Harness/Collar Hair Loss

Has anybody experienced any hair loss or thinning from collar/harness wear? I just noticed where the harness rubs on the bottom of Logan's rib cage that the hair has sorta thinned, as if it would eventually wear down.

It's not visible unless he's upside down, but the lazy sod is normally upside down.

I just don't want it getting any worse and if there was anything I could do to nip it in the bud now I would.

Any info would be very much appreciated

What sort of harness do use, and how long does he wear it for? Xx

Dempsey has rougher, slightly thinner fur around his neck from the collar, though it isn't noticeable unless you pay close attention. When we used a harness, he used to get bald, irritable patches on his chest.

You could try getting a padded harness, or alternating between collar, harness, halti, etc.

Janey,
It's just a plain leather harness. He's been walking with it since he out grew his puppy collar. It's adjustable so it isn't tight on him or anything. He would only ever have it on for an hour or so during walks. It's unusual that its only started to show now.

Eleanor,
I might try the head harness. Maybe it would give the area a break.

Is he still filling out? A slight change in width of the chest might be making the leather rub against him more than usual.

Let us know how it goes!

Eleanor wrote:Is he still filling out? A slight change in width of the chest might be making the leather rub against him more than usual.

Let us know how it goes!

He is starting to really fill out a lot. So you are prob totally right.

Does he seem to be in any discomfort? If he is, you could try buying some sudocreme (or similar products that won't harm your dog's skin) to soothe it.

Give the harness a break for a bit, and sudocremes great but I wouldn't use the harness when you've softened the skin.

They are baldy underneath also, well Moo is Xx

Rocky used to wear an Ancol harness which rubbed the hair off his chest. He now has an Ezydog harness which does not rub at all and all the hair on his chest has grown back completely.

He just has a plain leather padded collar which does not rub at all either.

Thanks for the info. He doesn't seem in any discomfort thankfully. I'll give him a break from the harness as suggested. It's been horrible weather here lately and we've got soaked a fair few times which maybe would have made it effect him more.

If Max wears his leather harness for a few days, it does start to thin his fur a little where the two chest straps meet the back strap ... I think it has a bit of an epilating effect

I walked him there with my girlfriends Staff and when I looked at where the hair was rubbing it was exactly where the leather folded over. So it was wearing at him. Gonna give it a break for a bit, maybe look about getting a lighter harness to alternate between the two.

Thanks for all your info!

Hey, Axl has had all sorts of problems with harnesses and collars, he suffers from skin allergies anyway so his fur is thin in places but the last harness I had gave him bald patches on his shoulders so I switched to a collar and that has made his fur very thin on his neck (his shoulder fur is growing back though). Anyway i've ordered a fleece collar from El Perro UK (http://www.elperro.co.uk), they are a bit pricey but have a look because they do fleece harnesses as well which may be a little kinder to his fur

I'll def look at the El Perro range, I've gotten to be a collar/harness addict now lol!

I ended up walking him without the harness for a week or so and the hair all came back. It was rubbing on an area where the harness was a bit rougher so I made a little padded thing to go over it and it has helped.

I really couldn't do without my harness, I walk on a long leads these days and sometimes Logan runs that hard he could get hurt with just a collar. I walk him on the collar when I'm on the roads though because he can't really run about then anyway.

Yeah I prefer a harness, I'm also a collar/harness addict lol... Axl has an assortment of both but I agree, a harness is much better, I'll probably end up getting him a fleece harness if the collar works out okay and he doesn't go bald again

I'm personally lovely the look of those Ezy Dog padded harnesses too. Their stuff seems great and for a decent price. A harness gives me so much more control and confidence as Logan is a strong boy.

My hair loss problem with him basically came from buying a cheap rubbish harness. But, it works a treat now that I've padded it.

I ordered an elperro fleece padded harness the other day for Tank. The guy who owns Elperro is great, he's adding an extra 'D' ring on the harness chest for me, I like to use double ended leads - so can attach it on his bk and chest.
The harness was pricey at £45 but I know it's gonna be worth it as the elperro collars are fab !

Yep I agree they are fab!

Axl had a collar when he was younger from El Perro. I'm defo going to try the fleece harness from there as well

It's so easy to buy lots of stuff for dogs ... I am terrible for getting new products ... Never by myself new stuff though lol
we got this slight hair loss with our Taz when he was maturing around his neck , even though the collar was never too tight. It soon went if we swapped products on say alternate days :-)

Harvey has always had really thin fur on his chest and belly and has always worn a padded fleece harness and the fur did get rubbed away in patches.

I use emu oil as it really stimulates hair growth and it all grew back and it doesn't get rubbed out anymore