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Post by kayers76 on Mar 6, 2008 22:49:43 GMT -5
Buster and I are still plugging away at walking on the leash and he is really improving - much less pulling , comes with me without lagging behind to sniff at everything. He has however become less than satifsfied with his harness. He will stop and try to scratch it off or roll on the ground - especially at the end of the walk. It is a nylon harness and I can understand that it may not be the most comfortable thing to wear. I know that better harnesses are made - padded ones, etc - but I can't see spending that much money on one when he is still growing at such a fast rate. I did try to walk him on his collar but the pulling started again and he ended up doing that barky panting thing - so i'd say that that was worse than the harness. I would appreciate any suggestions!
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Post by RealPitBull on Mar 7, 2008 9:24:42 GMT -5
What kind of harness is it (brand, style)? If you are wearing it to class, can you have the trainer check the fit to make sure it's sitting on his body the right way?
I'm sure you've checked for chafing/rubbing that could be irritating him. Barring bad fit or irritation, the harness just might feel 'weird' or generally itchy to him, hence the rolling/rubbing. (My dog Luca wears a headcollar, and although it is properly fitted, doesn't chafe, and he is very accustomed to it, he still gets itchy from it now and then and rubs his head.)
See if you can identify the behaviors Buster is doing before he drops to roll or stops to scratch, and try to destract him before he starts started. Ask him to sit, do an about-turn, do a halt, offer him a treat, something to break his concentration. If you bring treats with you on your walk to reward a loose leash and walk-at-your-side behaviors, make sure you reward him lots and lots while he is up and moving nicely, vs. waiting for something unwanted to occur.
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Post by kayers76 on Mar 7, 2008 17:42:30 GMT -5
I dont know what the brand name is - we bought it at PetCo. I have checked for chaffing and don't see any irritation. The trainer suggested that maybe we are walking too long - about 40 minutes - and that he is rolling because he is tired. I'll try the distraction, the rolling is pretty consistent. He does this on our block on the return trip. Thanks K
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