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Helping a Dog Learn to Wear a Harness
I meet a lot of dogs who don’t enjoy the process of having a harness put on their body, even though they know it leads to something they enjoy immensely: a walk! I think some dogs may feel uncomfortable when a person looms over them with hands reaching over the top of their body. This can be remedied by crouching low or perhaps having the dog up on an elevated surface before donning the harness. And pairing the donning process with lots of yummy treats can really help, too.
One of the shelter dogs in the pet/prison program – her name is Sadie – is continuing to struggle with harness-donning, several months into her stay. The handlers did some initial “touch the harness” training, with it on the floor, in hand, and hanging up at the dog’s nose height. Sadie has done well with that.
More recently, they’ve been using tasty treats to lure her head toward and into the head loop of the harness, and this has become a major sticking point for her. Why do you think that is, and what would you advise they do differently to help Sadie feel more comfortable with this?
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26 Replies
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Is Sadie a fearful dog in general?
I think the head through the loop can be a sticky point IF they do not raise the criteria. She may think the head through the loop is the end of the behavior. (if I am interpreting/envisioning “sticky point” to what you mean and what may be actually happening).
If she is fearful and they can’t get past the head through the loop, I may try a new harness completely; one she has zero association with. This may help. Another option I would try is a “Y” style harness that clips around the neck. This can help since her head does not have to go through it or it is not going over her head. (if she is head shy or fearful)
Great topic for dogs with body handling concerns.
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These are fantastic tips, @jenz — thank you! In the prison, we don’t always have good options for switching out equipment but, generally, switching to a different harness design is such a great piece of advice.
Sadie isn’t a fearful dog but rather a dog with many issues: reactivity, global resource guarding, difficulties with impulse control, and body handling (at least in the form of harness dressing). I think she is also sensitive to her handlers’ emotional states and reacts “badly” when a person is unsure or tense or concerned.
Because she didn’t like the loop going over her head, using a food lure just added a level of concern and maybe even coercion, i.e., if the dog really wants the food but dislikes the act of having the head loop put on, they can balk at the presentation of the food.
One way they might also get around this is shaping small approximations of the head movement into the head-loop of the harness.
But when I had my weekly visit at the prison this week, they had progressed with Sadie in a unique way. 1) They moved the dressing location to a different setting (no prior association, something like you suggested!), 2) they made it a silly game (literally with a song and a bit of dancing!) and Sadie has responded beautifully.
I am always impressed with the ingenuity of the inmate handlers!-
Thanks for clarifying that the sticky point was she was still concerned vs thinking the lure through was the behavior that she couldn’t proceed past.
I agree, using food sometimes with fearful dogs can add another layer of concern.
Glad they were able to use another method to help her!
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I like your idea for an equipment switch, @jenz . The clip on Y style is a better option. I know lots of dogs who don’t like to put their head through a harness, but respond well to the clip style.
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Thanks! Glad you see the struggle many dogs have with over the head concerns, too. I cringe even more when I see people picking up their dogs legs to pull/push into the harness that way, too.
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You mean this “cute, little step-in harnesses”? Yeah, I don’t like them, either.
Funny, I always default to flat collar and training heel or LLW with treats. ????. Works for MOST dogs, yeah, even the Pully-pullertons! ????
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@bernerlabreclectus “Pully-pullertons!” Ha! Is this the new designer breed you are going to roll out soon? ????????
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If they have corded coats and connected to a system of interconnected gears, they’d be Puli Pulley Pullertons. 3Ps for short. Threepees.
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OK! You guys are cracking me up. Now, I’m a weirdo, and talk to dogs more than I should! They never actually answer, but I’m certain they don’t want to be called 3-P’s! Let’s face it, who would?
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What about leaving off the harness for awhile and generalizing “Put your head through the __?”
It could start with a GIANT LOOP – like a hula hoop. Streamers could be added (Short at first), then working toward shaping more contact-tolerance.
OR
Handler games like One handler has his arms in a big circle, and the other handler lures her head through – as soon as her ears pass, the arm circle is removed.
I guess I’m just thinking about silly games to build fluency with putting her head through things.
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Love the fun game ideas, @catherine — thanks for chiming in! In a non-prison setting, having nifty props like a hula hoop would be such a clever tool to employ. ????
The harness is pretty necessary for all movement with Sadie through the prison spaces. She’s big/strong, and I’m worried tension on a collar will complicate things if she has a reactive moment (toward another dog or someone on staff). The harness they’re using also has a handle on the top which they can use successfully to manage/reduce occasional bouts of arousal — otherwise, historically, she was apt to jump up on her handler, ping off of her, and grab at limbs, especially when frustrated. Not fun! They’ve done a lot of work on that and she’s way better, but that management option is still nice to have in their back pocket.
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Wow, Sadie really sounds like a handful. She’s lucky to be in the program!
My guess is that if she’s experiencing the harness as a managment tool that inhibits her very dopamine-engaging arousal moments… that alone could make it less than exciting to put on.
Do you think it’s more about that ^^^, or more about some kind of handling/head sensitivity?
A leash loop, chair legs, handler arms, a person sitting flat on the floor with knees raised… all other ideas to replace the hula hoop.
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Good thought, @catherine , about the inhibiting impact the harness has on Sadie’s behavior. I’m not sure if that’s the case. She has to be dressed in the harness, every time, before leaving the cell and once out of the cell, there are various reinforcers available to her. But if she has body sensitivity, the feel of the harness on her body when the leash tightens may be unpleasant.
I’ll bring it up with the handlers tomorrow and see what they think. ????-
Ah, so there’s really no way to work on getting that harness on in stages, is there? That’s a tricky one since she’s always being “forced” into it (even kindly). Hmm.
I’d be tempted to do everything in my power while she’s out of harness to make the harness the fun part of being in that cell. Touch the harness, get a treat. Touch the harness, have a toy. But beyond that, I’m not sure what else to suggest.
Let us know what the handlers think!
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Thanks, @catherine . They have plenty of time to work on it in their cell when Sadie doesn’t need a walk. I think their training just went off the rails on this particular task, not to mention all the other pressing tasks they have to work on with her.
In addition, one of her handlers was part of a TedX talk that filmed at the prison. Now that that’s over, she can focus better on Sadie’s needs. ???? I see them tomorrow and will report back.
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@catherine , the handlers appreciated your input and they had already decided to temporarily use her collar for walks, to buy them more time to ease her in to harness dressing. Their creative minds were also whirring on how to create “circles” for Sadie to put her head through, in addition to your great idea about the arm loops. Will keep you posted after I see her again next week.
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That’s great news, Virginia. I can’t wait to hear what they come up with and how that helps Sadie.
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@catherine These are ingenious! I love games! You can also make the arms-loop smaller. The streamers on the hoop is really a fun way to add “difficulty”!
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Me too, Paula – games for the win! Plus calling everything we teach a “trick” or a “game” reframes it for both perfectionists and anxiety-ridden clients. No pressure; it’s just a game to play with your dog. ????
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I agree! Games for the win! If we can just play, it’s any work actually being done? YES!!!
My favorite game with Joy is when I’m eating breakfast and want to sit on the couch to drink my morning coffee. She wants to look out the window, but I swear she just wants to play our made-up game: Look At What A Quiet Girl Am I.
This game helps two fold:
1. Keeps her from begging for food (keeps her focused and away from me)
2. Teaches her the gift of looking out the window takes silence.
It’s a very organic and free game. I sit with my peanut butter toast and coffee (always the same breakfast, I fear.) She LOVES peanut butter.
I have a bunch of treats or Cheerios in my pocket or a ramekin. When I capture her goodness, I mark and reward. Yay!
Sometimes she comes closer, I still reward, but not as much as in the sweet spot (by the window).
Early on, she failed a couple of times because one time she saw the Huskies across our street come out for a walk. Two, a scary plastic bag was floating down the street.
Both times, I said, TOO BAD! and the blinds came down across the window.
She loves the game every day! We do it at other times as well. But I only give her access to the view if we are around to watch.
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@bernerlabreclectus , that’s an excellent game. So glad you shared that!
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It was a such a tangent…ha ha… but thank you!
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@bernerlabreclectus This is so good. I’m sure Joy loves sharing your breakfast time in that way.
It reminds me of teaching “no begging” using popcorn (which I call paw-corn for obvious reasons). Simple rule: If you stare at mom eating pawcorn, you get no pawcorn. If you look away from mom eating pawcorn, pawcorn MAGICALLY APPEARS! This results in dogs who lie down just at pawcorn flight zone distance and pointedly look away.
It’s a very exciting game once they figure it out. My old gals Joy and Penny were pros. Bliss and Magic… not so much because I just share whatever I’m having. lol Oh how my standards have dropped.
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LOVE THAT!!
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– you love…. the dropping of my standards? ???? (me too!)
just kidding, of course – I know what you meant.
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