Dog harness: Here's what you need to look out for!
Many dog owners wonder: dog harness or dog collar?
For us, the answer is simple - it's all about the right mix!
A specialized dog harness is the recommended choice for young dogs, anxious dogs from rescue organizations or for some dog sports. However, in other cases, such as for dogs that walk well on a leash or owners that want additional safety, nothing beats a well-fitting collar or a fur-friendly chain.
Find out everything you need to know about dog harnesses in our guide in order to make the right choice for you and your dog!
Dog harness checklist
Before you buy a dog harness, you should ask yourself whether you can answer the following questions with yes:
Is the dog harness padded?
Does your dog have enough freedom of movement in the harness?
Is the fit of the harness suitable for your dog?
Does the dog harness suit your activities?
Does the dog harness meet your needs (additional safety, reflective properties, etc.)?
You are still at the very beginning of your search? No problem!
Read on - we've summarized the most important things for you.
What types of dog harnesses are there?
Nowadays there is a wide variety of harnesses:
H-harness
Norwegian harness
Step-in harness
Saddle harness
SPRENGER Y-harness
At SPRENGER we know that different dogs and owners have different needs and preferences. For this reason, we also offer high-quality Y-harnesses in addition to our chain collars.
Y-harnesses are an alternative version of the lead harness/H-harness. It is named after the Y-shaped webbing in the chest area and has a particularly tight and therefore secure fit, which reduces the risk of slipping out.
A Y harness is particularly easy to put on: You can simply pull the head loop over your dog's head, pass the chest strap between the front paws and close the buckles on both sides around the chest. This means no stressful paw lifting for your dog!
Our SPRENGER Y harness comes in four different sizes and two different strap widths, making it the right harness for small and large dogs.
You can find out how to measure your dog correctly for our SPRENGER harness here: Measuring your dog.
All the advantages of the SPRENGER Y harness at a glance
Tear-resistant, lightweight nylon
Harness padded with soft neoprene
Ergonomically adapted shape and buckles for individual adjustability
High-quality fasteners for high resilience and safety
Additional safety and visibility in the dark thanks to all-round reflective strips
What is a safety harness?
Safety harnesses for dogs are characterized by their third strap. This wraps around the dog at the narrowest part of the body, making it impossible for the dog to wriggle out.
This type of harness for dogs is particularly helpful for dogs that are new to Germany and is recommended as part of the double safety system.
Double safety for dogs - how does it work?
Especially with particularly anxious dogs, a double safety system may be appropriate in unfamiliar or stressful situations. The reason: these dogs often react instinctively at first and choose to flee from the situation. This becomes particularly problematic if a piece of equipment fails.
For this reason, you need the following for double safety:
Safety harness
The adjustable safety leash is attached to the safety harness and looped around the body or attached to a waist belt so that it cannot be accidentally dropped or slip through the fingers. The lead line is attached to the collar or chain and held in the hand.
How does a dog harness fit properly?
To ensure that the harness fits your dog correctly, it is not only the general fit that is important, but also the correct choice of size. You know that your harness fits correctly and is the right size when there is no strap/ring pressing on the sternum or larynx at the neck and the belly straps have enough distance to the elbows but still rest on the rib area. In addition, you should be able to easily slide your hand under the straps at all points of the harness.
The correct fit for a dog harness:
Our video shows you briefly and concisely how our Y-harness should fit your dog!
It is particularly important that there is a hand's width of space between the front leg and the chest strap so that there is no uncomfortable friction.
The correct fit is also important at the neck. Make sure that it does not sit too high on the neck and thus press on the larynx.
Advantages of dog harnesses
The advantages of dog harnesses are manifold and widely known; it is not for nothing that many trainers swear by them. But harnesses are also an absolute must, especially for special dog sports. Canicross harnesses, mantrailing harnesses, pulling harnesses for dogs and dog harnesses for securing in the car have a special design that is adapted to the specific requirements.
Dog harnesses allow an even distribution of pressure
Many dog owners are concerned that a collar or chain puts too much pressure on the dog's neck, especially with young, wild dogs or dogs that are not yet trained to walk on a lead. In such cases, a well-fitting harness helps to distribute pressure evenly over the dog's entire body.
Dog harnesses provide control and safety
If the harness fits correctly, it reduces the risk of the dog wriggling out compared to normal collars. This is especially true for safety harnesses.
Drawbacks of dog harnesses
Nevertheless, dog harnesses are not the right choice for every dog, the big problem here usually lies in the fit, which is not suitable for the physique of every dog. The consequences:
Dog harnesses often do not fit perfectly
Dog harnesses can chafe
For this reason, choosing the right type and size of dog harness is particularly important!
Dog harnesses restrict dogs
Some types of harnesses are not particularly well suited to dogs anatomically. Not only can they restrict their movements uncomfortably, especially in the shoulder area, but they can also cause permanent damage due to incorrect loading. For this reason, saddle harnesses for dogs are not recommended.