Harness to Prevent Backing Out When Spooked

[smt]

Hello, our new foster does fine on her walks unless a loud truck or bus passes nearby.  She then freaks out and I am afraid that despite my attempts to keep her restrained, she will end up backing out of her martingale.  Does anyone have a recommendation for a harness that will keep her safe from the scary school buses on our walks?  

[phall]

I always use Majestic Collars spook harness.  I'm currently using it for my shy girl, and have used them for years on the various greyhounds. They are great.  www.majesticcollars.com. 

[Time4ANap]

The 2 Hounds No Pull  Freedom Harness is the one we use and was suggested by many here when we asked this question.  It fits well and can;t be backed out of. 

https://www.2houndsdesign.com/product-category/shop-now/freedom-no-pull-harness/

 

[smt]

Do you use just one of the D ring clips, or do you do a double clip for the leash?  Wondering if I also need to buy the special double leash.

[HeyRunDog]

I believe to stop hounds backing out out of martingale collars you pull the lead downwards when they start to try and escape.

To get Grace used to traffic I would go a few yards from the end of my road where it meets a busy road and just stand there quietly totally ignoring her for a few minutes and increasing the time day by day and when she wasn't bothered by the traffic I would then move nearer and repeat. After a couple of weeks she wasn't bothered by the scary noisy busses etc.
Just wish I could get her used too noisy kids with footballs 

[MerseyGrey]

1 hour ago, HeyRunDog said:

Just wish I could get her used too noisy kids with footballs 

Would a powerful water spray help with this? Every time you come close to a noisy child, spray the child.

Failing that, some kind of football puncturing device? 

[EllenEveBaz]

4 hours ago, MerseyGrey said:

Would a powerful water spray help with this? Every time you come close to a noisy child, spray the child.

Failing that, some kind of football puncturing device? 

[smt]

6 hours ago, HeyRunDog said:

I believe to stop hounds backing out out of martingale collars you pull the lead downwards when they start to try and escape.

 

I have been using this method, but it is still quite scary.  She becomes like a bucking bronco, trying to escape/run away.  This morning's walk was the worse.  It was trash pickup day.  Know what's scarier than a yellow school bus?  According to Queen, a big trash truck with a large claw that makes a lot of noise as it grabs the bins.  

I am going to either have to get a harness or start walking her on the nearby, traffic free, greenway.  It is just so easy to walk out our front door and hit the road for a walk vs. heading to the greenway.  I don't know what would be best practice with a foster ~ get a harness and try to acclimatize her to the scary noises, or avoid that altogether and just drive to the stress-free Greenway.  I know if she were my dog, I would want her to overcome her fear of loud noises.  I have noticed that she doesn't like like noises on the TV or even when we are in the back yard.  She had a little panic yesterday when a loud van pulled in to the neighbors driveway.  I wonder if she is gonna be one of the pup's who is noise phobic in general.  As much as I would love some rain, I am glad there are no thunder storms in the forecast.

 

[JenniferS]

I agree with either the spook harness or the freedom no pull harness. The last thing you want is her for to get loose and bolt into traffic. 

http://www.majesticcollars.com/harness.htm

https://www.2houndsdesign.com/product-category/shop-now/freedom-no-pull-harness/

You can use a single leash clip or double, both will work. And since even harnesses are not always escape-proof, you can also use a coupler to attach the harness and collar together as a back up.

 

[Time4ANap]

19 hours ago, smt said:

Do you use just one of the D ring clips, or do you do a double clip for the leash?  Wondering if I also need to buy the special double leash.

I found the double leash way too heavy to use.  I think it might be good for a larger dog or one who really needs more control when walking, but we haven't used it since first trying it and realizing how heavy it was (the double hardware really adds weight). Just a regular leash and one d-ring used when walking Petunia. 

Edited September 17, 2019 by Time4ANap

[smt]

21 hours ago, Time4ANap said:

The 2 Hounds No Pull  Freedom Harness is the one we use and was suggested by many here when we asked this question.  It fits well and can;t be backed out of. 

https://www.2houndsdesign.com/product-category/shop-now/freedom-no-pull-harness/

 

With the freedom harness, do you just hook the leash to the back (top) D ring?  Did your pup take to walking ok in a harness, given the "feel" is different than being led via martingale?

[Time4ANap]

41 minutes ago, smt said:

With the freedom harness, do you just hook the leash to the back (top) D ring?  Did your pup take to walking ok in a harness, given the "feel" is different than being led via martingale?

Yes.  Just hook the regular leash to it and go.  Petunia had no trouble adjusting to it and let me put it on her with no issues. We went to a harness because she tends to statue on walks, refusing to move any further at some point and we needed the control of a harness.  Sometimes she's stopping like that in someone's driveway or other inconvenient location and we need to move her.  The harness allows me take control of her using the top part of the harness and move her along when we need to.  I wasn't able to do that with a regular collar and leash without risking an injury to her.

[cleptogrey]

When Annie started to spook from noises, big trucks, fire engines, etc I kept her on the curb side, I was next to the traffic. I shortened the leash to less than a foot.  A good leather or biothane leash folds easily into your hand and I picked up the pace. I would just say, "let's go!" And fortunately those barreling trucks were gone. I also would pull out a dehydrated liver chunk as a reward.

The one time we lost her was at an antique show. The obnoxious porta potty cleaning trucks with loud air brakes came barreling down our row spooked her. Yup, she was wearing a properly fitted GH harness! She cranked her neck and got out of it and bolted down to rt 20 the center of brimfield dozen rows of vendor tents. Massive traffic preventated her being run over. She made her first left(track training) and finally hid in a yard.talk about a night mare! She ran full speed for a good 2 miles on black top. Annie survived, we survived. 

So, since then I have stuck with thinner, 3/4"martingales(Lupine brand). There is more control with a thinner collar. The tools and professional training that one acquires always helps in gaining confidence and communicating with your 4 legged companion.

Edited September 18, 2019 by cleptogrey

[2greyhoundMINI]

On 9/17/2019 at 4:12 AM, MerseyGrey said:

Would a powerful water spray help with this? Every time you come close to a noisy child, spray the child.

Failing that, some kind of football puncturing device? 

[HeyRunDog]

On 9/17/2019 at 9:12 AM, MerseyGrey said:

Would a powerful water spray help with this? Every time you come close to a noisy child, spray the child.

Failing that, some kind of football puncturing device? 

Good idea. Just hope I don't squirt the ball and puncture the child. 

[MerseyGrey]

1 hour ago, HeyRunDog said:

Good idea. Just hope I don't squirt the ball and puncture the child. 

🤣

[smt]

On 9/18/2019 at 6:39 PM, cleptogrey said:

 

The one time we lost her was at an antique show. The obnoxious porta potty cleaning trucks with loud air brakes came barreling down our row spooked her. Yup, she was wearing a properly fitted GH harness! She cranked her neck and got out of it and bolted down to rt 20 the center of brimfield dozen rows of vendor tents. Massive traffic preventated her being run over. She made her first left(track training) and finally hid in a yard.talk about a night mare! She ran full speed for a good 2 miles on black top. Annie survived, we survived. 

 

That really is terrifying.  Thank God there was a happy ending to the story.  

 

Given how REALLY FREAKED OUT our foster is with the loud noises, I am just not comfortable walking her in the neighborhood w/o a harness.  I am in touch with the woman who makes the majestic harnesses.  Since we have had fosters that range in size, she said she could make us a spook harness that is between a S and M, so we are going in that direction.  It will be comforting knowing we have it on hand in the future if we need it.  In the meantime, we are walking Queen Latifah on the greenway, which is much lower stress for everyone.  I did walk her in the neighborhood this morning, but it is a Saturday so less chance for a loud truck to pass us by.  I did wonder what the hell I would do if a motorcycle sped past.  I think we would be be traumatized if that were to occur.  

[KickReturn]

Hello Everyone,

I have been down this road with a greyhound that has extreme prey drive. He learned that if he would spin and thrash backward away from the leash, simply tucking in his elbows would allow him to get out or almost any harness, including several mentioned above. Think of Houdini getting out of a straight-jacket. The only harness that would keep him secure was this one:

It is the PetSafe Surefit Harness. The only way the dog can escape is if his head comes off! It is the only one I have found that is designed in this way

Here he is in his prime. Some of you here will remember this fellow. You can imagine what it would be like to have him thrashing at 100% effort to get to a rabbit or deer.

 

[smt]

13 minutes ago, KickReturn said:

Hello Everyone,

I have been down this road with a greyhound that has extreme prey drive. He learned that if he would spin and thrash backward away from the leash, simply tucking in his elbows would allow him to get out or almost any harness, including several mentioned above. Think of Houdini getting out of a straight-jacket. The only harness that would keep him secure was this one:

It is the PetSafe Surefit Harness. The only way the dog can escape is if his head comes off! It is the only one I have found that is designed in this way

Here he is in his prime. Some of you here will remember this fellow. You can imagine what it would be like to have him thrashing at 100% effort to get to a rabbit or deer.

 

OMG - is his name Thor?  What a magnificant beast.  And thanks for the tip.  Surely if the harness you mention can contain him, it will be able to contain our girl. 

[MerseyGrey]

17 hours ago, smt said:

OMG - is his name Thor?  What a magnificant beast.  And thanks for the tip.  Surely if the harness you mention can contain him, it will be able to contain our girl. 

His name is ‘Hound-ini’

[smt]

Re: the Petsafe Surefit harness, would a M or L be the best bet for female fosters?  We want to have one on hand for future fosters who may be apt to slip the martingale, like our previous girl did.  She was adopted before we made the purchase, so I don't have measurements of an actual dog to go by.

[smt]

Here is the measurement chart:

 

[cleptogrey]

Also check out harness lead. Watch the video. That is what we ultimately ended up using, but I still am not a fan of harnesses unless used for mobility.