There's no perfect piece of equipment that will teach your dog to walk on a loose leash without any effort from you. On the other hand, the right equipment can make the process so much easier, faster, and less frustrating for both of you.
When clients call me about their dog's leash walking skills, the first thing I always ask is, "What are you walking them on?" The answer is usually a harness that hooks in the back.
Unfortunately, that's when the person on the other end of the leash has the least leverage over their dog. You'll notice one thing across dog sports where the whole point is the dog pulling as hard as they can—like sled racing, canicross, or weight pulling—the dog's on a back-hook harness. Because that's how they can pull the hardest!
If, like me, you have a larger dog, one lunge on a back-hook harness could end with you being dragged along the sidewalk. That's why, even though my dog doesn't pull on 90% of our walks, I still walk him on a front-hook harness. Because when I do need leverage (like if we see one of his neighborhood nemeses), I really need it.
Not all harnesses with a front-hook option are alike. You need the right design and the right fit, or your dog is just going to pull their way right out of it, and then you really won't have any leverage. (You should also be using a back-up leash attachment with any harness.)
Dogs pull because it works. Often dogs have learned that pulling is the only way they get where they want to go, whether that's to sniff a particular bush or to greet another dog or to cross the street. They've trained you quite nicely to follow them, in fact.
The idea with a front-hook harness is that as your dog pulls, it spins them around toward you. They're not as strong when moving side-to-side as they are pulling forward, and because they don't move forward as easily, pulling is not as reinforcing. You'll still want to stop when your dog pulls, and wait for them to create a little slack before you keep walking forward, but the process happens much more quickly on a front-hook harness.
Perhaps my favorite anti-pulling harness design is the 2 Hounds Design Freedom Harness. It comes in an absurd number of color combinations, and I find it fits the most snugly without gaping when your dog pulls. The company also sells a useful double-connection leash, which is great for loose-leash-walking training.
The Freedom harness isn't the best option for all dogs, though. Some dogs (mine) find putting their head through the harness quite aversive. I noticed after I put his Freedom harness on, Milo would often do a little stress shake off. Though we tried some counter-conditioning exercises with the harness, he never got to a point where he really wanted to put it on.
So for him, I use another great harness with two attachment points, the Blue-9 Balance Harness. It has a few things going for it: It's more of a Y shape, so it doesn't put as much pressure across the width of the dog's chest. I also find it a little more adjustable for a more custom fit for your dog's particular measurements. And, most importantly for Milo, it has a clip around the neck so he doesn't have to stick his face through the hole; I can clip it around him.
That's what he's wearing in the picture up top, though you'd never be able to tell under all that hair. The only downside is that it gaps a little more in the front than the Freedom harness. I use a back-up attachment on my leash so that I can be connected to both the harness and his collar, since no harness is escape proof.
Buy the Balance harness on Amazon or from Blue-9. Blue-9 also makes a double-connection leash with a hands-free option.
You can get the Freedom harness on Amazon or from 2 Hounds Design.
A harness won't solve all your leash-walking problems instantly, so reach out to us if you're interested in a private lesson to boost your dog's skills (and give your shoulders a break).
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