Freedom Harness

Freedom No-Pull Harness

I just came home from a service dog seminar in Austin. The presenter talked about a new style of no-pull harness called the Freedom Harness. The harness works like the Easy-Walk Harness but also can clip in the back between the shoulder blades, giving a little more control. I bought two to try out on my dogs and some of the dogs that I am working and will keep out posted. If I like them, we will be carrying them at Bayside.

I like that they come in many colors....you turquoise fans will love them. I already like the way the included leash can be used a number of different ways. The manufacturer website is  www.wiggleswagswhiskers.com

Valerie's Story

Valerie is an 20 month old lab that just needed a chance. She must have been an adorable puppy bought by a young family with a lack of time to devote to a high energy lab. After 18 months of living in a yard, she was given away to a home in the country for a few weeks and when that did not work out, a kind-hearted woman named Lisa took her into her home.

Lisa contacted me about training for her new silver girl a few days after bringing her into her home. We set up an appointment for an evaluation and some private training. Valerie and Lisa arrived at Bayside and I saw a dog that had no training and seemed to be quite disengaged and made little eye contact. Unlike most first training sessions, we were only able to train a sit and Lisa went home with some instructions on how to stop the wild jumping and biting. We met again the following week and we were able to train a down and worked on the jumping. In this second lesson, there was a break through and Valerie seemed to engaged and was happy to work for the rewards of play, food and praise. It seemed to me that most of her interactions in life with the people around her were negative and she just had learned to entertain herself. We finally had a great place to start her formal training at my house.


Valerie came to live with me for a few weeks on a board and train. She was quick to introduce herself to my dogs, Em and Hunter. They are always good hosts to the strange dogs that I bring into the house. Hunter always loves the girls and he was quick to find a partner to play Catch Me If You Can. There was a long list of behaviors that we needed to correct. She was a counter surfer, jumper, biter for attention, had little door manners, little impulse control, unsure about house training, and did not know how to walk on a leash . She craved attention and love but seemed to engage in bad behavior for attention. We worked on creating a house with clear rules and expections. The rules were the same each day and never changed. Dogs like to know what is expected and need to have a routine. Each day she improved and seemed to like the new experiences like taking a walk, getting a bath, getting nails trimmed and learning to behave politely in the house. Valerie's report card would read like this:


She is a quick learner and works and plays well with her peers. She likes routine and wants to know the expectations of each new task. Valerie likes people and takes new challengers on and tries to do her best. She is motivated by food, play and praise. 


The weeks passed by quickly and we were watching bad habits fade and polite and respectful manners emerge. Valerie visited stores with me and was a model dog offering polite sits for greeting strangers and walking with me up and down the aisles. She attended evening training classes with me and provided demonstrations of exercises for my students.


I am happy to say that she is back in her loving home and they are enjoying a well mannered family dog. Valerie just needed a chance and some training and she became a wonderful dog. I would say that my best advice to puppy owners is to start training as soon as you get a puppy. It is so important to lay a foundation of training (rules and expectations) when they are still young and cute. Please don't let your dog learn that there are counters to surf and garbage to raid. They should be learning that a polite sit gets attention, not the wild jumping. It is sad that the story of Valerie is all too common. The adorable puppy that can do no wrong becomes the wild child that destroys your house and yard and now is a problem.