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#254775 - 10/14/09 09:49 PM
Re: Anyone used the sensation harness?
[Re: Kristel Smart]
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Leo BOND
Leerburg Web Board User
Registered: 10/13/09
Posts: 12
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One of the Shelters I volunteer at swears by the things.
When the dog pulls it is turned so it can't really go forward. If you back up or pull on the leash the dog turns toward you. This makes it easier to get the dogs attention.
My experiences with the Sensation harness are pretty good. I find that the dog can not pull with all of it's strength the way it would with a normal collar and leash set up.
The only issue I found is with an excessive puller the harness will loosen a bit so it is best to check for fit every time you put it on for a walk. I attach the collar and the harness to the leash for back up in case they wiggle free of the harness.
Try it. You may like it. Take the dog in the store, try it on and walk around a bit.
Everything is returnable with a receipt (no?).
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#254830 - 10/15/09 07:42 PM
Re: Anyone used the sensation harness?
[Re: Leo BOND]
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Kristel Smart
Leerburg Web Board User
Registered: 10/03/06
Posts: 993
Loc: Vermont
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When the dog pulls it is turned so it can't really go forward. If you back up or pull on the leash the dog turns toward you. This makes it easier to get the dogs attention.
My dog can absolutely pull me anywhere he would like to, no matter where I clip the leash, unfortunately.  Even the prong collar has meant very little to him in the event of squirrels.
Some time has gone by since I started this thread, and I decided to do some training with one, just 'because'. I'm trying it less because of it's "no pull" application, and more because my dog has no association with it and has no experience pulling in it. Although I will say, I did notice right away that he's less excitable with the harness than with his prong collar, which I found interesting. Still it's only been a couple of weeks.
My absolute goal is to walk with a loose leash...nothing more. I really don't care if he walks beside me, behind me or in front of me, as long as he does not put a smidge of tension on the leash. We do a LOT of walking, and I would like to do a lot more. I would love for that calm, relaxed off-leash vibe to carry over even in areas when a leash is necessary. Unfortunately, my dog gets tense the minute the leash is hooked to his collar, so I'm retraining leash-walking from square one. I think of it as the final step in his rehab-process. 
For two weeks I've been using the harness to train loose leash walking in low stim areas, while most of his exercise has been off-leash in the woods, park, etc. It's actually going GREAT so far!
A couple of days ago, we saw a squirrel while he was wearing the harness, and I was ready to go for a "ride". What happened instead, is that he jumped around and whined, but still did NOT put tension on the leash....I was with a friend, and both of us just stood there with our jaws on the ground. I'm really happy about his progress so far, but I'm going super slow. In low stim areas, he's doing exactly what I want: moving around, relaxed, sniffing, etc. while still being mindful to keep tension off the leash. If I need him to walk next to me I say "let's go" and he'll walk next to me until I release him, then he goes back to sniffing around on a loose leash. I'm loving it.
The harness by itself wouldn't work out so well, but it's working great for the training that we're doing right now. I'm pretty happy with it.
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#254832 - 10/15/09 11:00 PM
Re: Anyone used the sensation harness?
[Re: Lynne Barrows]
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Kristel Smart
Leerburg Web Board User
Registered: 10/03/06
Posts: 993
Loc: Vermont
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At first I started inside. I would cluck to him and mark when he looked, taking a few steps away when I gave him his treat. When he got good at it, I put the harness on him and took him outside in a no-stim zone, and did the same thing, gradually taking more steps, and doing it in all different directions. The point is to get the dog to move toward you with a signal (the cluck) instead of using leash tension. It was actually harder to train ME than him for this.
When he was doing that pretty consistently, I took him for a walk in a place where it was easy to focus. When he put tension on the leash, I stopped, clucked to him, clicked him for looking and then walked in a different direction while treating. The message here is that I will not follow him when he pulls, but he gets reinforced for paying attention and following me. The big thing is to never follow when there is tension on the leash. We started with five or ten minutes at a time the first few days, only once or twice a day because it was pretty focus-intensive (for me as well).
Because I want him to be as relaxed on leash as he is off, I marked him for sniffing (personal preference; my dog has no dominance or rank issues) as well as taking steps forward without tension on the leash, looking at me, and pretty much anything that was about him relaxing and being attentive enough to keep the leash loose. He already knew "let's go" as a command to walk with me, and he already knew "go ahead", meaning he's free to explore, from our off leash hikes.
After two weeks of working outside, he's doing 10 minute walks in the low-stim area primarily without putting any tension on the leash. He still needs me to 'cluck' at him sometimes if he's approaching the end of the leash, but he responds pretty quickly. I rarely have to 'be a tree' at this point, but it still does happen. It's quite amazing that in only a couple of weeks, he's actively working to keep the leash loose most of the time...it's so cool.
It's looking to be quite a process, especially when we get into more distractions and longer distances, but I'm pretty happy with the way it's going I'm trying to change my thoughts about the leash: I want it to be more "back up" than "lifeline", if that makes any sense. And I'm going through a lot of Zukes!
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