I Took 6 Months To Put A Harness On My Dog.

At 7 years old, my dog Harriet was using the same harness on walks that I got when I brought her home from the shelter. It was ratty, old but still worked okay. However, since it only had the option for front clip, I really wanted her to have one that had the option of a back clip as well. Now, nearly everyone enjoys buying that new collar, leash or harness for their pup every few years and I wanted to too. The only problem is, Harriet didn’t.

A little background for those who don’t know. I got Harriet as a rescue when she was 2 years old. She was from an animal hoarding case and likely had never been outside or socialized. This meant she was a very sensitive girl, and change can be really hard for her.

I went through 5 different new harnesses over the years trying to find one she would be comfortable with. I started off slow, introducing it to her paired with good things, teaching her how to put her head through just like she does with the one she already had. I would plan training sessions just for harness time, and started to pair it with going on walks so she would love it for the same reasons she loves her old one. She was always happy to start working, but when I got to the point of having the new harness buckled up on her, it was too much. She would run away to go sulk on the couch, and no amount of treats could convince her to come back and keep working with me. It would get to the point where I would bring out the harness to work with her and she would hide in her crate. Even if I would tell her we were going to go for a walk. She wouldn’t move. That would be when I would give up my most recent attempt and go back to using her old one for a while.

Each time I found new harness designs, I thought would be more comfortable for her than the last. Each time I tried to introduce it slower and slower. First taking a full week of working with her everyday before trying her with it out on a walk. Then a few weeks before walking her with it, and eventually I decided I would take 1 full month of baby steps before I tried to walk her with it. Using the most exciting treats I had for her, she always did well at the start. After practicing for a month, and taking her out, she was doing great! She didn’t seem to mind the new harness at all. Unfortunately, after a whole month of work I picked it up to go walking for the third time with it, she ran off to hide in her crate. Again.

After 5 separate attempts over the years, I thought maybe it was time to give up on the idea. She didn’t really need a new one, and I didn’t want to force her into it. Except, I kept coming back to why I couldn’t get her to adjust. I had done everything by the book. I had used her favorite foods, made games of interacting with it, made it fun. I had taken a whole month to get her used to it. I had gone at her pace didn’t I? Why was she still getting stuck?

Then it hit me. I didn’t really go at her pace. I went at the pace I thought she should be able to handle instead of adjusting to her needs. I had set deadlines before even starting the training and kept them firm because “she should be fine with it by then”.

I decided to try one more time. I ordered my favorite harness brand and made a commitment. I was going to take as long as Harriet needed me to take, and that was it. No deadline. We spent the whole first week just getting her to target it, and the next week I spent getting her used to me approaching her with it. We went painfully slow in the training, double and triple checking that she was ready before taking her to the next step. We worked it several times a week, for months. Soon, it had been 5 whole months since we started. Finally, I fully buckled up the harness on her for the very first time! Even after she had successfully comfortably had it on, our work wasn’t done. I spent another whole month making sure she would be ready to wear it on a walk, and eventually, we got there.

I know thats pretty excessive, to work for 6 months just to get my dog to wear some new equipment. She didn’t need a new harness, I could have just told her to suck it up and pushed it on her and hoped she’d adjust or I could have stuck with the old one forever. Nonetheless, I’m really glad I kept with it. During the long training journey I built trust between me and my dog, as well as improved my skills as a trainer in reading subtle body language. I am a firm believer that positive reinforcement training is so much more than “give them food and they’ll do what you want”. It’s about using rewards (yes, often food) and body language to have communication with our pets, and that if you’re having trouble, sometimes you just need to listen to their side of the conversation.