The H harness
Not just any ol’ harness, but a nice H design (look down to your dog’s back and you should see an H shape). Otherwise known as a Y harness (look at your dog head-on and the harness should be shaped like a Y on the front). This harness design suits most dogs, is generally really secure, and frees up the shoulders for ease of movement—something that is often overlooked in many harness designs.
Harnesses that have straps horizontally across the chest impede gait and shorten the stride. This can cause muscle soreness. Imagine intentionally shortening your natural stride by half every time you walk and how this may feel across your body. Your back, neck, shoulders, and legs would likely tense up. The popular ‘step-in’ (we refer to these as the ‘bra’ harness) are typical for shortening the dog’s gait, albeit more subtly than some. Some designs such as the ‘no-pull’ or ‘happy at heel’ harness actually work in this way—they alter the dog’s gait to slow them down, making pulling more difficult and more uncomfortable. This is why we don’t recommend these harnesses.
H design harnesses are generally more difficult for dogs to escape from than the JK9 or step in designs. For escape-proof harnesses, I really rate Haqihana’s double H harness because it’s lightweight. Ruffwear does an escape-proof design, but I prefer to recommend this for dogs that need lifting or support (such as older dogs, those who need lifting over rougher/complex terrain on walks, dogs who do hydro, etc.). This is because the harness covers more of the body than the haqihana design and has a handle on the back. However, the handle can be useful to maintain hold on a very strong dog who is overreacting at something.
I like Ruffwear, but I do personally feel that their designs can be a little too bulky (making contact with too much of the body) on some breeds/types of dogs. They do suit some dogs brilliantly, but not all! The less body the harness covers, the more comfortable it will likely be. It’s important to look at how close to your dog’s legs the front plate of the harness is.
When fitting a harness, I like them to be a little more loose- ensuring that when your dog’s ribs are expanded outwards (taking deep breaths, such as during aerobic exercise) that the harness does not create resistance. A harness strap should not leave a dent in your dog’s fur or on their skin. You should be able to fit more than one finger beneath the strap with ease.
The straps on the rib cage should be as far away from the foreleg as possible, to avoid pinching. I like to fit 2-3 flat fingers widthways between the leg and strap.
The neck part of the harness should sit low, on or just above the clavicle (just above ideal, so the clavicle can move nicely). Harnesses can easily move up onto the neck when tension is applied on the lead- this is especially relevant if you do cani x or tracking with your dog and require tension on the lead.
Head to this shop for harnesses and harness fittings.
How a harness looks should come second to how it fits your dog. The more active/athletic your dog is, the more carefully you should consider the harness design and avoid bulky (plated) harnesses to free up the ability for your dog’s muscles to move, especially in the shoulder area!
One reason (of many!) I love a harness is that if (for whatever reason) we ever need to suddenly grab our dog (to help keep them safe), it’s likely less aversive to do this via a harness strap on their back than grabbing their collar (grabbing the neck is a seriously threatening behaviour across most species!).
I’d rather dogs were walked on a harness, but I understand not all dogs can be for a variety of reasons. One totally invalid reason is ‘they make dogs pull’. This is a training issue, not an equipment issue. Dogs don’t automatically become huskies in a harness; they are just more able to pull if you haven’t taught them how to walk nicely on lead.
Street walking lead
A minimum of 1.8 metres enables the lead to be loose from the start. You cannot loose-lead walk with a lead that goes tight the moment a dog takes one step off course. This training criterion (difficulty rating) is simply too high for most dogs to start off with. Personally, I feel a lot of behaviour problems people encounter on walks start with a tight lead. Loose-lead walking is a key skill we should teach every single dog and having the right equipment is paramount to their success.
Further benefits of a longer lead are that your dog can sniff and communicate easier.
- Sniffing is a great behaviour for dogs to do on walks. It helps them learn about the environment and who is around, which can be enriching and tiring! It keeps dogs calmer. I’d prefer a dog to be in ‘channel nose’ than ‘channel eyes’ because in my experience they’re generally less overreactive or slower to react.
- If a lead is longer, a dog can communicate they’d like to move towards or move away from a situation more easily. I too often see dogs trying to back out of a social situation on a short lead, then hit the end of the lead and start to flip and jump around trying to escape. Owners may mistake this behaviour for play or excitability. The duration of more behaviours more easily identified as avoidance behaviour is shortened so dramatically by the equipment (short lead). With an extra metre of lead, the owner may be more aware of how their dog feels about the situation and help them move away before panic or defensive behaviour sets in. A longer lead gives dogs more space to interact with other dogs, reducing the likelihood of defensive behaviour from feeling trapped.
Choose a lead that matches your dog’s weight and structure.
Large, strong dogs can cause leads to feel ‘whippy’ should they lurch suddenly, so choose a 3/4 width or more lead.
Small dogs can find thick width leads too heavy, so select leads that are 1/2 inch or thinner.
Heavy clasps/buckles or too heavy fabric can all pull a dog off centre, which over time may cause muscle soreness. The same goes for dog tags—think about how heavy your dog’s ID tag is for them to have hanging off their neck.
It’s crucial when using these leads on street walks that you do not let your dog walk 2 metres ahead of you. This is not safe. The idea is the lead is loose and the dog is next to you but able to take a step to the side to sniff or quicken their gait for half a metre as they get closer to a sniff, without the lead going tight. It’s paramount we use such equipment safely.
Check out this site for leads.
The long line
Any dog with an unreliable recall should be on a long line until their recall is improved. Period. Frequent predatory behaviours, running up to dogs or people uninvited, or running away when scared—all warrant a long line. You can aim to train away the long line over time. However, there is no shame in accepting that some dogs, in some environments, may always require some level of management, such as my Kanita who sometimes requires a lightweight ribbon lead that is 2.5 metres long in some environments. This lead is so light it helps her move around easily as if she were off lead, but makes it easy for me to grab if I needed to (such as when a dog rushes over and she may tell it off for being rude!).
- Long lines need to be attached to a harness—never, ever to a collar—(unless you want to give your dog whiplash, which I’m quite sure you don’t).
- To avoid injury, make sure the lead is never pooling slack on the floor. This allows a dog to pick up speed and when they hit the end of the lead, you may get jolted or pulled off your feet.
- If your dog is charging at prey (that they will likely not catch) and you’re worried you’re going to be injured, consider dropping the lead (if the environment is not near a road!) and catch up with them as quickly as you can. Note, this is because there was a moment of too much slack in the lead! I opted to drop the lead and the long line meant I could retrieve Kanita quickly!
Loose-lead walking applies to long lines! The length of the lead is irrelevant. Long lines are not an excuse for pulling.
Anyone who has an on-lead dog (puppies, prey drive, overreactive) in a green area should upgrade their street lead to a long line to allow the dog to explore and sniff without pulling on the lead. Unless you have a slow-gait dog or have proofed loose-lead walking to the highest standard (good for you if so!), expecting a dog to not quicken their gait beyond a walk and not pull in a wide-open space full of smells and sights is a big ask. However, if you want your dog to socialise without derailing their recall training, a long line in the park is a great tool as you can drop it to allow them to mingle with a socially compatible dog.
Long lines should ideally be handle-free if you intend on letting your dog drag it along at times (to avoid catching/looping on other dogs or trees). Consider the length you need carefully. Too long can be dangerous for big, strong dogs (they can pick up speed and pull you off your feet), but too short can result in too much stop/starting for fast dogs, which can lead to high levels of frustration.
Personally, I find that Biothane leads do not suit super fast and strong dogs as they can become really whippy. Meanwhile, rubberised leads can create too much friction for some dogs or cause nasty rubber burn when the lead moves through the hand at speed. That said, a nice pair of fingerless gloves can help.
Small dogs and puppies need to have a lightweight long line to avoid pulling their body off centre and causing muscle soreness. The weight of the lead should be carefully considered if your dog is going to drag their long line along the ground.
I have about four different long lines. A 5-metre lightweight Haqihana with a handle (I never drop this!), a 10-metre biothane (weight does not change when the weather is wet), and a 2.5-metre ribbon lead which are great for the final stages of fading out the long line.
Here’s a nice selection of longlines.
Treat bag
Want to reinforce the right behaviour? Get a treat bag! If you use plastic bags in pockets, this can be a lengthy process, unless you’ve mastered the art of using a bridge (clicker or marker word). Using a treat bag can make all the difference to training on walks, and you don’t end up with sausage-lined pockets too!
Muzzles
These have to avoid pressing into the eyes and avoid rubbing the nose. Basket muzzles are best for walks as they enable panting, drinking, and treat-taking—as well as full tongue movement, which is required for cornering at speed!
Avoid fabric muzzles due to the inability to pant (regulate temperature) or signal as much to other dogs or emotional response to situations (tongue flicks, mouth open/closed, agonistic pucker, etc.). These fabric muzzles are only best used as emergency protocols at vets or while you condition your dog to tolerate a basket muzzle (at vets). Muzzle training takes time, avoid just putting it on your dog suddenly.
Muzzle fittings and styles available here.
What do I not recommend?
- Head haltis: Exceptions are super large dogs or dogs owned by owners who are less physically able to handle them, but this is reviewed on a case
-by-case basis. Just like a muzzle, dogs need to be conditioned (positive emotional response) to putting a head halti on, and they should 100% walk on a loose lead on one (to avoid neck injury or having their sensitive muzzle and eyes squished). Head haltis reduce the likelihood of sniffing and can interfere with a dog’s body language, so they should be used with caution.
- Slip leads: Unless you work your gun dog and have a rock-solid loose-lead behaviour, these are basically a rope choke and can seriously damage the neck.
- Choke chains: The clue is in the name.
- Half check: The threat of being choked is just as bad as being choked.
- Double-ended leads: Having the lead pass across the chest (from the front clip on the harness) changes gait using negative reinforcement (escape/avoidance training). The fact that on the very rare occasion I clip Kanita to the front of her harness when she’s ‘beyond help’ (predatory threshold exceeded x 10000) and she near-instantly becomes more manageable demonstrates this to me. Does she look relaxed? No! She’s just less physically able to move how she wants to! I believe the knocking of the clip/lead on the dog’s chest and shoulders may be incredibly tedious on a walk (same goes for dog tags clipped to the back of a harness). I go on long hikes and runs and believe me, if something keeps knocking/tapping on you, you sensitise to it over time! Double-ended leads alter gait and impede natural movement. I see too many dogs walking off-centre when these are in use. I’ve moved many behaviour cases off a two-end attachment and observed radical behaviour change. I only recommend the front clip on a harness for a ‘you can pull on the lead’ cue, which is used less and less as walking on a loose lead becomes generalised. Using the back clip on a harness frees up a dog’s natural movement. That said, I’d rather two-point attachments were used instead of a head halti, so in some instances, I may recommend them.
- Rounded collars: If you’re going to use a collar, then the least we can do is make it comfortable. A well-fitted collar should be flat, loose enough to get two fingers underneath it, and narrow enough that they do not impede your dog’s neck movement. I often see dogs with too thick/wide collars that cover half of their neck, and I just think these interfere with head turns and cannot be comfortable. Just think, if my dog pulls hard on the lead wearing a collar, how will this impact his soft thyroid gland? A rounded collar will dig in; a flat collar won’t.
- Extender leads: These teach dogs to pull (the lead is almost always taut) and there’s little control in the way the handle is held or the reliance on a button for stop/start. I have observed the jolt of the stopping mechanism makes some dogs overreact. There is no relationship and little communication between dog and handler on these leads. It’s either stop or start. It’s amazing what you can communicate with a long line (“slow down”, “this way”, “I’d like you to leave the situation”, etc.). Most importantly, with a fixed-length lead, you can slacken them off and make the lead loose.
As you can see, I have a lot to say about equipment! There’s more to it than one may have initially thought! If you need help choosing the right collar, harness, street walking lead, or long line, we are happy to help in store!
