Harnesses

Daisy has walked in a harness since she was really quite small - more details here. It has really worked well for her, essentially stopping her pulling from the point where she began to wear it, which made my life much more straightforward.

I opted for a type that she couldn't extract herself from - she bounces around such a lot that I felt that anything she could climb out of, back out of or needed lifting into was not going to work. On the advice of a local trainer, I tried a variant on the "perfect fit" harnesses just called the "fleece lined" (I bought mine from a local supplier, but the only online stockist I can find is the manufacturer - see here) which go over the dog's head , with a strap between their front legs, under their arms and clip closed. The lead fastens between the shoulder blades on the back, or optionally, there can be a second ring added on the chest strap so the dog can be turned from the front end as well. The Mekuti and various other harness types work in the same way, but I particularly liked the wider, fleece-lined straps on the perfect fit. Not based on anything except gut feel. but I thought that when Daisy was tying herself in knots on the end of the lead it was probably worth having that extra layer of padding to stop her getting chafed.

The fleece-lined and perfect fit harnesses from the manufacturer

Another type that was recommended to me by a fellow pet owner, but that ultimately I felt was inappropriate for Daisy was a type of harness marketed as "no-pull". This appears to be the harness equivalent of a check collar - and gives me some of the same concerns. The most well known is the one made by the Company of Animals (a tiny bit more information about them on CoA's own site here). The harness is marketed as instantly stopping pulling, as when the dog dashes off the harness tightens around the chest and legs, reminding it not to charge off - and many people have reported success with this. I'm not sure what would happen though if rather than instantly stopping pulling when pressure is applied the dog simply continued to pull. The harness would tighten to the maximum (as a check collar does when the dog pulls against it)  and then have no effect, while potentially having a health impact because it's constricting the chest area.

The Hurtta Lifeguard Harness. Same shape as the Pro Padded

The final type I considered while trying to figure out what was best for Daisy was the Hurtta Pro Padded Harness (and its more brightly coloured cousin, the Hurtta Lifeguard) but I ultimately decided against this fit shape because it appears to concentrate the pressure from the dog pulling across the chest, rather than around the chest and under the body. I'd also be concerned that the harness could slip if it isn't adjusted perfectly and the dog pulls suddenly, especially as Daisy and Cybi do both pull suddenly, and in any one of several directions.

I have recently seen the Hurtta Y harness, which looks very similar to the perfect fit. I'm tempted to try it while I'm about to buy a harness for Cybi - I'd be interested to see if the very slight difference in the way the neck and leg loops come together on the two harnesses makes any noticeable difference. The Y harness also only has one clip, where the perfect fit has 2.

The Hurtta Y Harness

In addition to these harness type that have a "steering" or "corrective" role, there are also a wide variety of harnesses that serve the same function as a flat collar in that they are simply somewhere to attach the lead. These are fine for the dogs that are sensible enough not to throw themselves around while walking but most seem too "escapable" for me to be happy trying them on my idiots. I have my suspicions that Daisy would be able to wriggle backwards out of the one below due to the wider neck hold produced by taking the chest strap back to the belly band, rather than bringing the leg bands forwards to the neck strap as with the Hurrta Y harness and the Perfect Fit. I could just see her coming to a complete halt, and my continuing to walk -effectively pulling the harness over her head.

A "normal" harness, expertly modelled by a friend's dog.

I do know a lot of dogs for which this type of harness works well, though, and it's certainly worth considering as an alternative to the traditional single point of contact at the dog's neck.