Leash versus Collar vs Harness…What is Best For Your Furbaby?
Let’s talk leashes, collars, harnesses and canine comfort. Everybody has their preference, and some leashing systems work for some dogs but not others. If we had things the Furbaby Pet Care way, about 75% of dogs on a walk today would be in a harness as opposed to a collar.
Here’s why: most dogs will pull on a walk. They see something they’d like to chase and they stretch things out as far as they can (usually six feet), straining against their lead, often at the cost of the owner/handler’s balance. This puts things under strain, and, if the dog’s in a collar/leash set-up, he or she is choking against the collar. The immediate answer for this type of dog is to get them into a harness system. A couple of the new ones, like Leashi or Halti, have been designed to pull to the side, pulling the dog sideways, under strain. Most dogs dislike walking sideways, so they learn quickly that if they don’t want to walk sideways, they simply have to walk along at the handler’s pace, leaving flowers, trees and a myriad of other points of interest, but off their own pathways, alone.
Another space the collar vs harness debate rages (you’d be surprised, people get passionate about this topic) is in the training arena. Traditionally, collar response is a very good way to train a dog to heel, to come when called and to pay attention to the handler during training and after, on every day walks, etc. Many Obedience Schools strongly advocate collar training and have for years. While collar training has many pros going for it, such as quick response to handler correction and very quick handler correction times, the downside is, again, you’re choking your dog, even a little, in order to get them to listen to you and improve their behaviour.
The other danger with collars, and this is especially true of small, toy and miniature breeds, as well as puppies of all breeds, is that collars risk exposing your small canine to esophageal and soft tissue damages to the neck and throat. These damages can become permanent and quite debilitating, leading to issues both immediate and ongoing, as well as chronic breathing, swallowing and eating issues.
Newly designed harnesses takes collar training head-on. In fact, new training harnesses offer the same type of quick response times by moving the discomfort from the dog’s throat to between their legs and chests, which, to many handlers and owners, is a much more pet-friendly way to train. Whichever way you lean (we clearly lean toward the harness), Furbaby is of the mindset that one of the best ways to ensure your dog is alert and attentive on walks and out in the world is to take them through some level(s) of Obedience training at your local Dog Training facility.
Furbaby Pet Care will very soon be offering Pet Training at Furbaby Campus, but wherever you go and whomever you trust to help you and your dog train for a better future, that is always a wise decision.
Thanks for reading our article on Leash versus Collar vs Harness – until next time, Bow wow wow yippie yo yippie yay!