12 replies to this topic

[Kit'sOwner]

I just got mine in the mail at my place of work. Rushed home at lunch to try it out on our daily mid day walk. I'm not sure about the fit. I have followed the measurement guidelines (I bought it on eBay after reading about it here) and had to extend it to the maximum length. Put it on, took the two monsters out for a pull, I mean, walk (one of the two monsters being a Bichon), and WHAT DO YOU KNOW? Bloody thing works like a charm. Anyone care to comment on the fit? It's snug, but I can still put two fingers between it and the dog no problem. I got the "tweener" size.

[Hawkeye]

Glad to hear that it worked for you. I bought a small (15 - 20 lbs), Bailey is 15 lbs and it fits just right.

[Oliver's Mom]

We have a size small for our 17 pounder. We also have it as tight as we can get it while still being comfortable and not cutting off the circulation , probably could get two finger under it on his back.

I'm glad it is working so far and I hope it helps turn your fight into a pleasant experience (for all three of you).

[TigerBearMommy79]

Is this the kind of leash that works for cairns??? Tiger (3 mos old) is just now going through leash training and he just pulls us around and does not listen to any sort of direction..and I hate pulling him so I usually have to pick him up to come up the driveway..lol...he is never ready to finish the walk! It would be nice to find something that works and doesn't cause so much strain on his neck area.

Attached File(s)

•  Tiger playing.jpg (51.95K)
  Number of downloads: 17

Edited by TigerBearMommy79, 11 March 2010 - 10:26 PM.

[Kit'sOwner]

Tigerbearmommy, it's a type of harness where the leash connects to a D ring on the dog's chest as opposed to other harnesses than can connect anywhere from the dog's back to the muzzle. It has slowed the pulling right down. It's even given her a bit of respect for me...you can see in her body language that she knows she can't carry on the way she has been while out for a walk with the harness. I've tried the back connecting harness and that didn't work. I have a tiny Cairn so I couldn't get a muzzle one that was small enough (ie: Gentle Leader harness) and I read about the Easy Walk on this forum so I bought one on eBay and it seems to work well.

[Hawkeye]

We have also tried the gentle leader harness and had a terrible experience; Bailey would not walk with the strap around his muzzle. He kept clawing at his face and refused to walk. With the Easy walker harness we just put it on him and started walking. As Kit's Owner stated they do seem to respect the handler plus I feel he actually enjoys the walk more.

I do want to add that this does not train them how to walk properly on a leash. When I use a regular leash or flex leash, he will still pull. Depending on the type of walk we go on, we use different leashes so we still need to have him walk properly.

[Oliver's Mom]

For TigerBearMommy and any others that are wondering how this looks. I highly recommend As you can see the leash is attached at the front of his chest and wraps over his back and under/behind his front legs.

 Camera Pic's 03-12-102.JPG (117.32K)
Number of downloads: 33

[rallycairn]

^Oh my what a sweet expression on your super model! Love the soft eyes!

Back to the Easy Walk, as I mentioned in the other thread it can help with fit/security to hook the leash through the collar ring as well as the harness ring. Not always necessary but for some dogs that makes it more secure because dogs can sometimes back out of them. They are a great tool and interrupt the pulling so you can reinforce the proper loose leash position if you choose, and that's how I like to use them, as an augment to training. Or, if you're okay with relying on it indefinitely, you can just keep using the harness w/o the training -- but don't tell anyone I said that!

[Laura Schoenheider]

I have mine on a harness, I feel so much better. I have more control and Miley doesn't choke herself when she pulls

[sanford]

I read the many good reports re the Easy Walk and I wonder what's wrong with me... I just couldn't seem to get it to work properly for us. The peculiar problem we encountered is hard to describe in words, but here goes:

With my cairn at my side, or more often, slightly ahead of me, the leash, attached to the ring on the front of his chest, would run from his chest, diagonally up, rubbing alongside his neck, muzzle, cheek and ear. He seemed to find this contact somewhat distracting/annoying and would frequently try to shake it off by turning his head and face into it, which only made it worse because then it would brush against his eye as well. This would happen whether the leash was slack or taut. Walking along the street with this wriggling, obviously uncomfortable little dog was hard to ignore, so we went back to using our more conventional collar and/or harness.

Is it just me...or what???

[wallEsmama]

I went from a regular collar to an easy harness and LOVED it. Unfortunately, it cost me about 40 bucks, and it only lasted about 4 weeks till he found it on a lower table and decided he wanted to chew it up. I havent gotten another one for wallE yet, but if I find them for a more reasonable price, I would get another one again for sure. I also agree that it didn't train him to properly walk on a leash, because after he chewed it, we used a regular harness on him and again he was back to pulling. I now have a half choker so to speak. Its a regular collar, but with the half chain for when he pulls. It seems to work okay, but I loved the easy harness much more!

[rallycairn]

Sanford, it's possible you are having a fit issue, which is why I mentioned in an earlier post about the "tween" sizes. The small fits my females well, and the small has narrow straps. But the chestier males need the s/m which not only is bigger but uses the wider straps, and here again that's nice because my males need that extra sturdiness I think. But the straight medium rather than the small/med would be too big and I really couldn't get a good fit for my males until the tween sizes were introduced. So possibly a fit issue because if the front or girth strap has too much slack in it the harness can definitely get pulled about in awkward ways.

But it may not be a fit issue, some dogs just don't seem comfortable wearing Easy Walks and "crab" with their gaits to an extreme while wearing them and just plain aren't happy. That's why I love having both Sporn halters and Easy Walks, and we keep them both in multiple sizes. Maybe you'd like the Sporn? You can check it out at Petsmart or probably any major pet store.

wallE's mom: Don't know what the shipping would end up adding, but Care A Lot Pets at www.carealotpets.com has Easy Walks starting at $19.99. Doesn't look like they offer the full range of sizes, though, but I would hope you could beat $40 if you shop around.

[sanford]

Thanks, Rallycairn...I think you are probably right; it may have been a fit issue. After the Easy Walk, I actually went with a Sporn and that worked well for us. This all took place some years back. My little cairn is now so geriatric that I use a harness in order to help support and guide him. His rear legs are weak, so the days of pulling and yanking the leash are behind him!

Edited by sanford, 23 March 2010 - 12:38 PM.