Glindy and I are preparing for
another trip this week. We're going to Los Angeles for six-day
security conference. As always, I hate traveling, but am glad that
Glindy is coming along to keep me company.
Since I won't be able to get my Har-Vest in time for the
conference, I thought I'd try the
SENSE-ible
no-pull harness under Glindy's vest as a temporary alternative to
the Buddy System Leash + Lungebuster + Pinch Collar arrangement we
use now. I couldn't find anyone in town who sold the medium-large
size, so I had to pay extra for overnight shipping with Saturday
delivery. *sigh*
The SENSE-ible harness comes highly recommend by several trainers
in the area, but I have three small concerns about it.
First of all, I'm not sure whether the chest strap on her vest will
interfere with the chest strap on the harness. I'm planning to put
the vest on over the harness, and will have to see if the straps
catch on each other, or whether the leash--which gets attached to
the front of the harness--will then catch on the vest. I guess I'll
just have to try it and see.
My second concern is the metal sliders. I've learned through
experience that the metal double-clasp of the Buddy System Leash
attached to the single metal D-ring on the
Ruffwear
Palisades Pack II (with pack detached from the webbing) is
insufficient to set of the metal detectors in the airport. However,
the the SENSE-ible harness (and most probably the Har-Vest, too)
have more metal, and might be a bit more troublesome in that
regard.
Softouch Concepts also sells a different model, called the
SENSE-ation harness. That model uses plastic sliders, but since it
costs more, comes in fewer sizes, and still has the metal O-rings,
it didn't seem worth it in this case.
And finally, my third objection is to non-transferable training
tools. It's been my experience, and supported by anecdotal evidence
from others, that collar-alternatives like no-pull harnesses and
Haltis/Gentle Leaders aren't generalized by the dog to equate to
flat-buckle obedience. When the training tool comes off and the
flat collar goes on, we're right back to the forging and pulling
that made the training tool necessary in the first place. Of
course, this is true of the pinch collar, English lead, and other
things we're using now anyway, so I'm not really convinced it's a
valid practical concern--just a philosophical one.
It's probably worth saying at this point that my inability to
completely prevent forging on a flat-buckle collar in
high-distraction environments is probably a trainer problem (e.g.
it's my own darned fault for not working on it more). However, I
belong to the school of practical thought that says that it's the
results that matter; if I need to keep Glindy wearing a pinch
collar or no-pull harness forever, it's not really a big deal
except insofar as I've failed to meet my own expectations.
Perfectionism sucks. Let's just hope the SENSE-ible harness
doesn't.