# Is it too soon to use Easy Walk Harness on a puppy?



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Does she walk correctly with a collar and leash? You can praise and reward her if she is and reinforce the behavior that way...


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

Front clip harnesses can definitely be used for a puppy. If you use the easy walk, also clip ti to her collar (the leash clip will have two rings in it, one collar and one harness). The halti brand front clip harness works well too. For younger puppies I've found the "Premier Sure Fit" harness to be the very best becuase it is so adjustable. It is NOT sold as a front clip harness, but it has an O ring on the chest that works very well. 

A harness does not teach the dog how to walk well, you will also want to get a good class or a few private lessons to get your puppy off to the right start. On a daily basis I work with people who use various harness and collars and accidently trained their dogs to pull..... because the ---training--- was not used along with the equipment. 

It's SO great you are thinking about preventative measures!


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## Mavrk (Mar 11, 2011)

We used that harness for our first dog when he was a puppy (maybe 5 or 6 months old). He was old enough that we could use it when he was an adult too (he is only 45 lbs since he is not a golden). The great thing about it is that my then 4 year old daughter could walk him. The bad thing is that we used it too much and now have to re-train using a normal collar. He gives plenty of slack with the harness on so it is not like he learned to pull. But he doesn't have the same mentality when clipped to his collar. He is in control some of the time, but other times he starts to pull.

FWIW, we didn't clip it to his collar and the harness. I think he was older by the time we started using it. I think clipping to both is a great idea, especially at this age.


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## 2dollys (Jan 24, 2011)

Mavrk, because *everything * is training to your little sponge--I found it useful to use the easywalk at those times when we needed to go somewhere quickly. For example, trying to get to the car for a vet visit or any other time I didn't really have time to train. Of course, yours is young enough to carry still, but we started using a medium size when Mango was 3-4 months old.

We also train on the flat collar too. We just had a good walk, half on the easywalk with loose leash and half on the buckle collar loose leash--it was wonderful!

Good luck!


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## Mavrk (Mar 11, 2011)

2dollys said:


> Mavrk, because *everything *is training to your little sponge--I found it useful to use the easywalk at those times when we needed to go somewhere quickly. For example, trying to get to the car for a vet visit or any other time I didn't really have time to train. Of course, yours is young enough to carry still, but we started using a medium size when Mango was 3-4 months old.
> 
> We also train on the flat collar too. We just had a good walk, half on the easywalk with loose leash and half on the buckle collar loose leash--it was wonderful!
> 
> Good luck!


That makes sense since it is hard to train not to pull on the way from the car to the vet's office unless you get there REALLY early. I have been carrying her right now, but as you say, that won't last. I was thinking of trying the gentle leader or a martingale collar for those shorter trips this time around. But I have no experience with either of these. I guess I should make a new thread to ask about those.


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## Phoenixx (Apr 21, 2011)

I bought one of these today for Phoenix (size M) and it works wonders! He's 14 1/2 weeks and over 25lbs so it was getting hard for me to control him if he got excited and started pulling. I would highly recommend it - had I known about it earlier, I would have purchased it earlier. He is pretty good with a regular collar 75% of the time, but I live in a condo with a vets office downstairs so there are usually other dogs around when I take him to go to the bathroom. He LOVES other dogs and almost always pulls when he see's another dog downstairs - the easy walk prevents this without hurting him.


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## uat1 (Jan 25, 2011)

I ordered a small size for my puppy, she is 11 weeks old... What is Phoenix girth size? I am afraid I ordered the wrong size for her...


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## Phoenixx (Apr 21, 2011)

To be honest, I have no idea. He is around 30lbs and the medium is just barely small enough for him - I have everything set at the smallest settings. I got the medium over the small because he's growing so fast right now and I figured he'd be out of the small within a month. If he was any smaller, the medium would be too big though. I hope it helps!


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## TuckersMom (Sep 26, 2010)

We bought the medium for Tucker when he was a baby. We started at about 3 months. We bought the medium and just a few months ago had to upgrade to the large. I use it all the time I absolutely love it. The only time we dont use it is for quick trips in the car, or to the dog park. I dont like how the other dogs bite it, I feel bad for Tuck!!


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## Molly's Mum (Apr 1, 2011)

uat1 said:


> I ordered a small size for my puppy, she is 11 weeks old... What is Phoenix girth size? I am afraid I ordered the wrong size for her...


You can probably return it for a larger size if it's too small.

I've bought a medium size "own brand" from our pet store. It's a car harness but can also be used for walking, the lead can be clipped to the harness and collar at the same time.


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## uat1 (Jan 25, 2011)

Do you use the harness when you take your puppy out to the backyard for potty or something quick? Or you use it only when taking her out for a walk?


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

It depends on what you want to do.

But...if your puppy is ever pulling...and you keep walking, you reinforce the pulling. Your puppy would learn that pulling makes people walk.


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## Molly's Mum (Apr 1, 2011)

I tried Molly's harness out this morning on the school run. It fits her perfectly and she happily lay on the car seat, attached to the seatbelt. We're off to the vet later for her vaccination so we'll be back in the car again.


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## Lola212 (Nov 21, 2011)

uat1 said:


> Would it be too soon to use Easy Walk harness on an 11 week old puppy? I am thinking it might be a good idea to get her into the habit of walking correctly while she is still a puppy...


I would also like to get this harness for a 12 week old, but not sure what size? He is approaching 20 pounds. They only indicate girth size, which is confusing.

thanks!


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## darbysdad (Dec 23, 2011)

Wow. You guys are persuasive! I just ordered Darby one! I hope you dont sell Kirby vacuums, because I really cant afford one.....:wave:


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## klke (Apr 24, 2009)

I use the Easy Walk Harness and love it. I didn't get it until our puppy was about 4 months. We tried the choke collar but she still had a tight leash even with reinforcement. My kids didn't like walking her because their hands hurt from wrapping the leash around their hands. The Easy Walk worked immediately. I use it whenever we go for a walk or go somewhere that she will be leashed for awhile. She doesn't mind it or bite at it. If I knew how good it worked, I would have bought it sooner. Good luck!


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## swhome247 (Oct 22, 2013)

In the last few posts, what exactly are you referring to? The martingale collar or gentle leader harness? With a leash, I need to train not to eat it. I need to invest in some Bitter Apple I'd say. Lol. But have wondered about harnesses, etc. doing a search of posts now.


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

The biggest issue I had with using the EZ Walk Harness is since the leash clips onto the front, the leash is right there ready for puppy to grab. I had better luck with the Sporn Non-pull Mesh Harness, the leash clips on the back.


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## laprincessa (Mar 24, 2008)

I'm probably one of the few who will say this, but I really wish we'd never used a harness of any kind. The Easy Walk was useless because he was a master at getting a leg over the leash and that eliminated any benefit. The Sporn just taught him to pull harder. The Halti was a mess that never was a success. The ONLY thing that has worked, and it's hard work because we have 6 years of my mistakes to undo, is constant practice walking with a martingale collar. Training, training, training - do it now and you won't have to be visiting your chiropractor weekly a few years from now.


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