dog harnesses vs dog collars

[Ciscobxr]

I love the harness, Cisco does not pull nearly as bad when he has it on.
I still keep his collar on though b/c of his tags.

 

[Shanz]

Im liking the harness myself.. well halti.. kind of like the gentle leader...but a harness style. We tried the gentle leader...she hated it spent all the time we were walking thrashing around trying to pull it off. Also because she has a smushed nose, it would go up over her eyes and squish them. WIth the harness...she doesnt pull nearly as much.. and doesnt try to get it off and I feel I have more control because its over her whole body as opposed to her neck. I still keep her nylon collar on her while were walking however because it has all her id and stuff on it.

I would definately try the harness.

 

[Mama_Zookeeper]

We have harnesses for both our babies and love them! Just like someone said earlier in this post, you have more control if you have to pull suddenly or very hard to prevent an accident or fight from happening.

Dora

 

[tweetytwad]

Ok we went to Petsmart with the new halter, it was wonderful. I had the cart, Kracker and my two year old daughter and with the halter on I could control all three. Best trip we've ever had, before one person had to be holding Kracker while the other shopped. I wish I had bought one sooner.

 

[punkin]

We don't use a collar at all anymore, as our dog has slipped his head through several times (yikes). I have also tried a "halti" and a "loopi" and a regular harness. We use a sensation harness and love it. The lead clips in front of the dogs chest so that your dog is pulled to face you if he / she pulls. It also doesn't tighten when pulling, so it seems to encourage attention more than negative re-enforcement. We can also use it while R.J. wears his winter coat. The downside is that they are expensive ($35 canadian) and not available in most pet stores. I got ours through our trainer. You also have to make sure it fits properly or it doesn't work that well. Good Luck!

 

[ETilley]

Harness/Seatbelt

Well, I've tried the martingale collar on Vegas and she was completely unhappy about the whole thing, so I went out and purchased a harness that has a slip in the back for a seatbelt to go through while she's in the car. It's great... she walked like an angel from the first time she was out and I don't find her to pull at all. I realize that a harness allows dogs to pull more, but I think that proper training should eliminate that... not just the collar/harness that they wear. It's worked for her, so I'm not about to fix what isn't broken... .
This one is a little more expensive than some of the other's at about $30, but it's got padding for the chest area that will protect her in long grass if she runs into anything sharp and it looks great. The seatbelt is a big selling feature as well... gotta keep my baby safe in the car.

 

[us2plus3]

A couple of months ago I bought a harness called a Sporn and it INSTANTLY cured Shelby of pulling! I was outside with her in the driveway and it was amazing! She use to drag me everywhere and now she will walk right next to me and she never pulls me anywhere. It was about $20 but it was the best $20 I ever spent. I will definitely be getting one for Glacier!

 

[Bellie Belle]

When Belle was 5 months old, she literally snapped a choker collar trying to get to the car. We tried a pinch collar, or a discipline collar, and she still pulled. She wasn't gagging like she did with the standard choker, but I thought she would pinch her head right off. For Christmas, I got her a new harness (I know, that's like getting underwear in your stocking) and it has made a WORLD of difference. It has fleece sleeves that go under her arms, and the nylon leads run from the collar, through the sleeves, and up to the leash. I foulnd it at Wal-Mart (we have no pet stores in our area) and it's been wonderful!

 

[Poetic_thing]

I use a regular collor for Kirra who is only 5 months old. Her pulling is minimal, but then we work constantly at training whenever we go out for a walk. For Dakota I too used a regular collar only resorting to a harnesss when we went bike riding or roller blading. She was pretty good about not pulling though. I recently learned a new method for the pulling and it is working wonders with Riley and for Kirra. I can now walk Riley without him choking himself and as for Kirra well she hasn't had a lot of time to develop the pull so I'm hoping she never becomes big on pulling.

 

[sherri0121]

For the first 6 mths or so I had used the harness. Main reason is because with my cockers I had trouble with thier neck/backs the vets said it could be due to the collars and them pulling. Anywho, I had taken Jasmine and Hailey to the local kennel club because I was thinking about showing Jasmine and they were holding training classes to stack you dog in the ring and show how to walk them. Well there was an elderly woman they call the "Boxer lady" and she just turned her nose up at Jasmine first because she didn't have her ears cropped and second because Jasmine was wearing a harness. She proceeded to tell DH and I that harnesses can stunt the growth of a boxer. I did stop the use of the harness...not because of what the woman had to say. Mainly I stopped because, if you think about it, boxers are a working breed and harnesses are used to get a dog to pull in competitions.