We all love to bring out dog outdoors. From the daily walks to bringing them out on road trips or even on hikes, all of these activities do help to keep the dog healthy as well as helping to create an inseparable bond between you and your dog. And one of the most versatile tools that you will need for such activities will be a dog collar or even a dog harness. However, the question now will be the choice between a dog collar or a harness.
How to choose between a dog collar or harness
Of course, to choose between a dog collar or harness, you will first need to determine your dog’s traits as well as your needs as each dog as well as their needs will play an important role in the selection between dog collar or harness.
1. Tame or docile dogs
If you have a tame or docile dog that does not pull at all, however improbable this might seem, then a dog collar will be just right for the dog. This is simply because for dogs that pull, the collar will not be suitable as the dogs will pull the collar and potentially hurt themselves or even ripping the collar apart, hence setting itself loose.
2. Type of activity
Assuming that your dog isn’t a puller at all, then the next factor that you will need to consider is the nature of the activity. If it is simply just walking around your neighborhood, then the collar will suffice. But if you are looking into bringing your dog out for more strenuous activities that require more control over the dog, the harness will be a better choice!
3. Training the dog
If you are looking at training the dog, the most obvious choice will be to use a dog harness instead of a collar! This is because you will need complete control over the dog while you are training the dog, and this is something that dog collars cannot provide for you.
4. The size of dog
This is perhaps one of the most obvious factors. If you have a large dog, you should always opt to get a dog harness as collars will most probably be useless even when the dog isn’t pulling away. Of course, while the dog collar can be suitable for puppies or for smaller dog breeds, we will still advocate you to choose the dog harness instead as the harness have a lower change of tangling with the leash and hence lowering the odds of getting into accidents.
What type of harness to choose then?
Now that we know that harnesses are probably the top choice for most dogs, it is then important to find out what are the different factors that will influence your choice for harness. Typically, there are two types of harness that you can find in most pet shops. They are the overhead harness as well as the step-in harness.
Step-in harness: The step-in harness is more often suited for small to medium sized dogs as the step-in harness have the power and strength to withstand the forces from the larger dogs.
Overhead Harness: The overhead harness is suitable if you have larger dogs or dogs that are much stronger than you. The design of the dog harness is such that it allows you to have more control over the dog’s overall movements as well as restricting the dog’s movements once it starts to pull away.
Overall Comfort
Whether we are choosing a dog collar or dog harness, one of the main considerations that we will need to take is the level of comfort that it affords to your dog. For the case of the dog harness, the main contribution will be the material as well as design of the dog harness itself. You wouldn’t want the dog to suffer from abrasion when their skin rubs against the dog harness, or you wouldn’t want the clips to be pressing onto the dog when you wear the harness on them too! Similarly, the width of the straps does play a part too, as you will probably not choose a small strap for a large dog as it will cause pain on them, or you wouldn’t choose a larger strap for the small dog as it will cause discomfort to them when walking.
Choice of material
There are usually three different materials when it comes to the dog harness. There is the nylon harness, polyester harness or even the leather harness. Though some people might opt to choose the leather harness due to the premium feel of the harness, the nylon harness is however the top choice for you as it is relatively easy to wash and it does not retain odour too, the latter at which will be a main concern for many as you wouldn’t want the dog to stink when you walk them!
Quick release mechanism
This is maybe an optional feature, but by having a quick release mechanism, it will allow you to wear and take off the harness on the dog easily. But note that some quick release mechanisms are not fail safe, so do inspect, and check carefully before you purchase the dog harness.
Reflective Material
As dog harness are enablers for us to bring the dog out effectively, it should then be equipped with functionality that allows you to bring the dog out even when at night. For this to happen, we will suggest you to get dog harness with white night reflectors that reflects like when at night. This allows you allows you to spot the dog when the leash is long. This will help to give you added control over your dog, and this is even more important when walking your dog at night.
Wrapping things up
As you can see, dog harness should be your choice when it comes to choosing between a dog collar or harness. Usually, those cute little harness will not be able to give you control as much as the dog harness could, so the latter should be your eventual choice!
-
Product on saleMustard Yellow – Classic Harness€17.66
-
Product on saleRed – Classic Harness€17.66
-
Product on saleGreen – Classic Harness€17.66
-
Product on saleBlue – Classic Harness€17.66
-
Product on salePink – Classic Harness€17.66
-
Product on salePurple – Classic Harness€17.66
-
Product on saleNeon Orange – Classic Harness€23.55
-
Product on saleKhaki – Classic Harness€17.66
-
Product on saleGrey – Classic Harness€17.66