Dog Seatbelt Harnesses & Haltis...

Well, I went to PetCo today to pick up a seatbelt harness and a halti for Ruby...

I tried the seatbelt harness out right away since she came to PetCo with me. It DID NOT go well. :rolleyes: First of all, it was a miracle that I even got the thing fastened on to her and the seat! She was not very happy. As soon as I got the car out of the parking lot she started to try and squirm her way out of it. About half way home she somehow managed to turn in circles in her seat, getting all tangled up in the seatbelt. :rolleyes: I would've pulled over and helped her, but PetCo is really close to my house and we were almost home... She eventually got frustrated and just laid down. But then she got up again and managed to get one of her legs out of the harness. :rolleyes: Then she laid down for the rest of the way home. I felt so bad :( I just want her to be safe. Has anyone else had problems with these things??? Any suggestions on how I might be able to get her used to it? Maybe have someone else drive and I'll sit back there with her and keep her still?

As for the halti...
It worked WONDERS!! :D But... Ruby HATES it :( My boyfriend and I took her for a walk/jog and she did no tugging what so ever (even when we encountered other dogs :D) But every once and awhile she'd rub her face on the ground trying to get the thing off. :( So, eventually we got to a nice big grassy park and I took the halti off and just let her roam free. My poor girl... I'm really hoping that she'll get used to it since it worked so well today! I know some of you guys use haltis, how did you dogs do the first time they wore it? I still want Ruby to enjoy her walks... :(

What I use in the car is also from Petco, but I believe it's different then the item you are referring to. It's just a small strap that has a seatbelt latch on one end, and a leash hook on the other. I just use a regular harness I already had on him, and just attach it to that....I leave it in the car all the time. It works great!

As for the halti, I've been walking Nebo on it for quite a while now. It works amazing for the pulling. He still hates it though...sounds just like Ruby...he'll walk for a while then stop and paw at it. I give him treats while wearing it, and tell him "uh-uh" and stop and make him sit when he paws at it....he still does it though. I don't know if he'll ever enjoy it. :rolleyes:

Don't let her rub her face when the halti is on, she may scratch her nose on the ground. Make her wear it in the house & feed her treats & play with her to keep her mind off it... it will take a while for her to get use to it, but the rubbing will more then likely never stop. Max is 9 & when I let him off leash, I keep the Halti on & at some point her will rool in the grass & rub his face.

Do the same thing with the seat belt. make her wear it in the house. She needs to get use to the harness first, then go in the backseat with her.

Bella doesn't wear a seatbelt in the car. I keep meaning to look at them in PetsMart. She usually justs sits down in the front seat when we go for a ride so she's easy to travel with. I know I should get her one, though, just for her safety.

As for the Halti, I can't praise it enough! Though Bella only weighs 40 lbs. she can take ME for a walk. When I first put the Halti on she didn't like it one bit. By the time we had just walked to the end of the driveway she knew how it worked and decided she had to live with it. The only time she tries to rub it off is in the waiting room at the vet's office. When she is not moving/walking, her thoughts go to 'how can I get this blasted thing off?' hehe! She really looks like a goofball rolling on the floor in the waiting room and is a source of amusement for all of the other little patients there. :o :o :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

I also used the Halti on Leo because he had a major pulling problem and although he didn't like it at first, he eventually got used to it. It is just like when you first put a collar on a puppy - at first they don't like it but eventually it becomes more natural feeling.

You obviously bought the halti to prevent pulling and many people use them and have success. But there is another solution and that is to teach Ruby to heel. We use the chain collars to do the training and really, they learned the concept quite quickly. Once they know the term *heel*, walking is much more of a pleasure...no pulling at all. If you don't want to have to have Ruby walk at your side the whole time you are walking, try to teach her the command *easy*. I just recently got one of the extendable leashes. If Hannah gets to the end of that and starts to pull, I just tell her *easy* and she knows that means slow down a bit, hence no pulling.

Good for you wanting Ruby to enjoy her walks. That's what it is all about.

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Originally posted by kingrattus
Don't let her rub her face when the halti is on, she may scratch her nose on the ground.

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She wasn't scratching her nose on pavement or cement... she was rubbing it on grass.

She's been wearing the halti around the house. All she does is sit there and tries to paw it off... I can keep her concentration on me for a few minutes, but then she just gets determined to get the thing off

She doesn't mind wearing the seatbealt (she's used to harnesses), she just doesn't like being belted down in the car...

Ruby does know the command *wait*, but it's still A LOT of tugging... walks would be: walk a few feet, "Ruby, wait", pause, tugging, "Ruby wait", pause, tugging, "Ruby wait"...

Thanks for the advice everyone! I'm going to take her for another walk w/ the halti after work today. I hope it goes well. I'll bring some treats with me this time :D I probably won't get another chance to use her seatbelt until Saturday.

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Originally posted by RubyMutt


Ruby does know the command *wait*, but it's still A LOT of tugging... walks would be: walk a few feet, "Ruby, wait", pause, tugging, "Ruby wait", pause, tugging, "Ruby wait"...

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Sounds like Nebo!! Uuugghhh....I've been trying to teach him to walk nicely on a leash since he was a puppy. Apparently I'm not a very good trainer. :rolleyes: It was so frustrating going for a walk. He doesn't tug hard, really, but he doesn't just walk next to me either. I'd be stopping every 2 seconds with him, and walks were not enjoyable for me. Now with the halti, I don't have to stop because he can't pull...now the walks are enjoyable for me, but I don't know about for him lol.

I've tried to teach heel but it doesn't seem to stick...I don't know...maybe it's harder because I have a dog that was *bred* to pull!

owen's got a seatbelt. It's a great one. Got it at petsmart. Designed for smallish dogs. Its really more like a vest with a clip on the back... EASY to put on and take off. and he doesn't fight it a bit.