I was just wondering...  Since Rowdy's my first "small" dog since I was a little kid, I'm a little up in the air over what kind of collar/harness to use with him.  When I got him, the shelter gave me a nylon harness to use for him.  He walks fine on it, but he pulls constantly.  (Which usually doesn't bother me too much, since I can pull back, but can be a hassle when I take him running with me.)  My large dogs walk with training collars- you know the metal ones with "teeth".  I bought Rowdy one of those and he does walk better with it, but I don't like using it during our runs.  When he stops to pee, I am afraid it will pul on him too much!  I DO have a Halti for the bigger dogs, and it works with one, but the other can get her head out of it.  I don't want to be throwing a lot of money into various collars, so I haven't tried one for him...  Any suggestions- I want something that will cut down on the pulling, but not be too harsh to use while running. 

Get Rowdy a puppia harness. They are sold on line, and they  will not hurt his neck.

Vinnie uses a brown leather collar ... we use a harness for walks and playing fetch so that he doesn't get his neck hurt while travelling a thousand miles an hour after the toy.

Lucy is nekkid unless she's going somewhere, or gets a new collar and just wants to show it off.  We use everything. All sorts of collars.  Mostly for walking, though, she has a regular webbed harness, and a couple of puppia harnesses.  I love the way the camo puppia harness/vest thing fits her and doesn't pull against her neck.

In my experience, using a harness alone just encourages the pup to pull. It irks ME to see someone's pup pulling them down the street.  A harness seems to encourage that 'sled dog' behavior and really makes walking the dog a chore rather than a pleasure. If the pup is working on loose leash walking or heeling, then it shouldn't matter. Of course, we can't paint every situation with a broad brush. JMHO.

P.S. I use a flat buckle collar when I take mine for a walk.

I've never heard of Lupine, but I'll google it...

As far as at home, Rowdy's like Paul's Lucy- he's a nudist.    I just use the collars for running and walking.  And I do think he pulls a lot with his harness.  He can actually pull enough that he ends up choking himself...

Copper doesn't wear a collar when she's at home relaxing either. I've heard too many horror stories about dogs hanging themselves on the fence or what have you. We get our collars from this lady:
www.ragtimepetcollars.com

We are on Copper's 2nd set, even though the first set it still usable. The first set is worn and tattered, but that's because in her beginning obedience and agility classes, she would drag her leash around for a lot of the exercises. That, and she started to want to play tug with her leash during agility.This leash and collar set we've had for well over a year and they still look brand new, despite daily use.

I have heard nothing but good things about the lupine collars though! I hear they are very durable!

Posted By Morgan on 08/12/2007 10:57 AM
Bella is backwards....she walks better and pulls LESS with a harness on....if she just has a collar on, she is more likely to try and pull when she wants to get to something. Weird, huh?

No Morgan... I wouldn't say that'a weird.  I think it whatever the doggie is more comfortable with... ya know?

We use Size Right Harness. My pup likes it and does really well with it.  I tried some other things and they didn't work for him. We also got him microchipped.

Button wears a training (choke) collar when actively doing training on new commands.  Other times she's either without a collar at home or she wears a nylon collar on walks.  He chewed her nylon harness right off!  Not a good choice for her, I don't think.  

Treats in my pocket on walks stopped Button from tugging. Everytime she "did it right" (leash was loose) I'd say "Good Walkies" & she got a tiny treat. Pretty soon, her head was focused on me, as the treats were so random, she never knew when they were coming. She stopped the tugging in about a week of this effort. She's a good little walker now and I don't even have to take treats, but I usually do, so I can reward her for the "leave it" and intersection sits without my command. Of course, all this training goes out the door when she sees a squirrel or cat run across the street in front of her. LOL