Guest leemc Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Hi all Ruby has been with us alittle over 4 months now. She is still quite nervous of things, especially strangers. But as time goes on she gets better. This past weekend we took her camping. This was her 3rd trip. Most of the time she prefers to stay in the camper by herself and relax- as long as she can watch us sitting outside thru the door. Yesterday my husband took her outside for some fresh air. He sat in his chair and she stood next to him. She was wearing her collar with tags but her leash was attached to a harness. I was inside of the camper and my husband yelled for me. Apparently a friend walked by carrying an object that made her nervous and in an instant she got out of her harness and headed for the woods. I came running out and chased her 'barefooted I might add' as calmly as I could not to scare her more . After a minute she stopped and stood there til I approached her and was able to grab her. I have 2 questions : 1---- what type of harness is 'greyhound proof' ? I bought mine at walmart and thought it was a good one- I guess not if she got out of it so quickly 2---- and, I know all dogs are different but 'approximately' how long does it take til a shy nervous dog is not so shy and nervous ? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Go to the 2Hounds web site and order one of her Wiggles, Wags, and Whiskers harnesses. They're FANTASTIC. Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest newbee Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Hi all Ruby has been with us alittle over 4 months now. She is still quite nervous of things, especially strangers. But as time goes on she gets better. This past weekend we took her camping. This was her 3rd trip. Most of the time she prefers to stay in the camper by herself and relax- as long as she can watch us sitting outside thru the door. Yesterday my husband took her outside for some fresh air. He sat in his chair and she stood next to him. She was wearing her collar with tags but her leash was attached to a harness. I was inside of the camper and my husband yelled for me. Apparently a friend walked by carrying an object that made her nervous and in an instant she got out of her harness and headed for the woods. I came running out and chased her 'barefooted I might add' as calmly as I could not to scare her more . After a minute she stopped and stood there til I approached her and was able to grab her. I have 2 questions : 1---- what type of harness is 'greyhound proof' ? I bought mine at walmart and thought it was a good one- I guess not if she got out of it so quickly 2---- and, I know all dogs are different but 'approximately' how long does it take til a shy nervous dog is not so shy and nervous ? Thanks Please look into a "Spook Haness" by Majestic Harness. They are made for greyhounds. I purchased one for my little spook. Now I can walk her without fear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KennelMom Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 The premiere harness have always worked well for us...Anne at Majestic Collars also has a super-safe looking "spook" harness. As for how long acclimation takes...some dogs are always that way, some dogs take weeks and others may take years. The more greyhounds they live with, the easier/quicker it is if they're going to lose the shyness (in my experience). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OwnedBySummer Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Ooooo, scary! Glad all worked out well! I use the Wiggles Wags & Whiskers "Classic" harness and it works great. I keep one at home and one in the trailer. But Summer isn't spooky. There is a spook harness that you might want to look into. Here's the link: Majestic collars - spook harness. Quote Lisa B. My beautiful Summer - to her forever home May 1, 2010 Summer Certified therapy dog team with St. John Ambulance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winnie Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 We like the Premier Sure-Fit Harness. They cost $20 and come in a ton of colors... http://www.gemgreyhounds.org/gem_store/harnesses&couplers.htm We also have the Wiggles, Wags & Whiskers one, but I prefer the Premier. Each is good... just fifferent strokes for different folks. Quote Laura with Celeste (ICU Celeste) and Galgos Beatrix and Encarna The Horse - Gracie (MD Grace E) Bridge Angels Faye Oops (Santa Fe Oops), Bonny (Bonny Drive), Darcy (D's Zipperfoot) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kudzu Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Please look into a "Spook Haness" by Majestic Harness. They are made for greyhounds. I purchased one for my little spook. Now I can walk her without fear. Yes, that is the one I would recommend. You will be able to use it as a regular harness later if you wish simply by removing the additional section that differentiates it from the regular Majestic harness & the Premier Sure-Fit Greyhound harness. My girl probably took a good year before I felt comfortable that she would not suddenly pop out of her collar to get away from something that spooked her. Thankfully she never went further than 20-30 feet as she didn't want to get far from me, but it was still frightening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XTRAWLD Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 We have used a Dog-It harness for Kasey and now for Ryder. They were originally intended as a "seatbelt" for rides in the car to secure them safetly....psh, ya right like that works! Now I use it to assist walking Ryder on the days I think he'll spook. I don't know how greyhound proof it truly is, but in the 5 years of using it, nothing has ever broken and no one has gotten out of it. Quote Proudly owned by:10 year old "Ryder" CR Redman Gotcha May 201012.5 year old Angel "Kasey" Goodbye Kasey Gotcha July 2005-Aug 1, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallgreydogmom Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 (edited) I use the spook harness on all the greyhounds. I would feel so terrible if something happened to them that I could have prevented. I do have 3 spooks I started using this harness with, now I just love them. I was standing in the vets office with a regular harness on one of my girls. She was so proud of herself when she backed out of her harness and stood there wagging her tail. Look what I did mommy. I also have the lead with two clips, one goes to the harness, the other to her regular collar. This lead also has a loop for your wrist and it can be made larger so you can slide it over your head and wear around your waist. If they pull me down I'm attached to them. Comes in handy in the winter on the ice. I may be down but we're attached, http://majesticcollars.com/harness.htm Edited July 18, 2011 by Tallgreydogmom Quote Then God sent the Greyhound to live among man and remember. And when the Day comes, God will call the Greyhound to give Testament, and God will pass judgment on man. (Persian Proverb) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamsmom Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 You have gotten great advice on the harness, I used the spook harness by Majestic with Madi for about a year. She has now been with me for 3 years and is still shy and spooky but is much better than she was. It seems she gets a little bit better all the time but no where near the confident dogs my others are. She may never be and that is ok by me. Quote ~Beth, with a crazy mixed crew of misfits.~ Forever and Always missing and loving Steak, Carmen, Ivy, Isis, and Madi.Don't cry because it's ended, Smile because it happened.Before you judge me, try to keep an open mind, not everyone likes your taste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xan Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 One year at Dewey, a greyhound got out of a Premiere harness, and gave her owners and lots of other people a hard time 'til she was caught later that day. They brought her over to our booth, where were selling the Wiggles Wags and Whiskers harness, which we fitted on her nice and snug (a key point of any harness' security), and all was well. That said, the spook harness does look like it would give you even more security against that shoulder-shrugging slip-out that harnesses like the Premier would allow. Best of luck! So glad you were able to catch her so quickly! Heart attack!!! Quote My Inspirations: Grey Pogo, borzoi Katie, Meep the cat, AND MY BELOVED DH!!!Missing Rowdy, Coco, Brilly, Happy and Wabi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mirthlesstroll Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 I have a spooky dog, and one who's waaaayyyyyy too interested in all of the local small animals. I got this: http://www.ruffwear.com/Web-Master-Harness?sc=2&category=1131 My favorite feature is the handle on the back that you can use to pick the dog up! The straps are padded, and adjust individually. The pressure seems to calm my spooky dog, kind of like a Thundershirt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winnie Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 One year at Dewey, a greyhound got out of a Premiere harness, and gave her owners and lots of other people a hard time 'til she was caught later that day. They brought her over to our booth, where were selling the Wiggles Wags and Whiskers harness, which we fitted on her nice and snug (a key point of any harness' security), and all was well. Was that the fault of the Premier harness or the fact that they didn't adjust it correctly? Based on your post, it appears the latter. DH and I have been using the Premier sure-fit harnesses for years and have yet to have a greyhound slip out of it. Quote Laura with Celeste (ICU Celeste) and Galgos Beatrix and Encarna The Horse - Gracie (MD Grace E) Bridge Angels Faye Oops (Santa Fe Oops), Bonny (Bonny Drive), Darcy (D's Zipperfoot) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest leemc Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Thank you all so much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KennelMom Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 (edited) One year at Dewey, a greyhound got out of a Premiere harness, and gave her owners and lots of other people a hard time 'til she was caught later that day. They brought her over to our booth, where were selling the Wiggles Wags and Whiskers harness, which we fitted on her nice and snug (a key point of any harness' security), and all was well. Was that the fault of the Premier harness or the fact that they didn't adjust it correctly? Based on your post, it appears the latter. DH and I have been using the Premier sure-fit harnesses for years and have yet to have a greyhound slip out of it. Yeah, I'd suspect human error/improper adjustment...we've used the premiere on some pretty spooky dogs that would put marlins to shame with the way the twist, turn and jump. Never had one come close to escaping...also, a lot of people tend to pull UP on a leash when a dog starts freaking out which can help aid their escape from a collar/harness. Kinda like a t-shirt...pull up on a t-shirt and it's easier to slip over your head/arms and off the body. Pull down on it and it's a LOT harder to get off Edited July 19, 2011 by KennelMom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleptogrey Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 sounds like annie who we just took camping last weekend. i think all the scents in the woods helped her zone into a different place, she is a real hunter and was spooked at everything. i use a thinner martingale, the 3/4" lupine and never have trouble when she does one of those jumps 6 feet up in the air going to the end of her leash. has kennel mom said, hold the leash down to bring them down- i say back to earth. i even had to sleep w/ the leash on since her interst was getting out of the tent. her metal tags clinging on the stainless steel bowl freaked her out...go know. i have used a harness on my other grey, w.w.w.- he has super sensitive skin and was naked where it rubbed, but he could not get out of it, all of that was during puppy hood. most definately remember not to let them run w/ it on....too much friction. we should let our girls suffer together and get that spooky nite time woods thing out of their systems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest leemc Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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