Hi mattbee, 

What size is that harness/pack? We are looking for a Small one (22-27″) round ribs as our cocker is 23″. It’s prob too big though.

I use a harness to make my dog sad

Harness and coat wearing dog here, what do we win?

He is a whippet though, so the coat for his skinny little bits to keep warm (he shivers in a stiff breeze sometimes) and the harness when we’re out in the woods or on the common, to give us extra control on the longer lead (also proved useful walking up Snowdon and in the lakes).

when we’re just walking around town then he has a wide leather collar just to protect his neck, using a normal lead.

he doesn’t pull using either method, he’s quite civilised really!

Most disappointing thread title of the month. ..

Interesting thread, as I have only just got back in from town and an extended visit to the pet shop.

Here’s my dilemma:

Bramble, our 14wk Briard pup can really, really pull, hard enough for Mrs. B to struggle to hold her back and definitely enough to cause problems for the in-laws who occasionally dog sit for us..

Certainly hard enough be be doing herself damage. Aside from damaging her windpipe, large breeds have to go gently for the first year as their bones and joints haven’t fully formed, which can cause hip dysplasia in later life.

Training wise, she’s at early stages of puppy training, but it takes time to get them reliably walking ‘at heel’ and I need a temporary solution now.

Full harness – too big and bulky with no disincentive to pull, as has been mentioned.

Halty type face harness – that wasn’t going to happen, she immediately hated it, although solved the pulling by causing her to lie on the floor clawing at her face.

Slip lead – just ‘no’, and specifically forbidden by our dog trainer.

Figure of 8, was kind of okay, but the same problem with the lying down and clawing.

We settled for a lead that has an extra steel loop at the clip loop, so you clip it on their collar, wrap the lead around the dog’s chest behind the front legs and then back through the steel loop. Basically an extra slip-lead loop, that tightens around their chest, rather than throat. Sorry I don’t know the technical name for that design.

As a stop-gap to stop her pulling towards people and children around town it seems fine, but ultimately it’s going to have to come down to training, especially with such a large breed.

Re lifting dogs up and over stuff, most working dogs are used to being scruffed. I have to lift mine down out of the tailgate as she has a dodgy elbow. Nature provided two handles in a Labrador, one on top of the neck, shoulders, and the other over the loins. When she’s working she sometimes needs lifting over fences (I don’t train them to jump fences cos of barbed wire) and she is perfectly happy being lifted two-handed by the scruffs. Also useful for getting her out of water with a steep banking. No collar, ever.

Figure of 8, was kind of okay, but the same problem with the lying down and clawing.

Our Vizsla did this when we first tried it. He got used to it pretty quickly with the use of lots of praise and treats. Effect on his pulling was immediate and profound. It was very useful as a trainign aid to get him walking to heel – we don’t use it any more as he’s much less ‘pully’, we don’t insist he walks to heel, he can sniff stuff etc but my wife can manage him as he is now.

Nice one, wwaswas . I figure leads are fairly cheap, so don’t mind trying a couple of options until getting the right thing. ‘In the pet shop’ is never the ideal place to try out the options – too many stinky treat type distractions! I personally liked the simplicity of the figure of 8, so might give it another try.

We got one of these https://snugglepets.co.uk/product/figure-eight-head-collars/

1) it’s fleecey and chafed less than just a webbing one.

2) mrswwaswas could choose the colour of the webbing and fleece…

We use a harness for safety in the car, clip her on to the harness and into the seat belt clip.
1) Its the law they have to be restrained.
2) Hard braking or a crash she is restrained by the harness and it minimizes hurt/damage. I hate to think what would happen with a collar.

Hedley, it’s a M I’m afraid.

My dog wears a harness mainly because he’s quite stocky and the collar can slip over his head due to his thick neck

He doesn’t pull, that said he’s got a strong prey drive and is sometimes reactive around other dogs (esp on the lead), so there’s a high chance he would lurch and potentially hurt himself

For both reasons I will always use a harness, and a collar too with his tag on it

It’s also proved handy for grabbing if he gets into trouble…

@benp

look for a Julius K9 IDC Harness, my lab is 32 kgs and I can lift him over fences etc with that harness.

The Police and Security officers use them on their Dogs.

@simmy

Just bought a Julius K9 and a shock absorbing lead – superb, both Bramble, Mrs B and I immediately got on well with it. Totally brilliant recommendation, thank you.