# Harness vs. flat collar



## AvaLaRue (Apr 4, 2010)

When I take Ava out walking or to the store, etc...She wears a harness. Nothing fancy, just a standard pink nylon harness from Petsmart. 

I have had several people stop me, including a good friend of ours who owns Ava's aunt, and tell me NOT to use a harness on a GSD.

Why not??? All those people told me that it creates a dog that wants to pull. Huh??

I don't really feel like she needs to wear a harness because she's never tugged on the leash...she walks very nicely, although it's not a heel. I just feel more comfortable with a harness. I guess I'm afraid if she got spooked or a wild hair up her bumm, that she would wiggle out of a collar.

What do most of you use? Should I not use a harness?


----------



## jakeandrenee (Apr 30, 2010)

I use a flat collar most of the time, however there are times I use a martingale...I have read others say they love the ez walk but I have no experience with harnesses. I don't like how they look on a GSD.


----------



## StellaSquash (Apr 22, 2010)

when I walk Riley, if i use just her flat collar, she pulls. the minute I put the Easy Walk harness on her, she's a totally different dog. no pulling. 

I keep working with her with the flat collar, but it's such a process. being as hot as it's been here, I just want to take her for a walk, not double the time trying to teach her to walk with the flat collar. 

I also feel better because she insists on choking herself with the flat collar. with the harness, she's not pulling and even if she did, it's not pulling on her throat.


----------



## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I used a cheap nylon harness on Karlo til he was about 4 or 5 months when he outgrew it. BUT he was very handler sensitive and when we trained at home, I didn't use a collar or leash, just kept him focused on me thru food luring.

I agree with the throat safety. I'd rather they pull on an harness vs a flat. And a front clip would be the choice.
Now at 16 months we use a flat collar, I don't need a prong or front clip with him.


----------



## Rott-n-GSDs (Jul 7, 2010)

Using a harness (a regular harness, not a no-pull harness) can definitely encourage the dog to pull. Harnesses are designed to be comfortable while pulling, so when a dog (any dog, not just a GSD) pulls on it and feels no discomfort, they're likely just going to keep right on pulling.

I use buckle martingale collars on my dogs. There's really little chance they're going to pull out of a properly fitted martingale. 

Another reason I don't use harnesses for regular walking is that both of my GSDs are in training for skijoring, and I want them to learn that regular collar = walk nicely and harness = pull.


----------



## boeselager (Feb 26, 2008)

I always start puppies out with harnesses if their not use to a collar. I feel if their choking themselves, etc on a collar it's negative for them verses the harness. Once they are comfortable with the harness, then I slowly transition them over to the collar. That is just me though ;-)


----------



## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

I use the Canine Concept Non-Pull Mesh Harness and it works wonderfully. I've had it for a couple of months now and ever since I got it Sin walks perfect next to me, no pulling at all. He used to really hurt my arm and back but now we walk an hour to a hour and a half every night and everything is great! I love it. :wub:


----------



## AbbyK9 (Oct 11, 2005)

There is absolutely nothing wrong with using a regular, flat nylon (or leather) harness on a dog IF the dog walks nicely on the leash and does not pull.

On the other hand, IF you have a dog that normally pulls, a regular harness would not be a good solution for training or to control the pulling, because it allows the dog to put his full weight into pulling and dragging you along. With a pulling dog, a collar or a no-pull harness (such as the front-clip harnesses they make) would be a better solution.

So, in other words ... if your puppy is walking nicely, there's nothing wrong with using the harness. If she pulls you, it may be better to go a different route where you have more control.


----------



## AvaLaRue (Apr 4, 2010)

Thanks. She does not pull at all. She just happily walks along weaving behind my legs trying to trip me. I usually fold up the leash so it's shorter so she cant get in front of or behind me.

I might go ahead and pick up a flat collar just to try that too. It's probably a good idea to get her used to be leashed to something other than a harness anyway.


----------



## GSDSunshine (Sep 7, 2009)

If you want to get a collar but are worried about her sliping it in the future, I would look at getting a martingale. They were designed to fit dogs with skulls that were not much wider than their necks (like greyhounds), They will tighten up slightly to make it a tighter fit to the neck when the dog pulls.


----------



## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

The no-slip(martingale) collars are great. I wish my local rescue would use them instead of a choke collar. Chokes are so cheap, thats why they use them but soo hard on the throat. 
I always bring a couple of no-slips in different sizes when I walk the shelter dogs.
These collars should be taken off the dog if they are not attached to a leash attached to your hand. They can get caught easily on things because of the slack if not on leash.


----------



## Rott-n-GSDs (Jul 7, 2010)

onyx'girl said:


> These collars should be taken off the dog if they are not attached to a leash attached to your hand. They can get caught easily on things because of the slack if not on leash.


Hmm... are you talking about a choke here or a martingale? I always thought that properly fitted martingale should tighten no tighter than the actual size of the dog's throat... and mine don't have any slack hanging when they're on my dogs, either:




























I don't advocate leaving any collar on when the dog's unattended, but I see no reason why a dog couldn't wear the type of martingale pictured above without a leash attached.


----------



## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I would not want the loop on the martingale to catch on something. Personally I don't leave collars on my dogs unless we are off property. A martingale cannot be slipped as a flat may, so the dog can still get injured if they caught on to something...panic sets in, you get the picture...this is a training collar only in my opinion. 
It depends on the girth of the dogs neck, some have skinny necks so slack may happen if it isn't attached to a leash. Your dogs have pretty thick necks with the coat and of course a Rottie has massive neck structure.


----------



## Rott-n-GSDs (Jul 7, 2010)

I don't personally leave collars on at all (we have a large fenced in yard) and only have them on when we go places... but I know several people who do leave martingales on (though not when the dogs are unsupervised).


----------



## chocolat (May 23, 2010)

onyx'girl said:


> The no-slip(martingale) collars are great. I wish my local rescue would use them instead of a choke collar. Chokes are so cheap, thats why they use them but soo hard on the throat.
> .


 
They are only hard on the throats of untrained dogs. It would benefit the rescued dogs to have some manners when on a leash and a choker when used correctly can quickly achieve that


----------



## VChurch (Jun 14, 2010)

chocolat said:


> They are only hard on the throats of untrained dogs. It would benefit the rescued dogs to have some manners when on a leash and a choker when used correctly can quickly achieve that


 
Beat me to it. I use a choke chain with my adult male, and he walks perfectly fine on it, even when it slips down on his neck a bit (where he could actually pull). This is the first collar that I found that he didn't absolutely loathe wearing (tried halti and he hated it; obviously a harness he could still pull; and knew I could train him without having to get near a spike collar thing), and that he walked nicely on. Granted, he gets excited sometimes and starts walking ahead, but he's learned the command "easy" and he'll stop walking until he's next to me again, usually with no correction needed -- but that's on rare occasion with me.
If the puppy pulls, I'm sure at about a year old I'll use a choke chain for her as well. However, currently she walks fine on a leash and she is learning to walk next to my adult male, so we'll see how that continues to go.


----------



## DangerousBeauty (Jul 8, 2010)

Sounds like your dog walks great so I wouldn't worry about it. I would just be in the habit of not leaving it on at home. 

I personally live out in the country and have never walked my dogs on a leash. I have a flat leather collar for Baron but I only put it on if I am taking him if we go for a walk or we are going for a ride.


----------



## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

To the OP, use whatever you want. I use a variety of gear on my dogs. Sometimes, they wear harnesses; sometimes, martingales; sometimes, flat collars. My GSD wears a Sensation. My little dog wears a hot pink Freedom No Pull Harness Patented No-Pull Harness - 2 Hounds Design. She can wriggle right out of a Sensation.

She has a hot pink tracking harness that I had custom made for her that has somewhat wider bands and fits differently. They're similar, even in color, but she never confuses the two. 

My GSD also has an SD vest that cinches around his waist and chest. He doesn't think that the harness is his vest even though they fasten similarly.

In other words, our dogs aren't stupid. They know context and they can tell one harness from another. 

I really do have reasons for using a harness over a martingale. It's not just what I happen to pull out of the training bag first. I've seen too many dogs back out of flat collars, so I also don't trust those completely in really distracting enviroment or hazardous ones (like, next to freeways). 

Use what you like. Train your dog to accept all sorts of different kinds of gear. Figure out what works best for you and go from there. There is no one official answer, and for what it's worth, I know of a lot of nationally and internationally known trainers who use harnesses on their dogs. There simply is no single right answer. It's what works best for you and your dog.


----------

