Collar or harness?


Z

zaniitee9

Member
I'm starting a leash training with my almost 3 months old doxie boy Loui. He's used to collar and he was doing quit good being on leash outside. He doesn't had a time to get frightened or confused by all the new things and sounds around couse he was to busy running after our big doxie girl Gracie. Gracie was slowly walking in front and Loui looked so tiny running after her, his small paws was moving so fast :D
So I was thinking about harness, there are so many beautiful harnesses in our pet shop! Some of them will look really great on my dogs. I had heard somewhere that harness isn't a good choice for dachshunds because of they long backs.
Is anyone heard something like that and what do you prefer to use: collar or harness?
 
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Lupita

Lupita

New Member
This is confusing for me, because I've heard both can be bad. When Lupi got diagnosed with IVDD, we were told by the vet and others not to walk her with a collar anymore as that could damage her neck. Dodgerslist, a site dedicated to helping owners deal with back problems in their dogs, recommends a harness. But Lacy's breeder told me harnesses could damage the back and shoulders. So I'm not sure what to use!
 
Inkeri

Inkeri

New Member
I use both, collar and harness. I use harness when we go for a long walks and when we go tracking. Actually harness is the only way when tracking, because even if the dog pulls, he can still breath normally. I haven't heard that harness is bad for long-back, on the contrary.

Here's some pics of our boys' collection of harnesses and new summer-collars. I have way too many different and even fancy collars.... :D
 

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Inkeri

Inkeri

New Member
Well, I have no idea what's the right answer, but if you use common sense, a good harness (like a Y-harness, the middle one on my pics) divides the pressure on a larger area and the pressure point is on the chest and not on the back which in my opinion is better than on the neck.
 
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nerdrock

New Member
IMO, teaching them to walk properly on a leash is the most important.

There are dangers with every type of training tool, collars and harnesses included, especially when not used properly.

I have Buddy Belts for Sadie and Fynn, but we don't use them often. Most often we just walk them on their regular collars. If we are going some place busy (a festival, event, etc), we use micro-prong collars because we can't chance them not listening and getting stepped on, eating something they shouldn't, etc. We use the "dead" ring in those instances because both dogs have been trained on the collars.
 
Z

zaniitee9

Member
Uhhh,I'm really confused in this. At the moment I'm thinking that harness wouldn't be so bad for my big girl, she's very slow, so I don't have any problem with her pulling me. Usually the situation is opposite -I have to pull her a bit time to time, or we could stay at one place for long time with her sniffing one tree :D So maybe I could try harness on her, so there wouldn't be so much pressure on her neck when I gave to pull her a bit. But in the same time how about those elbows? Uhhhh....
I'm not sure about little boy, I don't know yet how his leash training will go on and how will turn out his walking habits, looks like he will be the fast one
Maybe I could just mix them and use time to time collars and time to time harnesses
 
Nell

Nell

Member
nerdrock said:
IMO, teaching them to walk properly on a leash is the most important.

There are dangers with every type of training tool, collars and harnesses included, especially when not used properly.

I have Buddy Belts for Sadie and Fynn, but we don't use them often. Most often we just walk them on their regular collars. If we are going some place busy (a festival, event, etc), we use micro-prong collars because we can't chance them not listening and getting stepped on, eating something they shouldn't, etc. We use the "dead" ring in those instances because both dogs have been trained on the collars.
Click to expand...
What are "micro prong" collars?
I haven't heard of these in the UK.
 
Nell

Nell

Member
Personally I only use a collar and lead. As I have three, I walk two on a split lead and one on a single. They also get at least one "off leash" walk a day.

Both collars and harnesses can cause back problems if the dog pulls so the best answer is to train your dog to walk properly and not to pull on the lead.
 
DeafDogs

DeafDogs

Alberta Region Moderator
They are just small prong collars. I would never use one on my dogs. I don't train using pain. My dogs wear harnesses, except Mouse, as I can't find a harness that uses brass fittings. Boo wears a vest style and Oliver wears a freedom harness (front and back clip).

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DeafDogs

DeafDogs

Alberta Region Moderator
Yes, for good reason, in my opinion. I wish they were illegal everywhere.

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CaseyKC

CaseyKC

Active Member
My dog is a "tweenie" (13lbs.) She always wears her Lupine 1/2" width collar with a tag that has my phone # engraved on it. When we are in the car, I use a safety seat attached in the back seat with seat belts. The safety seat itself has three clips, two on each side and one in the back. While I have never had a car accident while she was in the car, I feel that in case I had to "slam" on the brakes, there would less chance of her choking or neck injury by attaching the clips to her Puppia web harness and not to her collar. On long trips, such as going to Florida from New England, she wears her harness until we reach our destination. I feel much safer walking her at rest stops in her harness, as she can not slip out of it.

I used to volunteer to take rescue dogs from New England to some point along my trip to Florida, or on my return trip to New England. One time, I had a rescue dog slip his collar at a rest area and I spent 5 terrifying minutes chasing and finally catching him. Since that incident, I would never allow a dog to set foot in a rest area leashed to a collar. Large trucks entering rest areas make brake noises which scare dogs, causing them to make movements that would allow the collar to slip off, also, a dog who has slipped off a collar could run to the highway and get hit by a car. Conversely, at home, in my somewhat rural neighborhood, I just clip the leash to her collar. We do not have a lot of traffic or noises that might frighten her.
 
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nerdrock

New Member
Micro-prong collars are prong collars with smaller links so they fit properly on small breeds.

I'm not going to get into a debate over them, I've heavily researched them, read studies on all types of training aides, spoken with trainers and even tried it on myself before putting one on any of my dogs. The bottom line is that, when properly fitted and used, they are one of the safest to use. They don't do any tracheal damage and do not hurt the dog at all. They are what I chose to use with my dogs and it works well for them.

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DeafDogs

DeafDogs

Alberta Region Moderator
Only if you use pain to train. My dogs now, are trained using force free methods. I don't need to hurt my dogs for them to behave. They do it because they like to, it's fun!

I used to say the same. And had used them to successfully train several dogs. Until Oliver. The pinch collar ruined him. He blamed everything else for hurting him and went from a happy go lucky puppy who loved everyone, to one who tried to eat strangers. Pain causes side-effects, positive, force-free methods do not.



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DeafDogs

DeafDogs

Alberta Region Moderator
And they absolutely DO hurt them! Why do you think they work? And why do dogs yelp when corrected by them?

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N

nerdrock

New Member
Dogs yelp when corrected by them because they aren't being used properly or aren't fitted properly. Next time you see one on a dog look at how it's positioned - 99% of the time they are in the wrong place.

My dogs have never yelped with them. I did not say they were for every dog either. I used to foster for a rescue, there were some dogs that I used them on and others that I didn't, you need to be able to read the dog. There are dogs that do fine with positive reinforcement, others that don't. I use a combination of methods to train AND I only use the prongs on the dachshunds when we are going somewhere that's very stimulating for them and could be potentially dangerous, places where I need to ensure that they are going to be listening to me at all times. I use them whenever I walk my shepherd because he's only a few pound lighter than I am and if he chose to go off, I'd be dragging behind him. It's a safety issue.

My dogs are not in pain when I use them, I use them on the dead ring, all of my pets receive excellent vet care and all are happy and healthy. They all have reliable recall and are well behaved.

I have successfully used many different training tools on all my dogs, some worked with some, others didn't. Fynn became dog reactive when on a leash when another dog attacked him, I don't blame the fact that he was on a regular collar for him being reactive. Using a prong collar to correct him when he flipped out has taught him that behaviour is not acceptable and he will now ignore other dogs when on leash.

I stand by my informed choice. I am merely suggesting another training tool that may help the OP. I would certainly hope that (s)he would research anything before trying it anyways.

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DeafDogs

DeafDogs

Alberta Region Moderator
I don't use training tools at all. And prong collars DO HURT OR THEY WOULDN'T WORK ANY DIFFERENT THAN A FLAT COLLAR. This is not something you can debate, it is absolute fact.

I'm not saying you dont love and look after you dogs, I'm saying I don't need to use pain to train. And positive training works for ALL mammals. If you can't get it to work, you're doing it wrong, or not using the right motivators. This is also fact and scientifically proven over and over again.

People who argue for using punishment just don't know enough. I do not want to hurt my dogs, I don't want to cause stress, I dont want them scared of what I might do, and I do not want them wondering what they did wrong.

I teach them what I want, redirect them from thing's I dont want and set them up for success, so they don't do whst I dont want them to.

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