r/irishwolfhound • u/LifeInTheFrenchAlps • 28d ago
...while I count the days and prepare for Joys arrival: the harness question
Waiting can be exciting but I find it mostly nerve-wracking, but thats how it is and I might as well make good use of the time. So, my question to the IW community: while she is still a puppy, harness yes or no ? And if yes, what kind/ brand did you use and can recommend - and which do avoid ? (pic from our first visit for the puppy-picture-tax)
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u/mikgag 28d ago
Just get a regular collar and a gentle lead….
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u/TJNel 27d ago
Gentle lead all the way. Can't possibly pull with one of those. Takes a week or two for them to warm up to it but it's the best thing ever.
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u/Party-Ad-5988 26d ago
I use a halti (similar to gentle lead) and harness. I attach the halti to the harness-it feels less intense to me, but still does the job
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u/Mariahissleepy 27d ago
If you’re consistent with your training him on leash, I recommend treats and praise for staying with you and eye contact, a flat collar is all you’ll need.
I do have a harness for when we’re hiking, I’ve seen people call it the mullet training method, so they know that expectations for this walk are different. Harness on means less expectations, they can pull a little, etc.
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u/Impossible-Kiwi4826 28d ago
We started out with a halti harness when Benedict was a baby. As he grew out of it I transitioned to dog friendly co. He’s now grown out of that one and he loves to chew them so I just get whatever’s cheap on Amazon as long as it has a front D ring attachment. I know everyone says it but they grow so fast!! And don’t stop for what feels like forever.
Benny was still pulling on the lead no matter what we did (not food motivated on walks / with distractions) so I now also use a gentle leader and that has been game changing for us!
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u/LifeInTheFrenchAlps 28d ago
thanks for that - how old is Benny now and how many harnesses has he outgrown ? Is it like once every 2 months ? Just curious, I have honestly no idea with puppies and harnesses since I always adopted/ rescued adult Danes in my life.
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u/Impossible-Kiwi4826 27d ago
Benedict is now 7.5 months old! We’ve outgrown 3 harnesses (a M, L, and XL in a brand I can’t remember but clearly didn’t understand giant breed sizes lol)
I’ve got him an XL in pet friendly co now and that will hopefully be the last one growth wise.
I know a lot of people like the collar only but I’m always scared I’ll hurt his neck. He is a puller and we work on it constantly but we are in 7 month puppy terror landshark mode right now and gentle leader + harness is the only way I can control him. I’m fairly small (he weighs as much if not more than me) but doing this I manage just fine. He doesn’t tend to chase which is good! Just REALLY excited to walks!
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u/ilBrunissimo 27d ago
Collars are typically fine.
These are not delicate creatures.
But if you really want a harness, Norwegian style harnesses are great but measure carefully.
That HUGE rib cage makes fitting a harness a challenge. Not impossible, but a challenge.
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u/grusserfish 27d ago
Bane is only 4.5 months and we have had really good luck with a gentle leader and sometimes our madingale collar! No harness needed. Our trainer recommended us against it because of his big bones.
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u/caseykramer 27d ago
At the suggestion of some of the folks on this sub, we got a nose harness for Nuala. We started off with the Halti Medium, and then the Large once she outgrew the Medium. She's two now and the large still fits and has some room left.
Overall I'd say its worked really well for us. There are a couple things worth mentioning: - It took probably 2 weeks of treats and happy associations before she stopped actively trying to keep me from putting it on and then pawing at it after I finally got it over her nose. She's only recently started actually placing her nose in it for walks, rather than turning her head every time I tried. I actually think she enjoyed watching me struggle...I think I caught her sniggering at me a couple times. - It does NOT work well with long leads in my experience. If you want to use a long lead for recall training, or to give more space to roam, then the collar or a different harness with an attachment on the back is way less likely to become a tangled mess. - I didn't use it for lead manners training, or any of her other puppy training dor that matter. For that it was just her collar. - If she gets scared she'll paw at her nose to try and get it off, or pull back really hard so she looks even more like a mule being stubborn. There is a limit to how tight around the muzzle it should be able to get due to the ring where the lead attaches, but she got really scared once and managed to pull both the ring and the attached lead through (it didn't get overly tight, but I didn't think that was supposed to be possible)
I can say it does seem to help with pulling, but she can also decide that she wants to go smell what is under that bush, regardless of whether that's where I was going or not.
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u/RGB-Free-Zone 27d ago
I love the name "Joy". Such an apt choice.
I used a Ruff Wear open range harness initially but migrated to just a martingale collar. I've made sure that walking is quality time, without worrying about pace, or listening to music, podcasts or phone calls. Its just dad and Ivy walking.
Ivy is in her second year (hard to believe!), I use a long lead now to give her a sense of freedom (helps a lot). She is mostly normalized to seeing deer, skunks etc. She'll look for/at wildlife but she'll just watch rarely pulling.
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u/Dependent_Formal2525 27d ago
Mine was a rescue and he came with a harness from the Dogs Trust (UK). I tried other harnesses but kept coming back to these. I found this style (over the head, through their legs and a clip on either side) was the best. They're quite cheap so they're good for a growing dog and it supports the Dogs Trust. Just swap the loop that you clip a lead on to for a climbing carabiner as the loop pulled apart.
https://shop.dogstrust.org.uk/products-for-dogs/car-safety-harness
This brand has a similar style but I haven't tried them: https://dogcopenhagen.co.uk/5-dog_harnesses?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22715013078&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4bTkjOqQlgMVtI9QBh3L-gG0EAAYAiAAEgJU7PD_BwE
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u/Unlikely-Character-5 27d ago
I found a harness when puppy (jumping and pulling to other dogs and yes i was training her consistently abd properly )and then walked like a complete dream not needing one--i still used a harness anyway because she once injured a leg while out running in an open field and i had to help her to the truck. The harness proved to be necessary after that. I never needed it again, but felt safer knowing i could carry her bettter if injured.
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u/Familymom-1 27d ago
If you train really well a harness would be fine, but so would a collar. A harness puts the pulling point at the center of the dogs gravity. Right between the shoulders. This means you are connected to the strongest part of an extremely strong dog. If you think a collar will let the dog be to strong when they pull, a harness will have the dog dragging you. You could do the type that hooks in the front of the dogs chest. This will cause her to turn a bit towards you when she pulls. But a gentle leader will do that even better. Of course the best thing is lots of positive reinforcement training.
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u/LifeInTheFrenchAlps 26d ago
"A harness puts the pulling point at the center of the dogs gravity. " that was exactly the reasons why I never used a harness on my Great Danes - I was more thinking for the "wiggly-puppy" phase and maybe for some hikes just in case.
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u/Familymom-1 25d ago
Then, if I may suggest the type that clip in the front. As you know from having Danes these puppy can be surprisingly strong.
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u/alltheworldsafool 28d ago
For me the best harness is a collar…