Why Using A Harness Is Better For Your Dog?

A Dog Harness is surely a better fit vis-à-vis a neck collar when it comes to walking aggressive dogs. It comes with many direct benefits to a pooch while offering better control to the handler.
Should you be using a harness for your dog? Well! read and decide.

1. A harness will offer the owner/handler more control of a zesty dog: Big and strong dogs can be difficult to manage especially on routes with exciting stimuli and scents. However a harness will allow you to properly control your excited pooch when it tries to go after a bird, cat or a dog on the pavement or public park.
   

   When you use a collar the pressure is directed at the neck and pulling on it may cause injuries in small and delicate dog breeds. On the other hand a harness distributes the pressure on the back and entire body. Image – happytailsrule.com

2. Better safety: While putting on a collar on the dog’s neck an owner is advised to not fasten it too tightly and fix it in a way that two of his/her fingers can fit in between the collar and the pet’s body. A dog keen on escaping will be able to find a way to free its neck from the collar and shoot forward towards an enticing stimulus.
   This is a worrisome concern and can be dangerous for the pooch while walking it on a sidewalk alongside busy traffic. It can also run and hide somewhere making it difficult for you to find it.
   

   Dog Harnesses offer better safety as they are secured in a way that they cover an extended area of the body, it goes over the shoulders, front limbs, and chest. This will completely restrict the pooch from escaping. Image – www.askthedogguy.com

3. Stop your dog from pulling on the leash: If your pet pooch is always fighting that leash on its collar, a simple walk can seem like one big struggle to an owner trying to handle the situation. With every pull on the collar the dog moves forward pulling you along in this tussle. This only encourages the pooch to continue the pulling act. If you start using a harness for the pet, you’ll be able to discourage its pulling behavior. If a dog tries to pull the leash attached to a harness it is unable to move forward. Here the leash is fixed to a hook on the canine’s back in between its shoulders and discourages pulling by directing the forward motion to the opposite direction.

4. Neck and Trachea Injuries can be averted with a harness: Pulling a leash attached to a collar puts immense strain on the pooch’s neck area. The obvious consequence of this will be an injury. In some cases such injuries are difficult to detect initially as there may not be a sudden sensation of pain, but the discomfort may crop up gradually due to worsening of the condition. Some small breeds have fragile bones in their necks and just one pull on the leash tied to a collar can lead to a serious neck injury and severe pain.
   

   A harness undoubtedly is a better option as it is capable of taking the stress away from the neck and spreading it across a larger surface of the pooch’s body. Image – happytailsrule.com

With a collar there is always the risk of a dog’s windpipe being squeezed as the neck area is constantly exposed to a-lot of pressure. This leads to intense coughing in some dogs.

Small and toy breeds are prone to Tracheal collapse, this is caused when the dog’s wind pipe weakens and squeezes making it difficult to breathe. Use of collars will only worsen this chronic disease. Switching to a harness becomes imperative in such a scenario.

5. A dog can entangle you in its leash: A leash on dog collar is easy to pull. An excited dog can end up twisting it around you. It can target your legs, wrist or twirl the leash around your fingers. A short stroll with your pet may turn into an unfortunate mishap with you getting entangled, falling down and getting hurt. A pup will not be able to tangle itself or you if the leash is attached to its back side with a harness.

6. Prevent Ocular Proptosis with a harness: Ocular Proptosis is the protruding of the eyeballs from their sockets. The dog’s eyes appear to be bulging out of the eyelids. The pressure created around the neck area by a collar can cause this critical condition.
   

A diverse range of harnesses are available in pet stores. Selection should be based on a dog’s size and temperament. A single harness may come with different points where a leash can be attached. If your pup is determined to pull its leash, attach it to the point on the chest. The harness must be removed once the dog is back home after finishing its outdoor stint. Continuous use can cause the fur to tangle and also irritate the dog’s skin. ( image – www.rover.com)