Easy Walk

Replacing Shadow's collar with a harness (only for walks) was possibly the wisest thing we've done for the little guy since he came home.

Shadow just loves people. Even more than squirrels and acorns, as far as I can tell, which is pretty impressive. When Chris and I set out to get a dog, one thing we knew hands down was that we wanted him to be loyal, protective to a certain degree, and friendly.

Of course -- me being a first-time dog owner and all -- I didn't realize that "friendly" meant he would try to play with every jogger, cyclist, grandmother and three-year-old out enjoying Mother Nature. (And by "play with," I mean pummel.)

I also didn't know that Labrador retrievers are known for giving every last drop of energy possible to reach their target, whether or not they strangle themselves in the process. Call it heart, call it chutzpah, call it dedication if you want. But most of the time I just call "NO!"

That's why walks with my wonderful little growing companion were, well, pretty unbearable over the last couple months.

In desperation, I accepted a choke collar at one point from a well-meaning neighbor, read a few articles about it, and gave it a shot. Let's just say Shadow and I entered a new level in our relationship that day, much in the way that friends aren't really friends unless they can have a fight.

So, after hearing the word "harness" from several people in the neighborhood and doing more research to make sure it wouldn't harm him, I put in an order for an Easy Walk harness. It's the same product Shadow's former teacher recommended a month ago (call me slow on the uptake if you want), and according to the box "is designed to gently discourage your dog from pulling" while walking on a leash. The low chest strap, it says, has a "patent-pending martingale loop" that's supposed to make it easy for walker to control dog without hurting him, without encouraging him to pull harder, and without damaging his trachea.

Two weeks after it's arrival, cynical me has become one of those people in the neighborhood who advises people to buy this thing. I actually enjoy walking Shadow now, and I don't come back sweaty and pissed.

And more importantly, Shadow doesn't seem to mind it either. Of course he tried to eat it the first couple times I put it over his head, but that's what dogs do. Now Shadow just sits there panting and waiting to frolic outside with his two-legged companion, who, for whatever reason unknown to him, is a billion times happier.