Halloween/Thanksgiving Hatch-a-Long 2019

[FortCluck]

I have a questiiiiiiiiion!
Why does everyone have harnesses on their dogs?

Mine actually have martingale collars. She doesn't wear the harness anymore.

 

[BullChick]

I see a lot of dogs with them. I just don’t know why.

 

[mixedUPturk]

I see a lot of dogs with them. I just don’t know why.

It makes them pull on the chest vs the neck when walking is why i have used them in the past for extra unruly dogs. Right now all 3 of my dogs would chew up a harness if i tried that

 

[FortCluck]

Jolene wore them before she was trained to walk on a leash so it didn't make her choke herself.

 

[ShrekDawg]

I like harnesses. Easier to grab if necessary and also sometimes hard pullers will choke themselves on collars (no matter the type) and can cause neck/throat/trachea/esophagus problems. Although some harnesses like the no pull ones can cause shoulder problems and some say harnesses encourage dogs to pull more so it’s all relative haha

But I like them especially for hiking or even sometimes just regular walks cause I feel like they get a little bit more freedom especially if I use the one I have that has a sliding/moving ring. And also because I can very quickly and easily grab the handle if needed. And I find it’s a bit easier to grab fast. Also useful to lift them over obstacles if needed lol

And nice for dog sports like agility or tracking or whatever cause it’s easy and on and off and doesn’t choke them. Same for skijoring or bikejoring.

Sorry, too dog sport/training minded and oriented

I like them even for pets though.

I also think they look nice and you can also customize them get their name and patches and stuff.

Course you probably could customize a collar too but still.

Although that said I do also like and use martingales and thick (like 2 inch wide) collars too and there are some really pretty collars so I like those too but more just to look pretty LOL

But for walking I personally like harnesses.

They look nice, they’re convenient to put on and off, comfortable for the dog, the handle’s easy to grab (I should also add I know not all have handles but all the ones I have do haha), some are water and mud proof, gives them a bit more freedom (since the clip is further back), doesn’t choke them, etc. haha

 

[ShrekDawg]

It makes them pull on the chest vs the neck when walking is why i have used them in the past for extra unruly dogs. Right now all 3 of my dogs would chew up a harness if i tried that

Jolene wore them before she was trained to walk on a leash so it didn't make her choke herself.

Yeah collars can cause a lot of esophagus problems from dogs that pull hard and can hurt themselves that way. Definitely need to be trained to walk on collars first so they don’t do that haha

Although I think front clip harnesses (not the no pull ones but have used those too) are probably one of my favorite things ever lol

 

[ShrekDawg]

Sorry for the novel

 

[BullChick]

I’m a rarity then. I used a harness for pulling a sled. He also had a horse lead for a leash. Okay, he was a horse.

 

[ShrekDawg]

I’m a rarity then. I used a harness for pulling a sled. He also had a horse lead for a leash. Okay, he was a horse.

Nahhh, plenty of people walk their dogs on collars too!! I actually think every dog should at least be trained to walk on a flat collar. Haven’t quite gotten there with any of mine or DB’s but next dog will be haha

And yeah, I want to get into skijoring and sledding and stuff and would definitely use a harness for that

And lmaooo I thought about using a horse lead or chain leash for Gator

Actually I did have one that was half chain lmao

What kind of dog did you have?

 

[BullChick]

Black lab, mastiff, Samoyed. He was barrel chested, up to my hip. He looked like a huge wolf. He took up the backseat. In the winter, he gained five pounds, his ears were up, and his hair was long. In the spring his hair fell off all the way down to a short coat, he lost five pounds, and his ears fell. His metabolism was for a 210 pound dog. I tried all kinds of food because the vet didn’t believe me. I used to carry 100 pounds of food down three blocks, and up 42 stairs. Now I struggle with 50 pounds of feed. I’m old!!!