On my daily walk around the block, I would occasionally pass a woman who was being dragged down the road by her dog. We had a chat and I passed on some advice - which included about the Easy Walk harness. The next few times that I saw her, the dog was now wearing an Easy Walk harness and things had generally improved a little.

Then one day we were talking, whilst her dog was sniffing the hedge, lunging at my dog, sniffing the hedge, etc. She mentioned the dog taking clean items out of the laundry basket, and repeated, complete with tone of voice of how she told the dog off. The dog on hearing that tone stopped what it was doing, looked up and became attentive. I highlighted to the woman what had just happened, and the instant change in the dogs behaviour because of the tone used. She said that she really dislikes the dog taking things out of the basket. She said that she doesn't like to use that tone on the street as people might think she's a nasty old women who's cruel to the dog. But like I said, you teach them right at the beginning, and you wont have to correct them every day as they remember.

Be strong and firm. Instruct with a sharp "Leave" or "Leave it"

None of this "Oh pickles, don't do that". Speak with a tone of voice like you mean it, rather than you're making a suggestion, and they soon pay attention

Don't forget that by law, any dog has to carry an identification tag on it's collar or harness when out. Any dog in public areas not carrying a tag is classed as a stray.

Personally I use a traditional fixed lead and collar. I know that people like to use harnesses, but they give the dog greater control of the human - and the harness design gives the dog a better surface to pull against.

My friend has a Japanese Akita, a large dog that was lunging and leaping all over the place. I saw the Easy walk harness by Petsafe on eBay. 

The Petsafe Easy Walk harness works by the lead attaching to a D ring at the front of the chest, rather than on the back. However, unlike other claimed easy lead harnesses, the D ring is attached to a sliding Martingale loop - which allows the D loop to move towards the handler's side of the dog's chest when the dog tries to pull away. With the lead being attached on the owner's side of the dog's chest - when the dog tries to pull away then the dog's chest is turned back towards the handler - ideal. 

I'd recommend PetSafe's Easy Walk Harness to anyone as a temporary measure whilst they are still training the dog. And dispose of that back fixing harness.

It is better to find a dog trainer who is a member of the APDT

What is the purpose of the APDT

Our purpose is described as Objects within the Articles of Association:

• To supply and promote progressive, science and evidence-based training methods for the benefit of dogs, their owners, veterinary practices, rehoming centres, and other organisations.

• To assess dog training instructors in their knowledge and skills in order to maintain the highest dog training standards.

• To keep a register of assessed dog training instructors (our members/stakeholders) so that dog owners can find accredited APDT CIC instructors to help them train their dog.

• To further the understanding of progressive science and evidence-based dog training methods, via the provision and access to educational courses

Find an APDT Trainer

APDT are proud to be the UK's largest Animal Training Instructors' organisation.  To find a trainer near you, visit their Find a trainer webpage. There, you simply type in your town or postcode, and scroll down to see the results.

www.apdt.co.uk/find-a-trainer