There are so many conflicting ideas around about the use of a harness especially one with a front and back clip. Have any of you used a harness with your pup or did you leave it until he was older?
Hi and welcome! Personally, I prefer a harness over a collar for a puppy. A harness is more secure (collars slip off easily) and better for delicate puppy necks. I used a collar as well for ID tags, but attached the leash to the harness. Some people forgo the collar completely and put tags onto the harness. For a small puppy, I like a plain old back-fastening harness. I've not used the front-fastening ones yet, but it seems it would be easier to get the puppy tangled up in the leash if it attached on the front. But that's just a guess, someone else may have better advice. To be honest, I've not had a puppy for a while, so there may be some great harnesses out there I don't know about!
Thanks Emily. Yes there are some great ones now. The one recommended by Lab site are not sold in the UK.It looked really good and the lead was attached to the front and back at the same time but if was the wrong size that would make returning etc difficult. I must admit I would like to try a harness first. We've had Labs for years and all from pups but then there wasn't such a choice.
I use a back fastening harness for safety (walking by roads, for example - my last puppy slipped his collar when he was scared by a truck and was nearly hit by it) and if my puppy is likely to pull, to protect her delicate throat. The rest of the time, she's on a simple flat collar. I wouldn't use a front fastening harness with a puppy, as they can affect the gait which is potentially very damaging for the puppy's growing joints. As a puppy taking their first walks, it's such an important time to be training your dog to walk nicely, that I also think it's a really bad idea to be using a corrective device at this stage. For my last puppies, I used the Puppia harnesses (you can buy them from Pet London in a variety of designs: http://petlondon.net/index.php/retail/walkies/harnesses/soft-harness-a.html) and for my current puppy, I have a Blueberry harness: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01M2UN...1488825706&sr=sr-1&keywords=blueberry+harness
I use a back fastening harness with my grown dog - he can pull hard and I want to protect his neck. When I was struggling with his lead walking I a used a Happy at Heel harness which fastens at the side. It did help me train him to walk nicely, but it wasn't the nearly whole answer. You shouldn't need anything like this with a puppy, who hasn't learned to pull.
I use a back fastening harness with my adult dog. He doesn't pull anymore but I much prefer a harness to a collar. With a puppy I think it's better to have a harness, if they pull you know they are comfortable and there won't be pressure on their neck. Once they can walk without pulling, you can use a flat collar if you prefer. You can get two styles of harness, either with a strap round the front (Norwegian harness), and with a strap between the legs (Y-harness). I prefer the Y-harness because I think my dog can move his front legs better with this style. Mine has a ring on the front too but I don't like using it - the lead gets in the way, or between his front legs which is annoying.
I've used ordinary cheap H shaped, back fastening, webbing harnesses on my dogs for years now, both adult and puppies. Trixie Premium ones are good as they have two fastening clips so you don't need to faff around threading a leg through the harness, just put over head then snap together the body strap, much easier on a squirming pup. I don't trust a collar on a pup, much too easy to pull out of.
I also wondered about collar vs harness for Harley and to be honest I was a bit dismissive of dogs on harnesses because 99%of what I saw was owners/walkers being dragged by their dogs with little or no control. So when we first got Harley we thought it was going to be collar all the way but we didn't put anything on her for the first week or so and then we had collar from a dog of ours that unfortunately had to be PTS but it was much too big for Harls, so we used one of the cats harnesses, just to get her used to it. And to be honest we have never changed. She outgrew the cat's harness very quickly and now she has her own pink back fastening harness and I also understand that having a dog that pulls needs a lot of work. It isn't the harness that is solely to blame. I also worried terribly about her neck and her being able to slip the collar.
The harness isn't to blame at all. All the harness does is protect the dog that pulls, it does not encourage pulling. It is such hard work training a pulling dog to walk nicely. Coco still work in progress.
4.5 months, all on a collar and no intentions of turning to harness...develop the patience of a saint and you'll be fine. When the pup pulls and makes the lead tight, stop and wait for pup to relax lead...they will get the idea, eventually. patience, patience, patience.
I have always used a collar myself (well for my dogs). Annie was so small, she had to have a cat collar first. I don't know what Emily will say about that
If it restores Harley's dignity at all, the cats actually wear small dog harnesses Here is Harls in her brothers harness.
We used a collar from the start with Homer but when I get my next pup it would be a harness first then a collar when she's older. That's the plan ... To get another puppy.
My 5 mth pulls so hard and the trainer said my harness was too plush. She said the ones with ring on chest would discourage pulling. I have not gotten yet. But I like harness better.what kind brand etc would be best. I keep getting g ones that I don't like and are so cumbersome
They might....a bit....but they can also create twisting forces that can stress their little joints. Not a substitute for teaching not to pull, either with a harness or flat collar
