (worse) on any other collar or off leash the dog behaves poorly again.
I'm not sure if we are talking about the same harness. Unlike a standard harness, there is no "sled dog" effect. The direction from the owner comes from the front, just like a collar, except that there is no pressure to the neck, which can be delicate in a small dog.
Moxie is pretty well trained, but her behavior varies with the circumstances, as we expect different behavior from her in different circumstances. (Just like parents with kids. There is church behavior and home behavior.) When we are out walking in the woods, we have her on an extended leash and she runs hither and yon. She responds well to our directions. If she winds herself around a tree, all we have to say is "come by" and she will change direction and unwind herself. She does have a strong prey drive though and if there is a squirrel in sight, then she will pull. If we are in a situation where we are in a crowd, say shopping or at a festival, she is extremely well behaved and attuned to the slightest direction we give her. She has worn a regular collar on occasion and does just fine.
This is the harness I am talking about. http://www.gollygear.com/easywalkharness.htm
As you can see, the leash attaches to the front, and the D-ring on the harness is on a slide. If you tug slightly to the left, the dog is directed to the left. If you tug slightly to the right, the dog is directed to the right. The "pay attention" signal is able to get right through, but without putting pressure on the neck.
I'm glad that you like it, and it's obviously fitting in with your family. I don't mean to imply that someone who uses it is a bad owner or anything similar. But my question - as a person who trains dogs without one - is this: If I took the harness OFF your dog, and put her on one of my show chokes (tiny paracord choke collar), could I shift her gait up and down with the pressure of my pinkie finger moving?
A TRAINED dog would never pull, regardless of whether they are wearing anything, and they're acutely aware of a tiny signal from the handler.
A MANAGED dog is somehow physically kept from pulling. The owner may think this means they're trained, but on another collar or with another handler all of a sudden the dog is a pulling machine again.
Dogs don't have a lot of "pay attention" nerves around their fronts. What they have are nerves that tell the brain to move forward in response to pressure backward. I use this in the show ring to get the dog to set his weight over his front end; I will actually push a bit on the front of the dog and it'll push back into my hand (watch the handlers on TV when they televise Westminster or one of the other shows - you'll see this a lot). The pressure of a harness tells the dog to surge forward; that's why sled dog harnesses work and why tracking harnesses work and why weight-pull harnesses work. The harder you pull back on a harness the harder the dog pushes into it.
An ez-pull harness doesn't have any ability to send "pay attention" signals to the owner. The dog eventually learns that every time he walks forward he's going to get swung around again by his own weight, but he's not saying "I will not pull because my handler doesn't like it when I pull." That drives me nuts; I want a dog who is making a decision based on what I want, not based on what he thinks he can or cannot physically do.
I know it "works" for a lot of owners and I know a TON of trainers recommend them. However, those trainers forget that the point of any tool is to get rid of the tool. The goal is a dog who will heel off-leash despite any distraction, or will move out ahead of you on a very thin leash acutely aware of your signaling. However you get there, whatever tool you use, from a choke to a clicker to a prong to a harness, you're supposed to be able to chuck the tool as fast as possible. The ez-walk harnesses tend to become a permanent piece of clothing for the dog, and (worse) on any other collar or off leash the dog behaves poorly again.
I'm not sure if we are talking about the same harness. Unlike a standard harness, there is no "sled dog" effect. The direction from the owner comes from the front, just like a collar, except that there is no pressure to the neck, which can be delicate in a small dog.
Moxie is pretty well trained, but her behavior varies with the circumstances, as we expect different behavior from her in different circumstances. (Just like parents with kids. There is church behavior and home behavior.) When we are out walking in the woods, we have her on an extended leash and she runs hither and yon. She responds well to our directions. If she winds herself around a tree, all we have to say is "come by" and she will change direction and unwind herself. She does have a strong prey drive though and if there is a squirrel in sight, then she will pull. If we are in a situation where we are in a crowd, say shopping or at a festival, she is extremely well behaved and attuned to the slightest direction we give her. She has worn a regular collar on occasion and does just fine.
This is the harness I am talking about. http://www.gollygear.com/easywalkharness.htm
As you can see, the leash attaches to the front, and the D-ring on the harness is on a slide. If you tug slightly to the left, the dog is directed to the left. If you tug slightly to the right, the dog is directed to the right. The "pay attention" signal is able to get right through, but without putting pressure on the neck.
