Harness your relationship, don't choke it.
Harness: together as cooperating partners or equals. (love this)
Yesterday Elsa and I were out for our evening walk. We had to cut our path walk short; turn around and head in the opposite direction because of a coyote siting. Thanks to a nice person who was passing by, we were alerted to it's presence. We made our way up to the park and continued our walk there; away from the coyotes.
As we entered the park we noticed a little dog doing damage to his tiny neck. The dog's human was oblivious to the fact that she was indeed choking her dog. The little black and furry mix was dying to come to see Elsa. Lunging and diving in attempt to see the lovely Miss Elsa, he was being choked by his collar. The woman on the end of the leash seemed absorbed in everything but her dog as he choked and sputtered.
I couldn't help but shudder as I imagined his little neck taking the impact resulting from his actions. People don't realize how much damage can be done by a collar, any collar. Throughout history humans have done a lot of ludicrous things. If we do not take the time to stand back and reconsider the actions that we take; we can continue the senseless acts without change.
Life is all about evolution; evolution is about doing better when we know better. I love the saying
"Expect Better - and move towards better.
Better is out there."
If we blindly continue the actions of the people before us without stopping to ponder our behavior, we are not evolving or striving for better. Sometimes those who came before us didn't know a whole lot. Perhaps over time we have learned better and should then do better, right?
This harness above is the one I use for Elsa. I got it years ago when Luke was still around. So it was his harness before Elsa's. I love it and it is my "go to" harness. It has a hook up on top and out in front to minimize those who like to pull.
As canine guardians, all we can do is our best. When we learn better, we can do better. Let's do that. :)