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I like the Lupine harnesses ( www.lupine.com ), they're always coming out w/ new patterns and they're good for little dogs as their tracheas are less apt to be strained if/when they pull.
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Originally Posted by Trudysmom
I have a little Shih Tzu and we always have her collar with ID, but we only walk her with a harness. Harnesses are better for the neck and more secure for sure, if you fit them correctly. Not too lose or tight.
Yes, it is possible to teach a sight hound to come when called. I've owned four different sight hound breeds and every one of them had a good solid recall.
I hunted with my hounds and every one of them would break off a hot hunt and come right back to me.
It takes repetition, consistency, discipline, praise, treats, rewards, punishment, and daily obedience lessons.
You are spending time with the dog every day, aren't you? Throw in a few seconds of obedience training every now and again.
To be honest, virtually the only thing I work on with my dogs when I first adopt them is recall. That is the most important thing in any situation. I even have multiple commands for it. "Here" is when the dog is close by and is momentarily distracted - the idea is to get them to whip around to face me and close the distance quickly. I use it a lot on the agility course when we're making sharp turns. "To me" when the dog is at a distance - everyone else is yelling "come" and I prefer something that sounds different. If I yell "I need you!" that really does mean I need them to come to me immediately and that there is likely a treat for them if they listen. I reinforce all these things regularly though, and when the dog actually does come to me, they are met with only rewards, never scolding. High value treats and constant working on the recall has mainly worked for my dogs. Catahoulas and kelpies. My sighthound foster would jump the fence but would always let me catch her immediately. Her recall was pretty good, but honestly I wasn't working it too much with her because she was a velcro dog from the start.
There are online classes you can take to have a bulletproof recall - I would recommend Denise Fenzi's program.
But really I'd say to keep a big stash of high-value treats on you, get a very long leash and start getting her to come to you on command. I knew a guy with a whippet who used a shock collar, but I'm never a fan of those, and it could cause other issues. Make coming to you the most rewarding thing she can do - tug, treat, whatever.
Sounds to me like you should be working on recall, several times a week. And "Stop" or "Down". I also think that if Codie can slip the martingale, then you have a size too large. I'm also wondering about your leash handling - the dog shouldn't be able to "back up" to loosen the martingale - you should be keeping the leash tight enough to stop that.
BTW, I strongly disapprove of those retractable leashes. If you are using one, that could be the reason Codie can slip a martingale. Retractable leashes are a poor substitute for good training. They can break and injure the human or the dog. The often give a dog too much freedom at the WRONG times. Etc. If you are using one, that could be the reason Codie can slip the martingale - your response to keep the leash tight is too slow.
You could go to a choke chain. I don't particularly disapprove of choke chains, but they aren't usually necessary, and humans who are not good trainers can easily misuse them.
I don't much care for people walking a dog on harness, either, as the dogs can pull so much more easily.
I would stick with the martingale, but get one that fits properly. As far as flat collars, it is my opinion that a dog SHOULD be able to slip a flat collar. If the dog CAN'T slip a flat collar, the collar is too tight.
Regular leash, 6', and a martingale for walks. And REGULAR training sessions on recall and "stop" until she's solid. When she's solid, start upping the distraction level. When you can put her face-to-face with distractions and you're good, you'll be much happier. It could take years - I never stop using our walks, runs, and work as training. Use long leads for swimming or training when required, but not the retractable.
Well... once you took her martingale off you no longer had a double collar/leash system. So a triple is not the answer. Your mistake was in removing the martingale.
I prefer to use a martingale with a harness but even that is no guarantee. You need the right harness and many are very easy to slip. I like the Blue 9 Balance harness myself as it is very adjustable and very secure. Ruffwear makes probably some of the best harnesses for keeping a dog from escaping. And yes of course training is important but some breeds are just harder to get good recall on. I have Shiba Inus and that breed is notorious for escaping.
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