lead or harness

well just wandered whats best for ruby

she is 12 weeks old and i wandered if a collar and lead of a harness would be best

if so what size harness and anyone got any recomendations

I have a harness for mine he has this one in medium at the moment:

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/black-paint-paw-nylon-dog-harness-by-rogz-30145

I would say it's best to go to a shop and try one on to see what size she will need thats what we did, as he doesn't stay still long enough to measure him

I've always collar trained my dogs first, and then gone on to a harness if necessary.

I tend not to like harnesses as a day-to-day thing because most of them have the d-ring on the back & I just don't feel that I have enough control over the 'business end' of my dog (ie the teeth!).

If you do get a harness, I agree it's best to try one on before you buy. However, even if you get the biggest to fit your dog right now, you'll need another two, or even three, by the time she is full grown!

I never used a harness for my first just a collar and lead (she was a pup), I used a harness for Moo because my mum takes her out and she felt like she had more control, but that didn't last long, she is off lead unless we are road walking though anyway, but she isn't a 'puller' and walks nicely to heal Xx

We started Inca (well tried !) on a collar but she just didn't like the feeling of it so i just decided to try her with a padded (for comfort) harness and she just preferred it and i have enough control of her as she is just brilliant to walk.. no pulling or messing about..

I will always stick to a harness and give the collar a miss

Don't know if that was any good for ye haha !!

Like Caryll says it depends on if the dog is reactive or not, I will use a harness if we are going for a long walk in the country where we are unlikely to see any other dogs. I feel there is more space for them to breath when they get too hot in a harness, and when they are clipped on it isn't restricting their airway. However when I go out around the area I live I have to keep them on collars as there are too many irresponsible owners and nasty dogs around, I'm not too worried about my girls but if a dominant collie or something come right up in skibadees face and start sniffing around her with it's hackles up, I need to know I've got her mouth under control!

I also prefer the collar because it allows more control over the danger area. I haven't tried a harness on Suki and have found with other dogs a harness seems to encourage a dog prone to pulling to pull even harder.

I always harness as i HATE pulling on a collar lol .. best to go to a shop and take her with you and try them on

I had a collar to start with for Roxy, and she used to pull a lot and makes horrid sounds like she was choking. Since changing to a harness she pulls less and it is a much more pleasant walk for both her and I.
As suggested to me when i was buying a harness, make sure you get one which fits correctly.

well went to the rescue today to see ruby

she got on great with our dog and couldnt stop licking my lad (he's 4)

the rescue said she will come with a collar and lead plus a harness but i will need to get a bigger one soon as she grows.

the rescue worker is coming round this evening to check that we are suitable and then we can decide what to do next.

i have now seen her a good few times and walked her lots of times and i am falling in love lol
i think pretty soon ruby will have a new home with us

good news

my pup is two months old and still doesnt want to go anywhere on the lead.any advice....

alex22 wrote:my pup is two months old and still doesnt want to go anywhere on the lead.any advice....

So frustrating, but patience and practice lol, here's a topic talked about today, worth a read Xx

https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t7343-wont-walk-with-a-lead

I use both. The collar is good for training and other times you need control of all your dog's head movements, while the harness is better for general walking. A nicely fitted harness is less likely to cause a dog to pull on the leash, which is a benefit + less likelihood of hurting the dog. A harness is only a good thing if it fits correctly, though, so a puppy will need several before being full grown.

A harness encourages a dog to pull and a pup shouldn't be pulling with its full body till its grown i would always yse a collar and lead for the first 12 to 18 months

Marty wrote:A harness encourages a dog to pull

This myth is very untrue. Unlike a collar, which presses on the trachea when a dog pulls, a harness does not invite pulling. It doesn't mean a dog can't pull on a harness, but it has nothing to do with its construction just the dogs owner. A collar, on the other hand, because of the pressure on the throat, can actively encourage a dog to pull. When someone tries to strangle you your instincts tell you to push back, which unfortunately can cause dogs to pull to avoid the push on the throat (which is a vicious circle). The harness (with a few poorly constructed exceptions) doesn't put any pressure on the throat and doesn't trigger "fight of flight" responses.

A harness does less damage to a pulling dog, which make them a good for those who want their dog to pull for different reasons, but that does not mean it's natural for a dog to pull on a harness. This usually has to be taught. (All dogs who pull have been taught to do it by their owners/previous owners, just not always willingly. )

Both my dogs have walked well on collar and leads and for a while on a harness but gradually start pulling on a harness because they can, just my experiences

I would defo say collar to start with if not resonding well to that and find you need even more control then haltis work amazing.

We only use harness if we want to use a long lead to train recall or if using a seatbelt in a car.

I would never consider walking a dog using harness as they dont have the same ability to correct the dog, which in the end leads to a dog that pulls you everywhere.

We just use harnesses. A puppy can`t even walk on a leash, a collar would strangle him- i don`t like this.
Our dogs don`t pull, they walk on a loose leah perfectly.
Two dog-trainer told us, that 70% of the dogs have problems in the cervical spine. I don`t know if it`s true, but I think it sounds logical

Well Jethro walks lovely on a collar and lead.. he always has. But he has also got a harness which I got because it my fav colour purple, and he had just had an operation to remove compacted salivary glands and he had stitches around his throat.

Winston walks okay on a lead but when he sees kids or dogs he goes bonkers. My knee is too sore to take his weight pulling against it, but the new Sporn harness we got is working a treat with him.

All my dogs have been harness walked, personally I don't like collar-lead walking as I hate pulling on a dogs throat.
Its whatever suits your dog best tbh, I don't agree that harness's give the dog the oppertunity to pull, I feel I have more control on my two with harness's and they don't pull on them, vinnie chokes when his walked on collar, he pulls on it

I use both on Blue.I want to make sure he will behave with both.He is young now and the collar works fine although he is starting to pull a bit when we walk.When he does start to pull I just switch the leash over to his harness to reel him in a bit.It's a matter of personal preference IMHO whatever makes you feel more comfortable is best.

exactley right ane thats why i need to get my rocky back

I dont get how you can say a collar is choking your dog really, unless he/she is pulling in which case then you have allowed them to get to far already.

The idea of a collar and lead is you correct the dog before they start pulling soon as they start straying in front of you before it turns into a pull give a correction, a slight pull to the side.

No choking involved.

Same with a halti the idea is you correct them before they get to a point where they are pulling, if they are not by your side exactly where you want them then you make a correction.

No pulling back should be involved, unless you have a dog fight on your hands then yes pull stright up and they carnt do anything but submit or skirm round till they submit. But thats an extreame and for most people would never happen unless you have an aggressive dog your tring to rehab or something.

End of the day use whatever works best for you and your dog why limit yourself to one or the other we use both just for different jobs.

We found using harness for walking though they just pull like a train and its impossiable to correct them really, pull to the side does very little at all, pull back turns into a fight or a game to them, pull up all your going to do is lift your dog off the ground.

Harnesses are no good I been told, It encourages the puppy to pull, Because you have no control over the dogs head, And the dog goes like Into 3 wheeled drive, Thats what the dog trainer at our Induction dog training class told us, And hes been training dogs for 35 years.

My dog trainer at my local dog training classes, Said harnesses are only good once the dogs fully trained, And Isnt pulling anymore, But like some people have said on here, Some people might of had good experiences with harnesses with there dogs, Supose Its each to there own, What Id do, Is use a normal collar like a halti collar, See how well the dog walks, And then try the harness see which the dog walks better on, Supose Its all about trial and error, And what might work with 1 dog may not work with another dog.

johneva wrote:The idea of a collar and lead is you correct the dog before they start pulling soon as they start straying in front of you before it turns into a pull give a correction, a slight pull to the side.

I'm sorry, but every time you "correct" the dog you put pressure on your dog's neck which (of course) is unpleasant to the dog and is likely to cause damage in the long run. I hope you use wide collars that are less likely to cause damage if this is your choice of "training" methods. I understand a harness is unsuitable for this sort of walking, though, I didn't even think anyone used these methods anymore, to be honest, so that's not something I take into account when talking about what to use when walking a dog.

johneva wrote:The idea of a collar and lead is you correct the dog before they start pulling soon as they start straying in front of you before it turns into a pull give a correction, a slight pull to the side.

you can do exactly the same with a harness only i dont pull back i stand still and walk when they sit they get bored of stopping and starting and learn pulling means no walk .. any form of restraint for a dog can be used in order to train a dog to walk well on walks (besides chokers!!)
i would hate to pull my dogs back on a collar it can damage the larynx and bad cases the oesophagus and cause some serious damage .. alot of people walk dogs on collars and i see no problem with it aslong as the dog is walking well .. but dogs walk just as well on harness's aswell (i no with Yorkshire terriers especially they have such small necks that a collar/lead walk is actually very dangerous and risks serious damage to the throat).
i just hate the thought of it with mine so prefer harness's and they have been trained to walk excellently with this technique.
Not saying collar/lead walking is a no! its just my take on how i prefer to walk my own dogs.

Yeah I understand some people have different ways of lead training there dogs, Im still learning myself, I only got a 13 week old staffy, I guess try both see where you get the better results, Aniemother I dont pull on the lead causing the dog to be unpleasant, What I do Is give the dog a quick firm (But NOT hard correction) If It carries on pulling I stop change direction, And practice the lead training with treats, Guess different people use different methods, But Its the way I been taught at my puppy training class, Only been once so far, Going again for 10 week training course, And thats way was adviced by the Instructors, And there part of the Kennel Club, So guess matter of trial and error, See what works for you, But I would never pull to hard to cause the dog distress, Just quick firm but not hard correction with the lead.

Saxon is quite a puller so I use a harness to keep from choking the day lights out of him. He doesn't seem to pull as much on it, too.

madeira264527 wrote:Aniemother I dont pull on the lead causing the dog to be unpleasant, What I do Is give the dog a quick firm (But NOT hard correction) If It carries on pulling I stop change direction,

That doesn't sound so bad I don't see a big problem with using a signal like a small tightening of the leash to show that unless the dog pulls back you will change direction. (I would think that it possible with a harness too, though) It was the referring to (what I understood to mean) moving the dog to the side with the collar I reacted to.. (Try make someone move you while wearing a collar, it's not very comfortable.) I didn't mean to be rude, though.. I was just truly shocked.. I don't think I've seen that sort of method even mentioned in like the last 10 yrs. We did it with our first Irish terrier, though, but that was 30 yrs ago, and I really didn't think it was still going on. I still think it's easier to teach a dog where it is supposed to walk rather than teach it what not to do. (I teach heelwork without the leash, then afterwards you can just clip it on and go ) The important thing is that both your dog and you have fun learning, though! I hope you get lots of fun and good training from your classes.

Thank you No Its ok , I thought I would Just clarift where Im learning my training and how I do my training , Because I would never encourage distress for any of my dogs .