Hello All!

My boyfriend and I will be bringing home our little girl on February 4th, and we have been doing as much research as possible. The one thing we haven't agreed on so far is whether to use a collar or harness when leash training her. Do you guys have an opinion as to which one is better?

He thinks that it would be convenient to just be able to hook the leash on her collar and go; especially for her to go outside and potty. He also just likes the idea of laid back walks, and not having to put her harness on every time.

On the other hand, I like the idea of harness training. I personally feel that it is more comfortable for the dog. We will be walking a lot of trails and bike paths at our local nature preserve and parks, and I think that holding the slack of the leash in the middle of her back would be more comfortable than holding it on her neck.

Also, a silly reason that I would like to harness train her is because I think that harnessed dogs are more inviting for some reason. We really want to socialize and train her so that kids and other people can just come up and pet her and she will not mind. We really want to make as friendly of a dog as possible.

Lastly, I do want to note that she will have a collar on at all times. That is the plan, anyway. Thoughts?

I prefer collar. Especially when young because they grow so fast. Any harness you buy will be quickly outgrown. You have better control to correct bad behavior on a harness. As a learning tool I think a collar is more versatile. Once good behavior is established and the growing is done then moving to a harness is fine. If you wish to kinda work on both you can google weiss walkie. It is a leash that can be used as a regular leash or it can be looped to make a kind of harness for when you are ready to start getting used to a harness but with it you don't have to worry about the dog outgrowing it.

I prefer the collar for initial training. I tried multiple times to transition to harness only to find the pulling enormous. So back to collar for more loose leash work. And, now, he walks fine on a harness.

Also - its a lot quicker to snap a leash onto a collar and run out the door for potty training than it is to get a squirming octupus into a harness.

Also - I've just used a slip lead for the first time. Very, very convenient for quick potty trips. Getting out of crate under control (no bolting). I highly recommend a slip lead at this point.

I prefer the harness. They just feel more secure. Kohdi is 3, Mishka is 2 and they both didn't even have a collar til a little over a week ago, and that was just so they could wear their bandana, haha. It's true that the pups grow fast, and will outgrow their original puppy harness, but harnesses are adjustable just like collars so I think I remember only 2 harnesses before their current. Don't pups outgrow their collars too? Since your pup will have a collar on at all times, taking her out to pee will be convenient, but for walks and hikes like you mention, I feel more comfortable (and I think they are more comfortable too) if they are in harness.

Jimmy...did you put ID tags on their harnesses? My main function for the collar is to wear an ID tag, a rabies tag and a license tag. It only comes off at night AFTER the doors are all bolted and ONLY if there is no one else in the house. If by any chance they get loose, I want my phone number immediately available, I don't want any question that they are licensed and current on rabies vaccine. (And yes, they are chipped.)

I am a collar person too. Easier for potty breaks in the middle of the night, tags can be attached and corrections can be taught with the collar. You could do as Jenn mentioned and get the walkie. Or you can use the collar for potty training, and command training, and loose leash walking, and when doing more fun activities use the harness. I only bought 2 collars for my girls, one when brought home and one when at around 6-8 months old and they still wear the second one at 4 years old and the other one is 18 months old. Harnesses may have to buy several, and I do know the cost more than a standard collar. Lastly a slip lead should never be used on a puppy, their neck has not been fully developed and may cause serious injury.

Collar for ID and regular leash walks....harnesses for working.

Okay thanks everyone I think we will go with your advice and primarily use a collar. I do like the idea of using the harness on long hikes, though, so maybe we will just do both when she is ready for that!

You could also use this https://www.chewy.com/petsafe-easy-walk-dog-harness/dp/48923?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=hg&utm_content=PetSafe&utm_term=&gclid=COGCldu_0dECFQm1wAod-a4Amg&gclsrc=aw.ds relatively inexpensive, helps train pups to not pull and prepares them for a standard harness. the harness is fine for the extra long walks, and hiking like you are planning, but I think it is best to use both, not just one or the other exclusively. The link I provided has worked quite well for many members here on training pups not to pull while walking and gets them used to standard harness for other things, like if you decided to do any type of mushing, hiking, etc.

Yeah I do both. Primarily collar, but when we go for a run she loves the harness, as do I since she PULLS so hard.

I think it is valuable to be trained in both collar and harness.

But I prefer harness and have always worked with my dogs in harness primarily from day one. I rarely use the collar, for us the collar is only there for tags (and in case of an escape). The only time I ever use the collar is when we go from the house to the car and the car to the dog park, or like I mentioned before in case of escape. Otherwise I use harnesses exclusively. Loose leash training is a challenge regardless of which you use.

Anybody here had any success with using a collar for walking primarily and then using a harness for husky pulling on a bike or whatever other "pulling" activities you and your sibe decide on?

It is my understanding that harnesses are not good for training a dog (especially pulling breeds) to heel and for general walks as the harness will simply encourage them to pull harder.

I also do want to use a harness for training my pup for general walking and to heel when I decide to partake in pulling activities with him later as I think this will cause confusion later as he would be confused when it is ok to pull vs. walk in heel.

Woah. That's weird. Did an admin merge some posts together? It seems like my response got merged to a more detailed discussion of this issue, and also answers the questions I had from another post. Works for me!

MiyasMomma wrote:

You could also use this https://www.chewy.com/petsafe-easy-walk-dog-harness/dp/48923?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=hg&utm_content=PetSafe&utm_term=&gclid=COGCldu_0dECFQm1wAod-a4Amg&gclsrc=aw.ds relatively inexpensive, helps train pups to not pull and prepares them for a standard harness. the harness is fine for the extra long walks, and hiking like you are planning, but I think it is best to use both, not just one or the other exclusively. The link I provided has worked quite well for many members here on training pups not to pull while walking and gets them used to standard harness for other things, like if you decided to do any type of mushing, hiking, etc.

I saw this in PetSmart the other day and thought that it was so strange looking. Good to know what it's for now! Thank you

Just found this great article on appropriate collars for leash training huskies or other "snow dogs" on a blog called www.snowdog.guru

I use both a harness and collar. He wears his collar 99.9% of the time. He had it before we gotalk him and it carries his tags. Currently he is wearing a choke collar but am looking to change that soon. We use the collar for pees and short walks in the field outside before bed. I also like having a collar on incase he slips his harness as its clipped into his collar. For long walks we use the harness as its easier to manage him on and he pulls far less than on a collar alone. The harness we have clips both on the front and back. Which we alternate depending on walking or running.
Both have there advantages and disadvantages

i tried the collar but he absolutely heated it. he would fight it, bit the leash, have a fit and to me it seemed counterproductive. so i switched to a harness and all the fits and tantrums ended, he dose tolerate the leash clipped to his collar only when we go biking which as a special name "safety".

RedFlashFire05 wrote:

he dose tolerate the leash clipped to his collar only when we go biking which as a special name "safety".

So when you go biking you don't have him pull you, but run along side you?

MartianHusky wrote:

RedFlashFire05 wrote:

he dose tolerate the leash clipped to his collar only when we go biking which as a special name "safety".

So when you go biking you don't have him pull you, but run along side you?

There's 2 kinds of biking with dogs - one, bikejoring, has the dog in a harness with a long line attached to the handle bar stem through something like a scooter noodle (to keep the line out away from the front tire.) This set up is for the dog pulling the bike or, could be a scooter. Multiple dogs can use a rig like those picture here: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/194358540143690908/ This kind of biking with dog needs the dog to be trained to some commands or it becomes more risky.

Then, there are various side attachments where the dog runs along side the bike and does not pull. There are several brands of attachments with various mechanisms, some with an internal piston, some with a steel spring similar to the spring gear on old, small cessna airplanes. I use a WalkyDog - not much training needed, just mount and go - but dog needs to work up to speed, distance. http://www.thedogoutdoors.com/walkydog-dog-bike-leash.html A lot of peope say good things about this one: http://s513132788.initial-website.com/

Even with the side attachments you need a harness but usually an X-back harness is used for front, pulling attachment and an "H"-style harness with a side "D" ring is used for the side attachments. Like Ronin, for extra safety, I also attach a loose leash to Ami's collar in case of mishap. I keep this in my hand, looped so it does not pull and doesn't get in the tires or pedals.

MartianHusky wrote:

It is my understanding that harnesses are not good for training a dog (especially pulling breeds) to heel and for general walks as the harness will simply encourage them to pull harder.

Harnesses do not encourage pulling, they simply make it more comfortable to pull. I do not find it any harder or easier to train loose leash walking in harness or collar.

MartianHusky wrote:

I also do want to use a harness for training my pup for general walking and to heel when I decide to partake in pulling activities with him later as I think this will cause confusion later as he would be confused when it is ok to pull vs. walk in heel.

There are different harnesses for different activities. The harness we use for walks is different from the harness we use for biking or hiking. The harness we use for walks is a simple harness not meant for pulling. For hiking and biking we use a harness specifically designed for the dog to pull in. Both require training and yes, the dog knows and understands how he is expected to behave in the different harnesses.

Thank you Amy and Huskyluv for the tips!

I live in San Francisco so it would be really great to teach him to pull on command without him resorting to pulling constantly. For example, when going up steep hills it would be awesome to have him pull assist!

Good luck with that. My boy gets lazy on the uphill portions (after being on a trail for a while, he's always gung ho at first) and likes to pull on the downhill portions...exactly opposite of what I am after but I enjoyed the time with him regardless. I did get a halti head collar for mountain hiking for use when we are traversing dangerous situations where an ill timed tug by the dog could potentially send us both to our deaths. Rarely ever needed it but there were a few times it became a necessity for safety sake.