11lbs Front Clip Harness Advice

I’ll admit, since getting my Brussels griffin, consistent training has been difficult to sustain. He has some basics down and listens for the most part, but I’ve came across a couple griffs in the wild and they are usually off leash in metro areas staying at the heel of their owners.

I’m not sure my boy will ever get to that point. I don’t think I have the time, funds, or experience to consistently invest in training that comprehensive. However, I would at least like to get him to a point of loose leash walking and being a little more attentive on me. He is about 16 months, definitely rebellious, and my partner and I transitioned him fully to a harness. We originally doing slip leash work for the first maybe couple months after we got him but after one too many lunges, a couple dreaded honks, and not learning his lesson we simply couldn’t risk it. We learned that brachycephalic breeds are more prone to tracheal collapse and with the slip seemingly leaving him unfazed despite some very obvious strain to his airway, we hung up that tool permanently.

Have any small dog owners successfully used a front clip harness? I know that with the front clip, there’s still a worry about joints even if it’s properly fitted, but I feel like this could potentially be really beneficial for my boy. He’s become more of a “gentle puller,” meaning he doesn’t just dart to the end of the leash anymore but rather slowly gets to the very end of the leash and then starts putting his weight in to try to pull. Once he gets to this point, I can’t really redirect him or even get him to focus on me. I feel like a front clip throwing him off balance might help prevent this behavior and then as he learns to walk loose to reinforce the loose walking?

He does great when distraction free and has some frustrated greeter behaviors that we’re working through. But loose leash is what I’m struggling most with mainly because I feel (and other trainers have told me) that it’s because we transitioned him to the harness which almost encourages a dog to pull. But I simply refuse to do anything that can potentially hurt my dog. I was deeply saddened the couple times I heard him honk and he just wouldn’t stop hurting himself.