Best Harness For New Puppy?

[IanPalmer]

Evening all

We’ve decided to take the plunge and buy a puppy. After years of consideration our circumstances now allow it and we pick Geno (a Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla) up next Saturday.

We are in the process of readying ourselves with accessory purchases, collars etc, and although we won’t need one immediately we are inclined to buy a harness for him when walking.

I now turn to the combined wisdom of PH- can anyone offer any advice as to the best make please? Some online reviews of models that look good cite really poor fit- can anyone help at all.

Any assistance and advice would be gladly received.

Thank you in advance

Ian

[ConnectionError]

Get to a decent local independent pet shop that has lots of different types.

Find the one that fits your puppy best.

That will be the best harness for your new puppy, not necessarily one that fits another dog!.

Failing that

Avoid K9,

Order a perfect fit if you cannot get to, or there isn't one locally, a pet shop.

Perfect fit are very adjustable.

And of course you will need a new one every few months, depending on the rate of growth.

Edited, you will not need a harness for some time wait and get one nearer the time

[IanPalmer]

ConnectionError said:

Get to a decent local independent pet shop that has lots of different types.

Find the one that fits your puppy best.

That will be the best harness for your new puppy, not necessarily one that fits another dog!.

Failing that

Avoid K9,

Order a perfect fit if you cannot get to, or there isn't one locally, a pet shop.

Perfect fit are very adjustable.

And of course you will need a new one every few months, depending on the rate of growth.

Edited, you will not need a harness for some time wait and get one nearer the time

Thank you Connection Error- I really appreciate the advice 👍🏻

[spookly]

Can't help as I don't use a harness. Any particular reason for a harness?

I train mine to walk on and off lead with a normal collar. Better to train to walk with a collar, as with a harness they can just pull more easily. Train them well and they'll rarely need to be on lead.

[moorx]

The three of ours that have worn harnesses have all worn Ruffwear harnesses.

Very strong and hard wearing and fit well (fully adjustable). Not cheap though.

We have one who walks better on a collar and lead.

[LordHaveMurci]

spookly said:

Can't help as I don't use a harness. Any particular reason for a harness?

I train mine to walk on and off lead with a normal collar. Better to train to walk with a collar, as with a harness they can just pull more easily. Train them well and they'll rarely need to be on lead.

The fascination with harnesses in recent years is a mystery to me, none of mine have ever needed one & like you, mine rarely go on the lead.

[moorx]

LordHaveMurci said:

spookly said:

Can't help as I don't use a harness. Any particular reason for a harness?

I train mine to walk on and off lead with a normal collar. Better to train to walk with a collar, as with a harness they can just pull more easily. Train them well and they'll rarely need to be on lead.

The fascination with harnesses in recent years is a mystery to me, none of mine have ever needed one & like you, mine rarely go on the lead.

Perhaps not everyone has owned a dog from a pup, or they may own dogs which were extremely nervous, not lead trained and/or escape artists? That was the case for us. Ultimately, it's a personal choice.

[LordHaveMurci]

moorx said:

Perhaps not everyone has owned a dog from a pup, or they may own dogs which were extremely nervous, not lead trained and/or escape artists? That was the case for us. Ultimately, it's a personal choice.

Both my dogs are rescues, one was 11mths, the other about 2.5yrs.

Previous dog was a rescue, 2 before that were pups.

Of course it’s personal choice, doesn’t stop it being a mystery to me, much like watching soaps really!

[moorx]

LordHaveMurci said:

moorx said:

Perhaps not everyone has owned a dog from a pup, or they may own dogs which were extremely nervous, not lead trained and/or escape artists? That was the case for us. Ultimately, it's a personal choice.

Both my dogs are rescues, one was 11mths, the other about 2.5yrs.

Previous dog was a rescue, 2 before that were pups.

Good for you. I'm with you on the soaps.

[HRL]

We use K9 harnesses on all three of ours as it’s easier to pull them out of rivers when they inevitably jump in somewhere and struggle to get back out.

Doesn’t happen often but it makes a massive difference.

[remould]

Try indi-dog.co.uk,we use them and the harnesses are great quality,our lurcher wears a "Houdini" harness which is totally escape proof !

[IanPalmer]

remould said:

Try indi-dog.co.uk,we use them and the harnesses are great quality,our lurcher wears a "Houdini" harness which is totally escape proof !

Thank you!

[IanPalmer]

moorx said:

LordHaveMurci said:

spookly said:

Can't help as I don't use a harness. Any particular reason for a harness?

I train mine to walk on and off lead with a normal collar. Better to train to walk with a collar, as with a harness they can just pull more easily. Train them well and they'll rarely need to be on lead.

The fascination with harnesses in recent years is a mystery to me, none of mine have ever needed one & like you, mine rarely go on the lead.

The reasons are twofold, really- we ‘perceive’ that a dog walking with a collar may be uncomfortable (the point about training them well would negate this) and my father in law (89 years old) has a retriever that is a nightmare for pulling and the behaviouralist suggested a harness which does the trick. Balancing the comments it looks like we are trying to remedy an issue we don’t currently have or can alleviate so I think we’ll wait and see how he goes.

As always- thank you to everyone who commented!

PS- soaps are a mystery to me as well

Perhaps not everyone has owned a dog from a pup, or they may own dogs which were extremely nervous, not lead trained and/or escape artists? That was the case for us. Ultimately, it's a personal choice.

[tim0409]

Another vote for Perfect Fit; buy from a shop that has the full selection of both halves and get it properly fitted; you can buy the top or bottom sections separately as your dog grows. We used them for our Vizsla as he was growing but we mostly use a collar now.

Good luck over the next few weeks, getting a Vizsla will change your life for the better but be prepared for some sleepless nights over the first month!

[IanPalmer]

tim0409 said:

Another vote for Perfect Fit; buy from a shop that has the full selection of both halves and get it properly fitted; you can buy the top or bottom sections separately as your dog grows. We used them for our Vizsla as he was growing but we mostly use a collar now.

Good luck over the next few weeks, getting a Vizsla will change your life for the better but be prepared for some sleepless nights over the first month!

Thanks for this Tim and good to know about the top and bottom halves. We are braced for his arrival-I’ll post a picture when he’s here . Kind regards, Ian

[Challo]

Agree on perfect fit. Good range of colours, and handy that you can change the sections depending on growth.

We had K9 before, but ours slipped out a few times and ran across the road. Perfect fit seems to lock the dog in more.

If you can’t find a local pet store that has them, you can order online and they have a good video on how to measure correctly.

[IanPalmer]

Challo said:

Agree on perfect fit. Good range of colours, and handy that you can change the sections depending on growth.

We had K9 before, but ours slipped out a few times and ran across the road. Perfect fit seems to lock the dog in more.

If you can’t find a local pet store that has them, you can order online and they have a good video on how to measure correctly.

Brilliant - thanks Challo. This website really is a great place

[PushedDover]

LordHaveMurci said:

The fascination with harnesses in recent years is a mystery to me, none of mine have ever needed one & like you, mine rarely go on the lead.

100% this.

Training / effort versus easy route. No Harnesses should be needed. Dogs need manners not harnesses

[Boosted LS1]

I think they've become fashionable.

On the plus side it does make it easier to grab hold of your dog quickly and safely if you need to. I've had dogs for over 40 years and they've never used a harness. Back then you probably only found them on sled dogs, maybe search dogs to?

I can see why choke chains are out of fashion especially as people often didn't fit them properly or know how to use them correctly. I've never used halti or such like but some people have success with those.

[Challo]

Boosted LS1 said:

I think they've become fashionable.

On the plus side it does make it easier to grab hold of your dog quickly and safely if you need to. I've had dogs for over 40 years and they've never used a harness. Back then you probably only found them on sled dogs, maybe search dogs to?

I can see why choke chains are out of fashion especially as people often didn't fit them properly or know how to use them correctly. I've never used halti or such like but some people have success with those.

I think harness do have their place, and we have them for our dogs. The Springer pulls on his lead, so I use the harness to avoid pulling on his neck. Also he can sometimes be reactive to other dogs on the lead so again the harness limits the issue of the the collar choking him slightly.

The cockapoo has one because like the springer he can be reactive on the lead at times so I prefer to have the harness rather than the collar choking him slightly.

Also they both get clipped into the car, and the harness is preferred.