Unleashed & Unhinged

Author: Ian Shivers

A podcast for dog lovers, dog trainers and dog nerds. Im Ian Shivers, a behaviour consultant, mentor to other dog professionals, podcaster and all round animal geek. You can find me in Sydney where I run Bondi Behaviourist, a training company that works city wide, Canine C.A.R.E.givers, an online platform for dog owners to learn about training and behaviour, and Mutley, an all in one platform and community with the goal of supporting the amazing professionals in our industry. For some insane reason, as if I wasnt busy enough I set up this podcast too, in which Ill dive into a dog topic and unpack it. I hope you enjoy the show.
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Language: en

Genres: Business, Entrepreneurship, Kids & Family, Pets & Animals

Contact email: Get it

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Episode 58: No-Pull Harnesses Don’t ExistHarness pod full
Episode 59
Wednesday, 4 November, 2026

There is a lot out there on harnesses and a fair amount of nonsense in it. So I start with the one thing worth saying outright: harnesses that train your dog not to pull do not exist. A harness cannot train a dog. It can make pulling uncomfortable, which is a different thing entirely. What a harness genuinely changes is where the pressure lands, and that matters more than the brand on the label. A dog who has spent a year pulling against one point has already decided what contact there means — entrapment, restraint, frustration. Move it and you are no longer fighting the behaviour and the belief system at once. In this episode I go through front, back and collar, when a front attachment is the wrong call, and why the point between the shoulder blades is the last place I would clip a puller. I also cover the part most people skip — practising loose lead walking with no lead and no harness at all, and separating the training walk from the exercise so you are not trying to do two jobs badly at once. Plus a simple trick for dogs who reverse out of their harness, and why cornering your dog to get it on is quietly wrecking your recall.