Harnesses

Firstly this post is not intended to offend or dig at anyone...
Why do so many Staffy owners choose a harness rather than a collar? As far as I can see a harness enables the dogs weight to be evenly distributed, therefore making it much easier for them to pull, Huskies and tracking dogs wear them so that it doesn't inhibit their movements and allows them to use their WHOLE body. Mine wear them for flyball as they get VERY excited (even Honey) and it allows for them to go nuts whilst preventing them from hurting themselves. I know there are some "non-pull" harnesses(which again i've only seen work for a week or so before the dog figures out how to get round them)
Also i imagine the majority of you will answer that you dont want your dog hurting its neck...very fair point, but you have faaar more control over the dog if they wear a collar, so if taught how to walk properly from a young age...why would you choose a harness?

Again PLEASE don't be offended, genuine questions

I've wondered the same.
It's personal choice probably but mine only ever wear harnesses to the beach or Xan when he does Search and Rescue training.

I keep wondering as well. I personally prefer to have a collar.

Mine have them on, on the beach so if anything ever happens - rip tide, current or wave crashing over them I have something stury to grab onto to pull them out.

sensible idea! we dont live near any beaches so dont have that problem

Mine just have collars, if I lived near the beach I would go with Oxides idea though!

Ours have harnesses because we prefer them to collars.
Also they are frequently near water and the harness has been used to drag them out the river before now, if they haven't got lifejackets on.

Even if we are not by the water we prefer a harness so the dogs neck is not pulled. We don't use heavy harnesses just light weight. To be honest I also prefer the look of a harness .So I think it is just a matter of taste / choice for some.

Just for the record we had harnesses on Yorkies when we owned them so it is not for us a Staffy thing.

we have a harness for Toby and he has NEVER pulled (touch wood). i think it is personal choice.

We also had one for our girl staffie as she had a real thick neck and wud wriggle out of her collar if she wanted to, she also walked better with a harness.

I prefer a harness for mikey as I have more control over him.

again, not having a go, genuine question, but how do you have more control with a harness?

I prefer harnesses also, mainly to protect against neck & eye damage, I have Jake on a short lead with the harness at the moment as I have more control over him!

Branderstaffs wrote:I prefer harnesses also, mainly to protect against neck & eye damage, I have Jake on a short lead with the harness at the moment as I have more control over him!

neck and eye damage from what?

Pulling on the collar!

sorry, how can they get eye damage from a collar?

for my male i use a collar and a harness , i use a police training lead which attachs to both, hes a bugger for pulling

with my bitch she wears a collar,

I prefer a harness and have always used them. I find mine walk the same on either.
I feel I have more control over the dog with a harness rather than just a collar that can be slipped out of

ahh interesting side to it there Jo, suppose staffies could be quite prone to slipping their collars and the alternative i would guess is a half check (which i use) but again know that isnt everyones cup of tea

Vix wrote:sorry, how can they get eye damage from a collar?

Copied from another website!

There is veterinary
research to prove that when leads are attached to collars the build
up of Intraocular Pressure causes eye damage to dogs with weak or thin corneas,
glaucoma, and other eye conditions. In their research they compared the
pressure to the dog's eyes when it was pulling on a collar (with a normal
buckle) to when it was pulling on a harnesses. The results showed that eye
pressure did not develop when the dog was wearing harness. As a result of
this research, Veterinary Eye Specialists are actively
encouraging dog owners to walk their dogs on harnesses, particularly terrier
breeds which have a predisposition for these particular eye problems.

So can your dogs not walk without pulling?

Vix wrote:So can your dogs not walk without pulling?

Yes they can,well Tara anyway, Jake is only six months old and I find it easier to train him with a harness on.
Not a leather studded harness but a comfortable fleeced lined harness!
Tara has also slipped out of her collar a couple times also!

I use harnesses for both of mine. I prefer to use a harness on them as it doesn't rub their neck.. I have fleece harnesses which are soft and wash well.

With Dixie being DA - I much prefer having her on a harness as she can slip her collar and for my peace of mind I also have more control over her.

Mine walk fairly nicely on lead but another reason I have a harness on them is cos if an off lead dog was to approach and attack it gives me something more to grab hold off and also offers them a bit more protection.

x

Hi Nikki, I bought Jake a 2nd spare camo harness just like the one in your avatar, they're brill aren't they!

Branderstaffs wrote:Hi Nikki, I bought Jake a 2nd spare camo harness just like the one in your avatar, they're brill aren't they!

They are the best!

x

Nikki and Branderstaff i must say they are VERY nice harnesses your dogs are sporting, I like the eazydog ones but those also look strong and comfortable (for flyball you see) where did you get them?

www.dog-games.co.uk i think is the website - if you google fleece harness it is one of the first to come up.

x

I only use plain flat collars on my dogs (staffie included), I wouldn't choose a harness for exactly the reasons you said. I would use one temporarily if my dogs had an injury or operation in the collar area.

When we first got Beth from the rescue kennels, she was so excited to be out walking etc, that she was pulling enough to choke herself.

I used a harness for the first week or so while we trained her to walk nicely at our side. We now swap between a harness or a slip lead - Ceasar Milan uses slip leads a lot for training, so I thought I would give it a go.

Now, when we go to exciting, bigger public parks where there are more dogs, people etc, she pulls quite a bit so we tend to use the harness then.

I wouldn't say I have any more control with a harness, as if she pulls to go to another dog or something, and I pull back, she just anchors her back legs in the ground. Me pulling, just lifts up her front legs!

I would say a harness is better for constant pulling, rather than the kind of launch pull of going after a cat etc.