[Shilohs Mom]

Need advice on halter or harness

Please help - Shiloh has a regular collar and pulls and chokes himself. He will gasp and cough but keep pulling. I want to purchase (today) a halter or harness that is good for beagles.

Please let me know what you guys have had good experiences with. Shiloh loves to walk but I hate to feel like I'm choking him.

Thanks again!

 

[PFR]

Re: Need advice on halter or harness

I had the same thing with my dog Jasmine. I didn't like taking her for a walk because of it. Well I broke down and bought a harness and what a relief. I would say definately get one... Its worth every penny and your sanity!!!

 

[Murphys Dad]

Re: Need advice on halter or harness

I gave up on the collar very quickly -- bought a very simple harness/halter at PetSmart and used the same one for 12 years! I took Maggie in with me to PetSmart and one of their sales associates helped fit her. I didn't have a clue how to get the thing on and off her and it was actually Maggie who helped me learn. When I took the halter out, she would come over and lift up her paw in order to step through it! The halter I had did not have any metal parts on it which was nice as there was nothing to irritate her -- I know the newer ones do have lots of adjustable things which can irritate. There are lots of other options and am sure others will come along to tell you what they use.

 

[BookerMoose]

Re: Need advice on halter or harness

I definitely recommend the halter although we haven't really found one that is COMPLETELY comfortable on any of our dogs (especially rubbing in the armpits) - but they do work well and stop the choking.

 

[snm2008]

Re: Need advice on halter or harness

We're thinking about moving to a harness as well. As of now, our course instructor recommended using the Gentle Leader for scent breeds such as beagles. So far, it gets Kenya to walk normally, and she doesn't choke herself. But it is still uncomfortable for her since the top strap does go over her snout.

 

[tntnjmom]

Re: Need advice on halter or harness

Harnesses ROCK! We have 2 for JoJo, a simple black one to match her fur, and a sparkly pink one for when she's feeling like a diva (which she wears most of the time).

She still will wear her collar if we go to the park, or anywhere except a short walk around the field by our house - but it's kept a notch looser than she normally wears it and she still uses the harness. Her reverse sneezing is AWFUL if we just use the collar.

 

[kathy5]

Re: Need advice on halter or harness

georgia will pull at times If she wants to chase something or gets scard so she also wears an harness If we are just taking a quick potty walk I will put her in her collar but mostily she has on her harness

 

[Zookeeper]

Re: Need advice on halter or harness

We use a Martingale Collar on Duke and it works wonders. It's a nylong collar, with a chain at the back that pulls liek a choke collar, but the nylon is against the neck, so it doesn't hurt him, just corrects him.

Violet uses a harness, but she doesn't pull much.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Re: Need advice on halter or harness

When Murphy was around 12 weeks old I tried a Gentle Leader but he just didn't tolerate it. I might try again now that he's a little older.

We currently use a harness and he does extremely well using it-I can highly recommend one. I think it was less than $10 at our farm and home store.

It can be a little fussy to put on until you get used to them. Murphy now sits and waits for the harness. When I put it on him he lifts his right front paw to help put it on (just like Judy's Maggie).

Good Luck!

 

[jassy]

Re: Need advice on halter or harness

I think I have tried every kind of harness available. Nothing fit very well until I found Puppia. I think its a harness that was made originally for a smaller breed dog. Everything on it is soft and it fits well. With the other harnesses if it fit her chest it couldn't be adjusted in the girth. I was lucky enough to find a local retailer who sells them so we could try it on. I bought the large for Maggie so it goes over her head comfortably. It has lots of room for adjustment and the best part is Maggie likes it and comes right over to get it on rather than resist as she did with some of the others.
If you can't find somewhere that sells them locally, you can find lots of online retailers. I think other people here use them because I think it was someone here who recommended the brand to me.

 

[fauxpasta]

Re: Need advice on halter or harness

Our dogs have harnesses, and even though they wear both collar and harness when we leave the house, I only put the leash on the harness part. Bones has put on weight, so I might need to buy her a new harness soon.

 

[angelaH]

Re: Need advice on halter or harness

Ours wear a collar purely for their names tags. We walk them using harnesses.

 

[Smeagle]

Re: Need advice on halter or harness

Sorry if I sound like a party pooper, but no tool should ever be used in place of training.

Harnesses can make dogs pull more and certainly don't teach them how to have nice leash manners.

Most dogs find head collars quite aversive and many people whack them on their dogs without getting the dog used to wearing it first - and even then, it's likely the dog will still find it very uncomfortable and there is always a risk of neck and spine damage.

Having a dog that walks nicely on the leash is not about what tool you use but the training you do to teach them how to walk properly. At best, a tool will put a bandaid over the problem without actually addressing the problem.

You're better off investing the money into doing a training session with a qualified and reputable trainer, who can show you how to get your dog to walk nicely and they can also show you what tool if necessary is best for your dog, and how to use it in conjunction with a training program.

 

[Lady Girl]

Re: Need advice on halter or harness

Love the harness! I feel much more in control when walking with the harness on her and she seems to be comfortable in it.

 

[JoJo's Mum]

Re: Need advice on halter or harness

My beagle has a harness for when I walk my two dogs together. When I walk JoJo by herself she walks beautifully as I have taught her to lose lead walk but for some reason she pulls like a freight train if I walk her and my other dog together. I use the harness now when walking both of them

 

[bubbles]

Re: Need advice on halter or harness

Snoopy always wears her collar (ID tags). But if we go out, she wears a harness. It is the best investment ever!

 

[Murphys Dad]

Re: Need advice on halter or harness

We use a harness with Jersey. She still pulls sometimes, but nowhere near as much and I feel I have much better control over her. When Jersey was young, she pulled so much on her collar that she did actually hurt her throat. For us, the harness has been much easier.