Easy Walk harness?

nico8 · 11-14-2009, 11:25 PM

I read about the Easy Walk in another thread and thought it might help curb my dog's pulling. The online videos of it in use were pretty impressive... I was wondering if anyone here had used it before and how effective it was for them.

DogsforMe · 11-14-2009, 11:35 PM

We use them at my dog obedience club. The members that have them say they work great.

KaseyT · 11-14-2009, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nico8

I read about the Easy Walk in another thread and thought it might help curb my dog's pulling. The online videos of it in use were pretty impressive... I was wondering if anyone here had used it before and how effective it was for them.

I love it and everyone I know who uses one loves it, and your dog will love it much more then a head halter.

It is not, however, useful for training your dog not to pull. As soon as you take it off, your dog will go back to pulling.

mrslloyd09 · 11-14-2009, 11:56 PM

We tried one for Mandie before we went w/ the head harness. I liked the Easy Walk except Mandie's an awkward size and no matter what we tried she managed to wriggle loose.

nico8 · 11-15-2009, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KaseyT

I love it and everyone I know who uses one loves it, and your dog will love it much more then a head halter.

It is not, however, useful for training your dog not to pull. As soon as you take it off, your dog will go back to pulling.

I realize it isn't a substitute for proper leash training but doesn't it, at least, make the dog more controllable on the leash? And would it be possible to loose-leash train with one of these on?

qingcong · 11-15-2009, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KaseyT

I love it and everyone I know who uses one loves it, and your dog will love it much more then a head halter.

It is not, however, useful for training your dog not to pull. As soon as you take it off, your dog will go back to pulling.

There is no magic cure all for pulling. As with every piece of equipment, they are just tools, you still need to do the training to make it work. The easy walk harness, like the head halter, helps to make training easier than if you used a regular buckle collar.

We use the easy walk harness regularly on walks with our dog. We train him to not pull, but we still use the easy walk harness because it gives us more control and is probably a bit easier on his neck than a regular buckle collar when he hits the end of the leash.

The easy walk harness is excellent, I highly recommend it. The dog certainly likes it a lot more than a head halter, and it gives the owner more control. One thing you have to be careful with is that if your dog pulls a lot on it, he can chafe himself. We solved this by slipping a pad over the part where he was getting chafed.

melgrj7 · 11-15-2009, 06:00 PM

I used one with Nash while teaching him to walk on a loose leash, now he walks with a collar. I have met a few people whose dogs were able to get out of them, so for safety you may want to clip a 2nd leash to the collar or use a coupler, clipping one part to the collar and one part to the harness. I have a martingale collar, so I just clipped my leash to that and the harness.

moluno · 11-15-2009, 09:55 PM

I love it. It's a good training tool and is useful in more distracting situations. Juno tends to be okay on a leash for the most part, but she still goes bonkers when we walk past people or other dogs, so I still walk her with the harness because then I can control her without a struggle. (Or if we go to the pet store, vet... just a lot easier to put it on her and KNOW we won't be in a situation where she gets too excited and out of control).

The only problem I've had with it is that when Juno gets distracted by something behind us, she's able to turn her head around and focus on it, and I have nothing controlling her head. This could be solved by just having another leash clipped to the collar, but I always forget to do that!

pittsabowawa · 11-15-2009, 10:23 PM

I thought about getting one for bella but opted for the gentle leader instead. The easy walk I found doesn't help with pulling and doesn't make your dog "turn around" as it pulls... when I walked my sister's apbt who is working on not pulling I found that the harness would just get crooked but not disrupt the pulling.

I'm not saying don't get it.. its obvious people have had success. I just wanted to share a not so good opinon of it.

I have had great success with the gl however... but some dogs don't tolerate them well. It all depends on your dog and its personality.

Keechak · 11-15-2009, 10:32 PM

Honistly whenever I see a post about needing a "no-pull" harness, the first thing that comes to my mind is, "get an X-back" LOL.

nico8 · 11-15-2009, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keechak

Honistly whenever I see a post about needing a "no-pull" harness, the first thing that comes to my mind is, "get an X-back" LOL.

Haha I wish...can't do much sledding down here in Alabama, though.

jesirose · 11-15-2009, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KaseyT

I love it and everyone I know who uses one loves it, and your dog will love it much more then a head halter.

It is not, however, useful for training your dog not to pull. As soon as you take it off, your dog will go back to pulling.

Not if you train them and then transition slowly. I do this with my students. Once the dog has the hang of it with the easy walk, we attach the leash to the collar TOO, then go from there. It works. I did it with Sadie, and Hadley (Hadley did the GL, but same concept.)

Keechak · 11-15-2009, 11:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nico8

Haha I wish...can't do much sledding down here in Alabama, though.

you don't need a sled to use an X-back

I use a bike or roller blades

squirmyworm · 11-16-2009, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nico8

Haha I wish...can't do much sledding down here in Alabama, though.

When Mesquite and I go hiking, I wear my canicross harness and she wears her harness or backpack. She pulls me, and she's become an expert at navigating trails. My fiance took her on a 60-mile hike using this setup. Actually, it was more like she took him on a hike; the trail was apparently so overgrown in some places that Mesquite was the only one who could find it!

As for the Easywalk...I really like the concept, and I've tried it, but it didn't work for us. Mesquite is just a weird shape: narrow from shoulder to shoulder, but very deep-chested. The front of the harness had way too much give and would just shift to the side, like a previous poster wrote.

Now we're on a Halti, but that hasn't been working very well either. Good thing we're starting another training class this weekend

jiml · 11-16-2009, 05:33 PM

- works very well in my experiance
- can be a little uncomfortable but can also be flipped and used like a conventional harness when dog stops pulling
- can be backed out of by an escape artist dog

nico8 · 11-16-2009, 05:53 PM

I really appreciate all of the replies so far. Let me reiterate that's I'm not looking for a magic cure all for pulling on the leash , just something that I can use other than a standard buckle collar while training her to walk on a leash. For those that have used both the Easy Walk and the Gentle Leader, which would yall recommend? I don't think Nico would have a problem with the GL if that's what actually works best.

qingcong · 11-16-2009, 06:01 PM

There's no question the gentle leader head halter is more effective as it gives you ultimate control of the dog (control of the head), but I think it's rare to find a dog who doesn't mind it. If your dog likes the gentle leader halter, then you're in luck. Most of the time, trainers recommend desensitization exercises by associating the nose loop with a treat.

jesirose · 11-16-2009, 06:24 PM

The GL annoys most dogs, but it does give you more control over their whole movement. I'd start with the Easy Walk, and try it for a week. If you don't like it, exchange it for the GL.

sparkle · 11-16-2009, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by qingcong

but I think it's rare to find a dog who doesn't mind it. If your dog likes the gentle leader halter, then you're in luck.

I am under the impression that MOST trainers/people/advertisers,ect report that this (the GL) is a non aversive approach that causes no discomfort or stress to the dog. ?? Maybe I am wrong.

Maybe that was in the beginning and things have since changed with more data.

Leroy&Lucy'sMom · 11-16-2009, 07:00 PM

I've used it on Lucy, it did NOT work for us...
Only thing that has worked is the GL. She only tries to rub it off if we stop and stand around, otherwise she tolerates it just fine.
Good luck!
Oh, btw, i dont know how much your dog weights but if you want a medium easy walk harness for free (you have to pay for shipping though), i would be happy to send it to you... Lucy only used it once.