Harness

[blanca]

Should I use a harness on my 8 month old chow?
If yes, which is the best kind?

[Laura]

I use a Gentle Leader harness that I purchased at Petsmart.

[vicster605]

Me Two LOL....but not the one that goes over their nose, the one that goes around their body.
If pulling is a problem the harness does wonders

[KathrynH]

I use the same harness as

Me Two LOL....but not the one that goes over their nose, the one that goes around their body.
If pulling is a problem the harness does wonders

I use that, and I can now walk Buddha (annie still hates to take a walk) by myself w/ out Jake worrying about me getting drug along and getting hurt LOL

[summer_rose03]

Regular harnesses just make it easier for them to pull you (think sled dog). Gentle leaders, Halties, or Gentle Leader No-Pull harnesses are best. Carter has a Gentle Leader and it works wonders. I've sold many to people with large, unruly dogs and they were surprised how easily they could walk the dog with it before they even walked out of the store! I don't recommend a regular harness tho, especially because with all their hair, you might get things tangled up or clipped in.

Our old dog, Frisco, used to pull like crazy. He weighed more than my sister at one point and she could never walk him. I got him a Gentle Leader, and my 90lb sister could walk our 100 lb dog.

[bubba]

I SAY A NO GO ON THE HEAD /NOSE HARNESS/gentele leader .. better just a standard harness that doese not pull the head around.. ..

train the chow to pull . they are pulling dudes OK when you are on the upgrade on th way home you will appreciate a chow who WILL PULL
think ski jouring... ..
http://www.dog-harness-store.com/

i use a standard utility harness sine i can no get my guy to PULL !!!!!

if pulling is a problem the sporn anti pull works ..

[kingalls]

we use the standard harness on our two Chowings. Nahkohe is always pulling if I let him. Most of the time I don't have a problem with having him "charge" ahead with running - I just have to keep it within my ability to run along with him. When running is not an option, then I have to tell Nahkohe to "walk!" It might take him a couple of reminders but he will walk when I ask him. Our girl, Shiloh, is a walker so it's not a problem for DH to walk her instead of running behind her..(lol!)
We prefer the harness because we have more control.

[summer_rose03]

The Gentle Leaders and Halties are completely safe. They are designed with the idea of a horse halter in mind. It doesn't hurt, and after a few minutes/times of wearing one, they realize they don't have the leverage with it and just stop pulling. They don't have the muscle strength to pull with that on. I know of many customers that have use them and swear by them. I have never heard of any injuries caused by using a Gentle Leader mouth halter.

[Sahara91]

I'm not a fan of Haltis unless they are necessary - with Chows they aren't. I have always used a normal body harness with Xhena as I was worried about her slipping out of a collar.

[sdasilva27]

Would you guys recommend a harness even for a chow that doesn't ever pull? McKenzie has never once pulled; she's very much a mommy's girl and stays right by my side or right in front of me, she does not like to go more than a couple feet away from me. We've just used a collar and leash so far. She's never tried to get out of it and actually really enjoys seeing the leash/having it clasped on, she wags her tail and does small jumps around, then sits and waits for me to hook it on (I taught her to sit or I wouldn't put it on and then stay sitting until I say "ok, go" so I wouldn't have to chase her to put it on or have her running out the door - mostly so she doesn't get hit by the door or something accidentally).

There have been a few times when she'll get excited when she sees another dog or animal but she actually jumps and does a whirl in the air instead of tugging to go after the animal so I don't think I have to worry about her getting out of the collar. I don't think she's ever been hurt by the collar before since she walks so well and I do not tug on her leash, even if she stops and I want to keep going, I say come on and she starts right back up (even when there's a really good smell - I might just have to say it twice instead of once). Does anyone think she could benefit from the harness regardless?

[CoraP.]

I just feel safer using the harness. Both Molly and Dusty have gotten better with not pulling, but if they see a squirrel or people coming, they still get excited and pull. The harness seems safer and they don't choke themselves if they do start pulling. Even though McKenzie is such a good girl, I don't think it would hurt to use a harness.

[sdasilva27]

I think I'll try it out but she doesn't seem to like things on her that she doesn't think should be there (ie. the bow the groomer put on her, the santa hat I tried to put on her to take a picture, etc). I think she'd like it if she let herself get used to it - regardless, we'll give a harness a try soon and report back. Thanks as always, Cora.

[bellestar3]

Gentle Lead for me as well.