Pets on my Mind

So I was at PetSmart on Winchester the other day. I love that store. It's like being in a pet Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Anyway, one of the sales clerks tells me about this Gentle Leader harness that stops dogs from pulling when you are walking. It's different than that head collar they wear around their muzzle, which is fine if your dog doesn't fight like bees are stinging him when you put it on.

Yeah, yeah, I need to watch more Dog Whisperer and do that little szzzt! sound Caesar Milan makes whenever he's correcting, but I walk three dogs at once. Yeah, yeah, I should walk them each separately so I can give them each one-on-one time, but I'm a busy gal. it would take me an hour or more to walk everyone by themselves. Don't forget that I need to do my own powerwalking and get my heart rate up. The constant stopping and sniffing doesn't help me with that. Yeah, yeah, I should yank them along and make them walk on my terms, but I feel like this is their walk, their chance to stop and smell the roses and check their pee-mail. This is supposed to be fun for them.

So anyway, I plunked down my $29.95 plus tax and bought the extra-large one for my Tommy Boy.

It's fairly idiot proof with an alternate color strap that goes under the belly. You just slip it over his head, run that strap under his belly and click, all done. It actually works quite well. Tommy's yanking and pulling have been reduced significantly but not entirely. He and the beagle yelp and sound like baying hounds if another dog comes near, but other than that, he walks like a gentleman. I'm going to get one for my yellow lab Jack, who is presently wearing a torture device called a pinch collar. What works for you?