Want to get my dog to wear a harness, help!

[VickyBollard]

I've a two year old border terrier. She's a real little bastard puller on the lead and I worry about her neck so I want to get her in a harness.

I've got one like this which goes over her head.

I've also got her a step-in harness which doesn't need to go over her head.

I prefer the first one because it feels more robust and she can't wiggle out of it. The second one is easier to get on but feels flimsy and I worry about her wiggling out of it.

Anyway, with much fresh meat I'm able to get both of the harnesses on (not at the same time!) but when they're on, the dog just flatly refuses to move. She hates the feel of them I think. They're not too tight for her. I've put a trail of fresh meat around the house and garden to get her moving but she just won't. She'll take one to two tentative steps then sit down, tail down looking really sad.

She was the same when she had her operation and had to wear a surgical vest, I think she doesn't like the feeling of something around her body.

How can I persuade her to move in her harness?!

TIA

Any lovely dog experts out there....?

Could you maybe try her with a halti no-pull head collar instead? We tried one yesterday at pets at home, and although we decided on a harness in the end, the assistant did tell us that we could take the halti home and bring it back if our dog didn't get on with it, as long as we kept the receipt and packing.

You need to get her comfy in it before you can expect her to walk in it. Put it on before she gets fed, that way she will start to associate it with good things.

GladysKravitz She definitely wouldn't wear a head collar. She hates anything around her face.

AngelBlue That's what I've been doing. I've been hiding chicken on/under/around the harness and I put her food down when she'd got it on. She just lies down and refuses to move. When she does move for the fresh meet, she crawls along the floor to get it and she wouldn't eat her food because she doesn't want to stand up with it on.

We have this one which is your second link I think. It's easy to put on and take off, DDog got used to it very quickly but I have been left holding an empty lead & harness twice when a local dog played with her. I think just a blip though but keep an eye in it if I have to give her a gentle pull to get in the car as I suspect it could come off easily. I'd still recommend it though as we tried a different one and it was a nightmare.

I missed she refuses to walk with it. We put her in it and left her to chill. She used to run away when she saw it but within days was fine. We tried her with a retractable lead and she lies down with that. I think she hates the noise it makes. Haven't tried her with it for ages but will need to for when she's in season. I'll start by playing around with it at home when it isn't walk time.