My puppy acts crazy on leash. What harness is best for puppies?

Patience. To get her used to it, when you can keep an eye on her, hook it to her collar and let her drag it around the house. Every time you out it on her, give her a treat, lots of praise and show her lots of enthusiasm. Practice off leash in a puppy-safe, potty safe area and reward your pup for sitting. Give one treat for sitting and additional treats for remaining seated. Once you have her undivided attention, run the other way to incite a chase. Stop after 5-7 steps, before she catches up. When she gets to you, she sits and gets a reward. Now she has the idea that it’s fun to follow you. Next, repeat the same process with a lightweight leash attached to her flat collar so she gets used to the feel of the leash. Of course, make sure that she can’t get it snagged on anything or you’ll be adding an extra day or two to your training! After you’ve practiced that a couple of times you’re ready to hold the leash. In fact, you can often skip that leash dragging stage. Your pup is already used to following you when you sprint or head the other way. So, you can walk but with quick little steps so it looks like you are sprinting to get her to follow after you. Make sure that you keep the leash in a loose arc the entire time. Alternatively you can go for variation two. Walk to the end of the leash, but without letting the leash tighten. We want to avoid any pressure at first since pressure might scare her. When you get to the end, remain with your body facing forward while looking back at your puppy or face your body slightly sideways so you can see her more easily. Then lure her to you with a treat. Do this 3-6 times in a row or more until you can rapidly walk away and when you stop and lure she readily catches up to you when she sees the treat. Next, repeat the process but don’t show her the treat until after she catches up to you. Once she follows you 3-6 times, she will most likely start to walk with you as you begin to walk away.

Sounds like the collar may still be pretty scary for your pup! Some puppies may also just be very excited and become wiggly or nip/chew on you in excitement. Here are a few things you can do: Leave the collar/harness on the floor and let your puppy approach it first on his own. Toss a treat and give lots of praise any time he shows interest in it or sniffs it. Practice handling your puppy around the neck and shoulders by petting, playing with, cuddling, etc and giving a favorite treat and praise every time you do this so he begins to associate it with a positive experience. Practice snapping a collar/harness closed next to your pup but not on him, offering a treat and praise every time he is curious about it. Practice sitting while placing the collar or harness on, and giving a treat every time you do. If puppy becomes too wiggly or excited, take a break and try again in a few minutes. Offer extra treas and lots of praise when he successfully puts on and wear the collar, even if it's only for a few minutes.

Hello. The best thing to do is start slow & put the harness on for a few minutes 2-3 times a day. Reward her with many treats & lots of petting to calm her. Then attach a leash & just let her drag it around for a few days. Once she seems comfortable, ask her to follow or approach you while gently pulling on the leash. I always have a tasty treat in my hand to encourage her. With just a little time & patience, all dogs will get used to being on a leash & harness. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Harnesses actually make pulling a lot EASIER for your dog, which could be making the situation worse. If Abby doesn't like head collars (many dogs don't), Gentle Leader also makes a harness version called the Easy Walker that is great (I use it for my own dog). It doesn't go around the neck so you don't have to worry if they do pull, and the leash attaches to the front of the harness on the chest. When your dog starts to pull, it puts pressure on the chest, and also redirects them back toward you like a gentle leader headcollar does. This can help mitigate pulling and may make your loose leash walking training go a bit easier. Another thing you can try when you resume walking again from a sit and stay position, is to walk backwards a few steps! Many dogs will either be confused at first, and thus stop pulling in their distraction, or think it is a fun game and will come toward you instead of pulling away. Once the leash is slack, you can then walk forward again. You may look silly walking backwards and forwards in the same spot for a bit of time, but it can help with stubborn pullers.

I generally recommend using harnesses rather than collars for walking. If a dog pulls excessively on a collar, they can cause irritation to the trachea (windpipe) or develop neck pain or injury. Some harnesses, such as an EasyWalk harness or Gentle Leader, are designed to minimize pulling and can be quite helpful for training. Teaching Jasper a "look" command where he learns to watch you closely while on a leash is quite helpful. All of that said, I still like dogs to wear collars so that their identification tags are readily accessible in the off chance that they would run off. I hope this helps and that all goes well!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Zuko. This is completely normal behavior for a puppy his age. It takes young dogs several weeks if not a month or two to become accustomed to a harness and leash. Keep practicing with him, but do not become discouraged if he is uninterested. He will eventually figure it out. You can start by just trying the harness and not attaching the leash in the house. You can also try outside in a grassy area with both attached. Throw a ball or toy and see if that encourages him to walk. Good luck!

A puppy explores the world by putting things in their mouth. This goes for ok things like food and chew toys, to irritating things like leashes, as well as dangerous things like rocks and socks. Certainly getting a walking harness that attaches to the back (behind the shoulder blades) is one way to prevent Chloe from being able to access the leash while walking. You can also try using positive reinforcement (like giving her praise or a small treat) after a few minutes of walking without grabbing for her leash. Finally, there is a product called Bitter Apple that can be sprayed onto things you want Chloe to learn are not ok to put in her mouth. Like the name suggests, this product tastes bitter and will hopefully help Chloe learn that her leash is for walking not chewing. I hope this helps!