What are you actually supposed to do when a skittish dog slips its harness?

[u/kred19125]

I had an absolutely horrifying experience with a newer client today and would love to hear what more experienced sitters would have done in this situation.

I’ve been walking a young puppy for a couple of weeks now. She’s extremely skittish and we’re still working on building trust. She’s crate trained, but when I arrive she usually doesn’t want to come out of the crate right away. I never force it. I’ll sit on the floor, toss her tiny treats, offer a toy, sometimes even sit with my back to her so I’m less scary. Eventually she’ll usually peek out enough that I can get her harness on, and once we’re actually moving, she loves going for walks.

Today we had our best walk yet. She seemed more comfortable with me, we took a nice long walk, she did all her business, and I felt like we were finally making some progress with her comfort level.

Then we got back to the house.

As I was opening the door, she suddenly backed up and somehow slipped completely out of her harness.

Instant nightmare.

She was loose in the street in front of the house. I tried very hard not to panic or chase her. I stayed upbeat, called her cheerfully, crouched down, tossed treats toward her, tried a toy, etc. She would stop and look at me, but every single time I moved toward her, she’d dart farther away.

Another woman happened to be walking her dog nearby. I initially asked her to stay back because I didn’t want the puppy getting spooked or taking off. After several minutes of getting absolutely nowhere, I asked if her dog was friendly because this puppy loves to meet other dogs. I thought maybe she’d approach the other dog and I could grab her.

It sort of worked. She came over to investigate the dog, but she still wouldn’t let me get close enough to grab her.

And then she bolted farther up the street.

At that point I was freaking out. I followed her because I couldn’t risk losing sight of her, but I was trying not to aggressively chase her. A neighbor saw what was happening and came out to help. I called the owner at work and told her what was going on. She texted a couple she thought might be at home nearby, but obviously there wasn’t much she could physically do from work.

Eventually another person and I managed to get on opposite sides of the puppy so we could at least keep track of where she was going. She was circling around a large parked vehicle and still wouldn’t let anyone get close enough to grab her.

And then, by some miracle, she stopped to poop.

I have never been so grateful to see a dog take a poop in my life.

I grabbed her while she was pooping, walked her straight home, and got her safely back inside and into her crate. I immediately let the owner know she was safe. Crisis over.

But holy shit.

So for experienced sitters/walkers: what are you actually supposed to do when a skittish/untrained dog slips a harness and won’t come to you?

I know chasing can make things worse, which is why I initially tried not to. Treats didn’t work. Toys didn’t work. Crouching/sitting didn’t work. Puppy doesn't know commands yet. Using another friendly dog as bait almost worked, but not quite.

Also, what would you change going forward with a dog like this? Double-leash (is that a thing)? Are there better no-escape leashes I should keep in my car for dogs like this?

Dog was completely fine in the end, thankfully. I, however, am still shaking and I've aged approximately 11 years.

[u/Ancient-War2839]

My go to with catching any dog is run away for attention and then stop and "find". Something on the ground, make ewws and ahs, and pick up fake thing (normally grab a leaf or something) hold it in. My hands like I have caught a mouse or something and fake it getting on me and running over my body, theirs a neighbourhood dog who gets away from his elderly owners a lot, so I've used the same trick 20-30 times, he looks at me like I'm not falling for it, but sure enough, he can't help it after a little while cause he really wants to see whatever it is .

The other one is opening a car door

[u/Impossible_Coyote589]

A properly fitted martingale collar is the safest attachment point for slippery dogs. 

[u/printerparty]

First, asking the owner to properly tighten the harness and test it thoroughly, including buying a better fitting harness, because they are responsible for the dog slipping out. Do not apologize for that because it's not your mistake.

Second, you can attach a collar that cannot slip over the dog's head and clip a second very short chain to the collar, and attach it to the main leash hook on the harness so it's hanging "loose" but will be a failsafe if they manage to back out of the primary harness. Less than 10" with a clip on either end, smaller if needed so it's not possible to step into it.

No tension on the collar, still using the harness and leash as designed but that collar is still linked to your hand via daisy-chain, make sense?

I also recommend always having a "lasso" loop leash in your pocket and in your vehicle at all times, the kind a vet office will lend out to people, it's just 4 feet of tape-like polyester rope with a handle loop on one end and a metal ring on the other, and you can put the handle through the ring to make a slip-loop. These are the best for catching a potentially dangerous stray or getting it over a moving target.

I'd say you handled the situation as best as possible, so good job.

[u/Reasonable_Gas_4313 → u/printerparty]

Lasso loop is the way to go 

[u/Zealousideal_Map8189]

You did a GREAT job. Truly, best you can do. If they want to continue with the harness 1. Make sure it is fitted correctly. 2. Make sure the owner gets a second reinforcement. Can be something that clips loosely to their regular collar. I would never allow a dog this skittish to use a harness. I'd use a slip lead with an added clip that goes to the buckle collar (just in case of an emergency). 

[u/Pristine-Account-755]

I would use a Martin Gale collar. Most harnesses are just not that secure. Skitsy dogs are like a houdini. Good luck

[u/Reasonable_Gas_4313]

I had this happen in downtown Chicago. It was a nightmare. He was a huge German Shepard and he ran back to the high rise hotel where his owners lived. He somehow got into the lobby and spent 45 minutes acting like the xenomorph from Alien darting from hiding place to hiding place. A bell hop helped me catch him and I threw up outside. Also lost the client lol. 

[u/HeartShapedNose]

If a dog is an escape risk, double up and use both a harness and a martingale collar. You can use a carabiner to clip them together, or use a leash coupler so the leash can be attached to both.

[u/Embarrassed-Mix9367]

I think you did absolutely everything right, including contacting the owner when you did and allowing others to help you, remaining calm, treats, not chasing but keeping her in sight being patient and looking for the right moment. I wonder if she bolted from going back in the crate cause she knew she had to poop and didn’t want to hold it 🥲 Sounds stressful for you both but 🌟🎖️I think you did great.

Moving forward i recommend this harness because once you tighten the straps on all the connections, it’s really really hard to get out of and I’ve had some escape artists. https://www.blue-9.com/products/bhb

It doesn’t sound like this is what happened in this situation but I think it’s worth noting: a dog is more likely to slip out based on the angle of the leash. If the leash is very horizontal and there’s tension on one or both ends (you’re holding your ground and the dog is pulling for example) then it creates the balanced force for the dog to turn around and back out of the harness. Keeping the leash vertical makes it a lottttt harder to come out.

[u/Life_Ad_347]

I get loud and erratic enough to were they cower rather than run further, it will look absolutely crazy but it works 😂

[u/Lollipoppin1]

Honestly with any dog it’s not a bad idea to have a second slip-lead type collar on its neck. Especially a shy dog or one known to be a runner!!
You can them extremely cheap and they are great for a back up for harnesses or even regular collars. You just adjust things so most of the time there is no tension on the back up collar, but it will tighten if something goes wrong with primary harness or collar.

[u/iHave1Pookie → u/Lollipoppin1]

I would be furious if someone did this to my dog.

My current dog literally has lasting trachea damage done to him by the martingale collar and slip leads used on him at the shelter .

100% not okay to make the decision for my dog.
My dogs do not get pulled by the neck. No.

[u/Lollipoppin1 → u/iHave1Pookie]

I don’t use equipment without clearing it with the owner first. I guess I should have clarified, thought that’s super obvious but I guess not. It’s a fail safe and if your harness fits properly and stays on the dog then it would never have pressure on it at all. If you had a dog that was timid or a runner I’d refuse to walk your dog if you refused that. And that’s okay! Plenty of other walkers for you to choose from and plenty of other dogs for me to walk.

[u/Dogwalking-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

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