Collar comfort *update*

[rockermom]

Was wondering if anyone has had this issue and what can I do? When I go on long walks with Rocky I usually put a harness on him for a calmer walk. Short walks on my street he does not pull at all. But when out and about he sometimes pulls if he needs to go or wants to check something out. But one harness (gl chest harness) gave him welts under his pits. Another harness which has these parts that go under the arms and up the chest and are covered by a fuzzy fabric rubbed him raw on his chest on just one walk he now has scabbs. So today I walked him on regular collar but halfway through walk switched to a rope type choke since that seems to keep him from not pulling as hard. But now I noticed it to be red where the collar goes since he was wearing both Im not sure which one caused redness. Now I hope that does not get scabbed up or its going to look like I hung him. His skin is so sensitive and I guess with the heat its flairing up. And since I had been bad and not taken him on walks for like 2 weeks untill recently. He has fallen back a bit and is pulling a little more than usual. I was wondering if there is a type of collar that they are less sensitive too. I am asuming it is the nylon that is causing the problem. He is not a constant puller so I was surprised to see how easily he got raw spots.

[mnp13]

the wider the collar is, the less pressure there is to one specific area of the neck. So going wide and teaching him not to pull (at all) will probably help you out. Also, a collar that is too loose will chafe from moving around too much, one that is too tight will chafe as well. you should be able to fit two fingers under the collar, but it shouldn't flop around.

[satanscheerleader]

I've had problems with harnesses cutting into my dogs armpits as well. Are all these things you are using nylon? Maybe he is allergic. You can try wider leather products or even a prong for walking.

[rockermom]

Im not sure they are all made of nylon. I think the choker is cotton. It is soft and rope like. There does not seem to be any redness where that was. Below the choke he had on a martingale 1" collar guess it is a nylon.

[SisMorphine]

I'd say go for a wider collar. Mine all wear a minimum of 1.5", though on Wally he only wears a 2". And definitely look into teaching him not to pull at all. Makes life a lot easier (I'm working on that now with Mike . . . that dog is going to be a weight pull champ!).

[Marinepits]

Isn't Rocky mostly white? I know my Kate, who is almost completely white, shows collar/harness marks more clearly than the others. She also gets bright pink in temperature extremes and when she plays or gets really excited.

[rockermom]

Isn't Rocky mostly white? I know my Kate, who is almost completely white, shows collar/harness marks more clearly than the others. She also gets bright pink in temperature extremes and when she plays or gets really excited.

Yes exactly to everything. Gets very red when excited. Sis how ya teaching Mike not to pull? Just curious.

[SisMorphine]

Isn't Rocky mostly white? I know my Kate, who is almost completely white, shows collar/harness marks more clearly than the others. She also gets bright pink in temperature extremes and when she plays or gets really excited.

Yes exactly to everything. Gets very red when excited. Sis how ya teaching Mike not to pull? Just curious.

Mike's on a prong because he's too much for my bad back (even with my mass amount of weight pulling backwards, that dog can pull me on grass for miles . . . it's absurd!), but I'm doing handler awareness with him (which is what I did with Halo, too, who sucked at walking on leash but now is pretty good). So basically I take him out and walk him. When he starts to pull I change directions (full 180) and he gets to the end of the leash, gets jerked back, and has to follow me. I continue to do that and after a while it works pretty well because they realize that they need to pay attention to you and where you're going, and realizing that you on the other end of the leash is more important than whatever it is they are smelling/want to get to. It can be annoying to do it on walks, though. You're constantly going back and forth and usually don't make it too far

[rockermom]

Oh darn guess I got to go back to that anoying method. Recently I had been taking walks with a friend who would not have the time or patients for that. So guess I better stop taking Rocky along the next few times and work on the pull. Darn it we had this. Does this happen where if you dont take them on a good long walk for a couple of weeks they forget. I hope not cause that means every spring I may have to start over? I dont think I will use a prong he does not pull that bad. But I do want to find a collar that would be more comfortable for him in the summer.

[mnp13]

Oh darn guess I got to go back to that anoying method. Recently I had been taking walks with a friend who would not have the time or patients for that. So guess I better stop taking Rocky along the next few times and work on the pull. Darn it we had this. Does this happen where if you dont take them on a good long walk for a couple of weeks they forget. I hope not cause that means every spring I may have to start over? I dont think I will use a prong he does not pull that bad. But I do want to find a collar that would be more comfortable for him in the summer.

Training is never "done". If you do not work the commands after you have taught them, the dog will stop behaving. You can't just teach something and then think you're finished.

When he stops hauling you around, any collar will work fine. I would dispense with the harnesses and gadgets and teach the dog to behave.

[katiek0417]

Oh darn guess I got to go back to that anoying method. Recently I had been taking walks with a friend who would not have the time or patients for that. So guess I better stop taking Rocky along the next few times and work on the pull. Darn it we had this. Does this happen where if you dont take them on a good long walk for a couple of weeks they forget. I hope not cause that means every spring I may have to start over? I dont think I will use a prong he does not pull that bad. But I do want to find a collar that would be more comfortable for him in the summer.

Training is never "done". If you do not work the commands after you have taught them, the dog will stop behaving. You can't just teach something and then think you're finished.

When he stops hauling you around, any collar will work fine. I would dispense with the harnesses and gadgets and teach the dog to behave.

Absolutely!!! You never "finish" training a dog. That leads to inconsistency. With inconsistency, you get a dog that reverts back to old habits...why? Because you let the dog get away with NOT being obedient. Even though Sacha has beautiful on lead and off-lead heeling, I still walk her on the e-collar or pinch. I praise her when she is doing what she is supposed to do....correct her when she is not. If I let her get away with something just once, she thinks she can away with it all the time (I've learned from experience).

Also, if you put moleskin (found in drugstores...it's used for calluses) on the inside of nylon collars or harnesses, there's a padding. Sacha used to be in a gentle leader when she was a puppy....the nylon "sliced" her nose open...the moleskin really helped, and made her much more comfortable.

[rockermom]

Thanks for the moleskin idea. How do you attatch it to the collar? Yeah I know I have to work on training always. Its just that I have not really left my street with him in about 2 weeks. While on my own street he does not pull at all and walks in a nice heel so I guess I slacked off.

[a-bull]

I trained my girl on a Sporn.

She was a wicked puller when I adopted her, and I, like you, did the turning in the opposite direction thing. It works, but if you ever want to get somewhere, it can't be used.

The Sporn worked fantastic, and she now wears a regular harness and doesn't pull---and infact, I even slap the leash on her collar now and then, and have no issues . . . and I'm telling you, this girl pulled!

[katiek0417]

Thanks for the moleskin idea. How do you attatch it to the collar? Yeah I know I have to work on training always. Its just that I have not really left my street with him in about 2 weeks. While on my own street he does not pull at all and walks in a nice heel so I guess I slacked off.

Moleskin is sticky on one side

[mnp13]

She was a wicked puller when I adopted her, and I, like you, did the turning in the opposite direction thing. It works, but if you ever want to get somewhere, it can't be used.

If you are doing it correctly it should not be an "every walk" thing. Corrections that are applied at the appropriate time and with the appropriate force do not need to be endlessly applied. Once or twice should do it. then you just need to maintain.

[a-bull]

She was a wicked puller when I adopted her, and I, like you, did the turning in the opposite direction thing. It works, but if you ever want to get somewhere, it can't be used.

If you are doing it correctly it should not be an "every walk" thing. Corrections that are applied at the appropriate time and with the appropriate force do not need to be endlessly applied. Once or twice should do it. then you just need to maintain.

As it turns out, I've noticed with the use of the Sporn, what you have said kind of applies . . . I can now put any harness on her or even use her collar and she's good as gold.

I don't use force, and even if I did, once or twice wouldn't have worked with her. Others tried force and failed. That's why she ended up with me.

[soozan]

I use the Sense-ible harness. It's the best I've found. I've tried the Gentle Leader, the Sporn, a traditional harness, a prong collar. Everything else hasn't work. With the Sense-ible harness, this gives a shot at training Butch not to pull.

http://www.puplife.com/dogsupplies/sense.html

[pitbullmamaliz]

I bought Inara a Sporn Training Halter a few weeks ago and absolutely love it! I actually bought Ralphie one last night too! I'll keep it and use it on all my fosters, though - can't afford to give one to every new owner!

[mnp13]

I honestly don't understand the benefit of the control harnesses over teaching your dog not to pull you around on a regular flat collar?

[pitbullmamaliz]

I've not had success with teaching her not to pull - I've tried slamming on the brakes when the leash gets tight, doing a quick 180, the prong, etc. Granted, maybe I'm doing them incorrectly! I was having success for a while (a short while!) with the slamming on the brakes, but for some reason she started pulling again. I don't know.