Grunting/Choking

[Guest Milopup]

My lil' pup is super energetic and is always pulling on the leash. I have him on a harness, since using a regular collar caused him to "choke" himself because he was always pulling. Now not sure if this is related, but when he is excited, and pulling on the leash, he will make choking/grunting noises. I am worried that he is hurting himself (tracheal damage). The noises are cute (like a piglet, since he makes these noises when playing with/destroying fleece toys) but don't want him to be injured.

[chubbypup]

I found Metz did this, so this weekend i bought a 'Halti' head collar. Oh he really didnt like it, but after a short while he got used to it and now doesnt and cant pull at all.

[Guest calami (Mike)]

Hi,

Duffy did the same thing when we had him on a neck collar. We opted for one of those "over the head and around the chest" body harnesses and he loves it. We also got him one of those running leashes to give him more mobility. He still makes the little "throaty" noices, but they are different now. They are more like he is talking to us and letting us know that he prefers the harness over the collar.

Mike

[Eliz222]

My 4 month old puppy, Finch, makes noises too! She "grunts" and makes these funny noises....almost like a newborn baby does. At first I thought it was because of her age, but she is still making them.

I had to buy a harness for Finch too. She kept gagging when she pulled on her leash. She didn't get the connection that if she pulls too hard it was going to hurt, so I bought the harness. It works great and I am slowly starting her back on the collar.

[CallisMom]

When we got our rescue pup she did this honking thing due to tracheal damage. We have had her on a harness and it took awhile but we haven't heard one honk in a good month!!! She does make funny grunting sounds and squeals that are totally unrelated to the trachael damage! Especially when she gets excited! She has the giggly wiggly ball and the grunts and sounds that come from her (she thinks there is someone inside) are hysterical.

I would check to make sure the harness is falling under her collar area. If she does have some tracheal damage it may just need time to heal. It took Calli about 3 months to heal. She could just be running around without a leash on and she would honk. If the harness is falling below the collar area it could just be something that will heal over time.