Totally agree with this Patch. Since using a harness with Bryan he has been much more relaxed on walks and walks with a looe lead 90% of the time. When I put the lead on his collar he is much more alert/stressy.

But, even though he seems to enjoy his walks better with his harness on, he still won't come straight to me to have it put on. Unlike my foster dog who comes running to me as soon as I pick her's up

I did`nt use a pattern
I just cut out a large section of a kagoul, folded it in half, held that up to Willow for the length and depths, cut out a general dog coat shape, then sewed on some hemming tape to go across his chest as a permanent fitting there and two lengths of it which I attached to the bottom edge on each side to tie in a bow for the body of the coat but these days you can get the plastic clips, [ like harness clips ], so if I made one today I would use one of those, [ Homebase sell them for luggage straps etc, probably a lot cheaper there than from a proper sewing shop ], and the lettering I cut out, glued to the coat, then stitched them down, [ saved having to hem each one as the glue stopped any fraying so the letters were not too bulky to manage for sewing ].

The reasons I used a kagoul to make it from are :

Does`nt fray when cut so minimal effort needed unless you wanted to give it a piping hem

Bright so very noticeable, they give a `working dog` type look about the coat which helps get people to take the notice of it which you are aiming for

Waterproof, [ funnily enough ], easy to keep clean, but also not too hot for a dog to wear on a warm day.

Nowadays though, [ I made Willows ten years ago before there were so many fab coats available ], there are so many fabrics available for dog coats it would be as easy to buy a purpose made reflective dog coat of either the silver or the bright yellow type which is also waterproof and lightweight, [ the silver one I got for Silk was only a fiver for instance ], and put lettering onto it but in a red fabric to make it noticeable against silver or yellow. The yellow type of reflective coat would have the `dog at work` look about it like a PAT dog coat if you see what I mean, more than the silver type would.

If you get stuck let me know and I`ll see what I can do

edited to add :

If you want to make one, this is the general shape, [ this one`s a yellow reflective coat ], but don`t make a band to go all the way around the body as that`s in the middle of where lettering needs to go, so just attach the pieces for doing it up to the bottom edge on each side, be it webbing / tape to tie in a bow out of the way or for a clip to do it up by and if the front if awkward for shape, don`t try doing that bit, just cut the fabric straight down at the shoulders and use webbing across the chest

Hi Alice , a very good point you make there .

I have a number of problems with people saying 'I will PM you' (although I appreciate it is often done with the best of intention) and it seems to be happening a lot of late.
If I may add to the points Azz made ...
Firstly I think to say 'I will PM you' seems rather dismissive of the people who have already taken the trouble to post in a thread, rather like saying 'What you suggest is not important, I know better than you but won't post my suggestions here'..
Secondly people can by using PMs in this way to secretly recommend methods many others do not approve of like e-collars and choke chains to novice owners..
I have had many requests for help via PM but unless they are of a none dog related personal nature I politely ask the person to post on the forum to get a range of views from the many experienced member.
Someone said..

(reply to Alice to have replies posted in the thread) In a word NO, all dogs are diff,there aggression stems from diff things, so for one person to read the thread then thinking im going to do that with my dog,,, when there dog needs diff methods , would be of no use to anyone

yes of course all dogs are different and each time a person posts on a forum they are giving details of a different dog. I fail to see how asking a someone to PM you details/ saying you will PM them is any more help to that person than asking them to post the details on the forum for all to share (unless of course you think some may not approve of your methods and you don't have the courage of your convictions to openly post about them ).
Of course all advice isn't applicable to all dogs but many 'dog problems' are universal as are the various methods to deal with the problems. Many here have had problems and tried a number of methods and are willing to share their experience and providing the methods they used do no harm they are worth a try .

If the above quote was taken seriously there wouldn't be any forums for people to make suggestions and to share their experiences .

Wow.....I've only just signed up on here and I've found sparks flying........ this thread was so interesting too! M

Everybody relax! I'm going to chat to Shona, she's very kindly offered to help me. Now this might take a long time, and it would take even longer if the whole thing was conducted as posts on a forum.

I understand what you are saying Minihaha about it seeming dismissive of other people's advice, but I have thanked everyone who has given me helpful advice and I have explained that I am going to share Shona's reccomendations and anything that I try out and whether or not it works.

Now let's not fall out about PMs, Shona is helping me in the quickest way so I can try to sort my doglet out. I PROMISE I will post on this thread all the techniques I try out.

Patch - thanks so much for the 'Dog in training' coat idea. I'm going to have a shop around for a lightweight reflective jacket. My mum works in the office of a motorcycle company so I can get the letters sewn on there.

Malty - sparks fly sometimes on this forum, but there are a lot of really helpful and knowledgeable people here. Don't be put off yet

Hi Malty no sparks that I can see, just people putting foward views for the good of the whole site and all those who read it... I can't see that it makes the thread any less interesting..

Ok, I just spent £30 on zooplus ordering a reflective neon jacket for Bryan! The jacket was only £4.99, but then I thought I'd get some interesting training treats for him, then there was free shipping on orders over £29

Patch, it's all your fault

I have exactly that for Jack to warn people at agility that he's not always friendly to other dogs. I bought a £2 reflective dog jacket from Tesco and used permanent marker down the sides.
It just means that no-one ever forgets and gets too close without me being prepared.

I'm not sure Tesco still do them but you could just get a high viz jacket from the pound shop and tailor that to fit.



Oops- you added above at the same time as me!!! Sorry!

Can I just add, that as many will know Shona helped me recently with Ben, in order to do this we had lengthy conversatiojns about Ben, about me, my partner, my home life and daily routines all in order that Shona could try to get to the bottom of things. This resulted im me revealing several very personal details about my life which I would not have discussed on an open forum and therefore Ben would still be suffering from aggression.

I did however update my post with all the methods suggested and how I had implemented them and the success and once the initial "consultation" had been carried out I then continued to post about further questions and improvements.

I would have posted the results and methods anyway but would like to add that Shona did actually ask me to update dogsey members so that people reading could benefit from the information, but that information was only given to me after she had established all the facts and tried to establish where things were going wrong. I am sure she will have done the same with Sarah, who has agreed to post details and keep people updated.

I think it is fantastic that we have so many experienced and knowledgeable people on dogsey who are willing to offer help and support to the more novice amongst us (like me ) and that that help can allow us to enjoy our dogs more and allow ourr dogs to be happier and more confident.

JMO

Edited to add - I think the ideas about the reflective jackets are an excellent idea, such a simple but brilliant idea.

Can I just say,,,if this is what I GET FROM MINI AND AZZ for trying to help,,,,thats fine,, I HAVE FOUND OF late, both of you to be dry to say the least,,not the first member to have had it wont be the last, note to all,,,,dont try to help on the forum, you get kicked in the teeth for it

really anoyed now as I just renewed my membership-,,,wish I hadnt bothered. the main reason for doing it was the increased amount of pm space,,,which is used up by people pming me with training problems, HOHUM

I could even understand if the people I have helped found it to be of no use, but the opposite,,, they have all gone on to improve there dogs,,, so what is it that bugs you about it?