Equipment - How To Use It And Then Lose It

It is one thing to choose to use a piece of equipment, say a head halter, a harness or a Citronella collar, and keep it on their dog even after the problem is solved. It is another thing altogether to feel that you can't go back to your original equipment or move onto anything else - and of course it is a whole different world if the equipment just doesn't solve the problem (which it doesn't do if not used effectively - but that's not for this post). This post is about showing you tht if you set this up from the beginning you can use new equipment to get the desired result and then remove the equipment and go back to your normal equipment but with the problem resolved. So how do you do this?
Well Dr Ian Dunbar (guy who started the puppy class revolution and reinvigorated positive dog training techniques) has the following really great tip for when applying any new equipment to solve a problem when you then want to be able to remove the equipment and still have the problem resolved.

Step 1. Take the new equipment and get the dog used to wearing it in the situations where you are intending to use it. Keep the equipment on at that time for a week - eg. keep harness on while walking but only apply lead to the collar not the harness for that week. The idea is to stop your dog from associating the equipment with the solution - and therefore from them on only 'being good' when that equipment is used.

Step 2. Apply a new smell such as cleaning a leather collar with saddle soap or putting some lavender oil (or whatever) onto the dogs collar and immediately start using the new equipment. The idea is that the dog will go 'hey that's a new smell' and 'OMG I have to walk nicely when that new smell is there'. Do this for two weeks - renewing the smell as required.

Step 3. Keep the new equipment on the dog but do not activate it (eg. switch off the citronella sprayer or put the lead back on the collar) but keep the smell going. Keep the equipment on for a week.

Step 4. Remove the equipment but keep the smell up - until you can gradually fade it out too and still get the behaviour you want.

Cool isn't it! Now people who put on halters, harnesses and citronella collars don't have to use them for ever - which is what many many people end up doing because they just don't know how to stop the dog associating the new rules/punishment/correction (depending on what you are using and how) with the equipment and only behaving well when it is on the dog (and switched on for particularly brainy dogs).

Oh and it's perfectlly okay to choose to use head halters, harnesses etc permanently if that suits you and your dog and they are used safely.  This method just gives another option.