Walk this way: No-pull leash is a hit with dog walkers

WICHITA, Kan. — Emily Weiss invented the Weiss Walkie, but she did not name it.

"It's a horrible name, but it's now stuck," said Weiss, a certified animal behaviorist from Benton, Kan., who designed a no-pull dog-walking device that has become a hit with humane societies.

Weiss said she and her husband, Mark Wasserman, designed the combination leash and halter in response to a plea from staffers and volunteers at the Wisconsin Humane Society in Milwaukee.

"They were having problems with dogs pulling," Weiss said. They had tried pinch collars, harnesses and Gentle Leaders — a harness that wraps around a dog's nose — but "it was difficult, especially for the volunteers, to successfully take a dog out on a walk."

Harnesses and other no-pull devices can be effective, Weiss said, but they may feel unnatural to a dog or may require adjusting a lot of buckles and fasteners.

"It either takes a long time for the animal to become comfortable with them or it takes a fair amount of time to fit and put on," she said.

The Weiss Walkie — basically a rope that attaches to a dog's regular collar and then loops around its chest — is "no fuss, no muss, and that's the biggest difference," Weiss said. "There's no fitting. You just put it on and go."

The Weiss Walkie works using a combination of doggie physiology and psychology, Weiss said.

When a dog pulls, the Walkie applies slight pressure around the widest part of the chest, and the dog's natural response to that is to slow down or back up, Weiss said.

The pressure in that area also tends to calm and relax the dog, she said.

Most dogs adapt quickly to the Walkie, Weiss said.

"Learning is instant because he's doing it himself," she said. "All you are doing is holding the end of the leash. By simply not pulling, he's successful."

Weiss said she got the idea for the Walkie when watching her husband participate with his German shorthaired pointers in field trials.

The dogs get excited while waiting to compete, Weiss said. But she noticed that when her husband would wrap the leash snugly around the widest part of the chest, their behavior would change.

"They would relax and wouldn't pull nearly as hard," she said.

"It was from that that I thought, these behaviors are very similar to what we're seeing in particular dogs in our shelters and in people's homes."

Staffers and volunteers at the Kansas Humane Society have been using the Weiss Walkie for a couple of years. It also is sold in the shelter's retail shop.

Dog walkers like it because it's easy to put on, instantly effective, safe and comfortable for the dog, said Kelsey Callaway, an adoptions counselor.