Needing help with what harness/lead to use and help Sid with pulling? 8m Greyhound-X-Saluki

[TamingSid]

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I wondered if I can ask you all for some advice about walking / leads / harnesses to use.

I'm finding walking Sid (8 Month, Male, Greyhound X Saluki) and Remi (2 yrs, Male, Fox Red Lab) really difficult to walk, Sid more then Remi.

I can't walk them separately as they both get upset, and I am fine with walking them both , i'd prefer it.

Sid bless him, pulls and so i tried doing the turn the opposite direction method and stop, i tried it without stopping but was just a nightmare and kept falling over him/Remi etc.

Sid is clever and will pull my arms so im facing one way and sid & my arms facing the other if i stop - which is extrememly painful for me (my hands go white where the lead is cutting of blood supply and I have fibromyalgia anyway)

He has this halti harness and a rope lead (Was given to us by the previous owner-not our choice)

Which I personally feel like is not helping the both of us at all - Sid cries sometimes when he pulls too much as it pinches or hurts him; which makes me feel bad.

I try to keep him on a short lead but as he pulls so much his feet barely touches the ground as this harness pulls him back but Sid is trying to fight it - if that makes sense.

I know it's early days , he's only been on 2 walks with myself.

I just want to ensure he's happier and more comfortble going for a walk.

The pulling i understand will take a long time but wondering if the harness and lead is causing an additional 'stress' factor
for Sid where he's not able to enjoy the walk ?

 

[Hemlock]

Do you have a garden? I'd say if so take Sid there and teach him his lead manners as a separate issue from going for a walk. Remi can be in the house or in the garden while you do so. Is Remi well-mannered on the lead? If not, you will need to sort this out with him on his own too. It's a miserable experience when dogs don't have their lead training, but luckily it is really easy to fix. I know your husband isn't being helpful at the moment, but would he be willing to walk with Remi while you concentrate on Sid?

 

[JoanneF]

I'll just add - when you take them out (separately or together) on leads, try not to think of it as going for a walk. It's training. That takes the pressure off you to actually go somewhere, so if you only get as far as two lamp posts, that's fine. Psychologically that's easier on you.

 

[TamingSid]

Thank you both, we do have a garden, with a good size path from the back door to our garden gate.
Remi isn't too bad on the lead and usually good with not pulling too much but seems to have regressed a little since taking Sid for a walk.

I've been trying to take Sid for walks with Remi, walks beautifully but as soon as Sid catches sight of a cat, bird, another dog (no matter how far away) , Sid litterally panics and freaks out, getting caught up in his lead, almost slips out of this harness, I get pulled often to the floor, accidently kicked in the face when sid jumps around as I'm sat down trying to clam him.

I tried his fave toys, comfort toy (a hat i wore), treats, his bone, me trying to comfort him but nothing worked. took me 15 minutes to calm Sid to walk back home (i was 10 minutes away from home) .

He physically shakes, cries/barks/screams as if something seriously happened - he did this so much so that a neighbour came over to check if everything was okay bless him all because Sid saw a cat.

should i start small , like you say, in the garden up and down the path, then the street ... working up to longer ?

 

[Hemlock]

should i start small , like you say, in the garden up and down the path, then the street ... working up to longer ?

Absolutely. You are asking him for PhD behaviour when he is still in kindergarten. I absolutely understand that you want to get everything fixed asap, but it doesn't work like that. There's an old German proverb that translates to "Hasten slowly".

We can support you - you are not alone.

 

[JudyN]

Just to add, if you get funny looks/comments from other people, don't compare Sid to others... this does sound like typical saluki cross behaviour. Think 'greyhound x box of frogs'... (They are all different, of course, and some saluki crosses can be calm dogs. Just not the ones I've met.'

 

[Specialist_Gundog_Leads]

People don't like this but harnesses are designed for one thing to pull if you look at a team of huskies for instance they all wear one when pulling a sled ..........

Get a decent slip lead you won't regret it.....

 

[Tinytom]

I've just bought 2 head collars for my boys 2posh2pull...they are very different to haltis and are brilliant

 

[JoanneF]

but harnesses are designed for one thing to pull

Sorry, I'm afraid I disagree. A dog might still pull on a harness but it will do less damage to its trachea and throat. Yes, Huskies will pull but that's because they've been trained and bred for pulling, not because someone has put a harness on them. A dog can be trained to walk in a harness without pulling.

Get a decent slip lead

Again, a determined puller will still pull. I think it was @Hemlock that pointed out that slip leads were never originally designed to be used for walking, just for quick transfers from place to place.