Are dog harnesses a good idea ?

Suzy- you are a moron.. i have an alaskan malamute, and I harness him to pull and haul... as a means of exercising him. He loves it, as it is what he was bred to do and he feels good when "working". My fiance uses a harness or sometimes a prong collar when walking him sometimes, as this breed is notorious for being bad at the "heel" command. He's too powerful for her to have him pulling, he's quite a powerful puller.... so this ensures she wont fall or lose control of him.

So, to address your question, harnesses are OK to use, in my opinion, while training the "heel" command. After the heel command has been instilled, its a good idea to remove the harness and try a flat collar during walks.

Yes, they're excellent for strong dogs! A Halti or Gentle Leader will give you complete control without choking or hurting your dog. They really are fantastic. I swear by them. Most new Haltis will come with a Connector thingy-- it's just a little piece of nylon leash stuff with a clip that fastens the Halti to your dog's regular collar. If you don't have one, you should be able to get one from a decent pet shop, or just use the end of an old small leash. Bear in mind that with a short-snooted dog like a Pit Bull, it's easy for the Halti to slip off. Make sure it fits quite close around the head. In my experience, there really aren't any disadvantages to using a head collar. With an inveterate puller, you might find that the Halti creates a mark on the snoot where your dog strains against it. If your dog doesn't pull, this won't happen, but you can get padded ones, or, as I've done, sew a piece of fleece onto it to make it soft. Never use a Halti or Gentle Leader with a long or extendable lead (actually, if you use long or extendable leads, only use them with a body harness to be safe)! If your dog should happen to take off at a run and reach the end of the lead, the snap could cause a whiplash-like injury to the neck. Other than that, it's the best, safest, kindest way to keep a firm hold on a strong dog, I think.

Yeah My Dog Had A Harness We Like It Better Than A Collar Because if she pulls shes not strangling herself,

About The Size You Should Get, Where Ever You Live You Can Take Your Dog Into A Pet Shop So Take Her To The Pet Shop And Ask What Size She Should Have And They Should Tell You. You Can Try It There Before You Buy It Too Insted Of Wasting Your Money If It Doesnt Fit

:)

it's really up to you whether or not you are to get a harness.

It's rather harsh to call people brainwashed-wusses, it's YOUR dog.

A lot of dogs walk better on a harness, some don't and are better on a collar. Either way, usually, if the dog is trained to walk properly i doesn't matter whether they have a harness of not, they shouldn't pull.

I have harness for my dog NOT because she is not trained to walk properly on a lead but because i feel i have more control and Tess doesn't like things being pulled at her neck, it irritates her.

Certain harness' "may encourage pulling" not all.

Since your dog is a mutt, the size of the dog is not predictable.

You can go to your local pet store and ask there and possibly be able to try some on your dog.

However, i wouldn't put a harness on a 16 week old dog just yet.

Absolutely, I won't take my dog out without one. I have a little tenterfield terrier and she's very playful and likes to run a lot and I struggle to keep up with her and not choke her. Harnesses help because she HAS to keep pace with me and it makes me feel safer that she wont fun away or I can stop her quickly if a car comes out of nowhere when we cross the road.

I'm sorry I don't actually know what size you should get but I'd say small/medium.

Hope I helped.

I have 2 very high energy dogs and i use a walking harness for each of them from petco. It hooks in the front instead of the top of their back so when the run away from you or pull they turn themselves around! They do it a few times and they catch on. My dogs walk like little gentlemen now (until they see another dog!)

A harness is a good idea for small dogs.It helps keep pressure off their neck.A harness on a big dog is a bad idea.If you think of it this way, they put a harness on sled pulling dogs.

It will not keep a dog from pulling.

Take your dog into a local pet store and ask the clerk to help you size a harness to your dog.

Harnesses are great. They won't strangle the dog if they pull. I have a Dalmatian mix and bought a no-pull harness for him. The leash clips to the front of it and it works great. He walks on the leash very well now.

Harnesses are a good idea for a dog, it provide control and authority. And for a dog of which you have, it would be a medium or a small, depending on the wieght, and chest size.

Harnesses encourage pulling. Not a good idea to encourage a puppy to pull when you should be establishing the rules, no matter how small he or she is.