The first thing you need to buy after adopting a new pup is a leash and either a collar or a harness. They're the basic tools that will help keep your dog under control. But one of the most debated questions is: Which is better - a harness and a collar? There's no hard answer to this. It boils down to what your needs and wants are from your gear.
Like any other dog accessory, both equipment have strengths and weaknesses. So, the best choice depends on the temperament, size, training, and medical conditions of your companion. In this guide, we'll look at the differences between harnesses and collars and when and why you should choose each for your dog.
Harness vs. Collar: When and Why to Choose Each for Your Dog
Although dogs are our loyal and affectionate family members, they descended from wolves, and those ancient instincts run deep. For instance, German Shepherds often have strong protective instincts. Cane Corso's are often aloof with strangers. Staffordshire Terriers are often dog selective/ aggressive, and Great Pyrenees are natural livestock guardians that protect their "heard" at all costs.
On the other hand, dogs like Greyhounds were bred for hunting. They have a strong prey drive, keen sight, and high speed. That means a Greyhound can easily spot a squirrel during hikes, and even before you know what's happening, your dog can be gone in seconds.
All of these dogs possess different quirks and characteristics that warrant different devices to keep them safe and secure. Let's review harnesses, and when they work/ when they don't.
Harness Overview
A dog harness is like a vest. It goes around the dog's chest and back instead of their neck. Harnesses come with straps that surround the torso, and then you buckle them up. Then there's a D-ring at the back, front, or both sides, where you attach the leash.
You can relate the straps of a dog harness to how the human safety harness straps secure the body. However, the design of a dog harness borrows much from the chest harnesses of draft animals used for pulling loads, such as water buffalos and oxen.
In fact, most dogs domesticated around 10,000 BC were for working and pulling. As a result, harnesses were originally invented to help dogs pull sleds, just like other working animals. As you can tell, harnesses have a long history, and their design has evolved.
Collar Overview
A collar goes around the dog's neck, just like the normal shirt collar. The collar's design resembles a necklace but has a metal ring for leash attachment. The origin of collars is widely debated, just like the debate of dogs' domestication.
However, given the simple design of collars and the fact that they haven't changed much since their invention, their history dates back to before the harness as one of the original means of securing your animal.
Differences
As we mentioned, these two pieces of equipment have different designs. So, they operate differently, and you can expect the following differences in terms of coverage, comfort levels, and ease of wear.
Comfort
Comfort is a very subjective topic. Debating the comfort of wearing a harness vs. a collar is like arguing the comfort levels between a vest and a necklace. Technically, you'll say a necklace is more comfortable as it doesn't intrude much into your body.
In fact, most dog wonders argue that a dog might not even notice it's wearing a collar, because it's lightweight and just wraps around the neck. When we look at it through the sizing angle, you'll usually fit two fingers between the dog's hairs and the collar to know whether it's the right size.
That means the dog won't be feeling the existence of the collar as much compared to a harness that fits snugly. Somehow, it's true because you also might not even remember you have a necklace around your neck. But when we look through the functionality angle, things change.
Imagine using a necklace as a gear for hanging your tools when working on electricity grids. The necklace would be so uncomfortable, literally choking you and cutting into your sensitive neck skin due to the tools' weight.
That's what your furry friend feels when a leash is attached to the collar, and you're putting pressure on the leash. A good sign that a collar is uncomfortable compared to a harness is that the dog coughs when you put pressure on the leash. The dog can even chafe around the neck.
So, which is the winner? Well, it depends on the pulling behavior. A collar is more comfortable for a trained dog that doesn't pull on a leash, while a harness is more comfortable for a dog that pulls on a leash.
Coverage
Another obvious difference between harnesses and collars is that harnesses offer more coverage than collars. Some harness styles, like the vest harness, offer massive coverage, such that the dog looks like it's wearing a little jacket.
Even the harness styles with minimal coverage like back-clip harnesses and H-style harnesses still have multiple straps that go around the dog's body. Keep in mind that the width of one harness strap is almost the same width as a dog collar.
Weight
The impact of weight depends on your dog. If you have a giant dog like the Saint Bernards, Newfoundlands and Huskies, the weight of a harness or collar is almost negligible to these dogs muscles and massive pulling powers.
However, for small dogs breeds like the 7 pound Chihuahuas and Yorkshire Terriers, every ounce counts. Their delicate frames mean that even a small amount of weight can put extra strain on their joints. You don't want to weigh them down with heavy accessories.
As you can guess, harnesses are heavier than collars. The additional fabric and closures means more weight. For instance, a medium tactical harness weighs about 10 ounces while a step-in harness weighs about 8 ounces.
On the other hand, a medium collar weighs around 1 ounce. Keep in mind that the weight also depends on the materials. For instance, leather harnesses weigh more than nylon harnesses, while chain collars weigh more than nylon and leather collars.
Ease of Wear
Some dogs, such as Terriers, are stubborn and don't like new things. Other dogs like Border Collies and Australian Shepherds are intelligent and can easily recognize restrictive accessories.
So, before your dog becomes comfortable wearing harnesses and collars, you'll want something that takes the least time to put on the dog and buckle. The same applies when you're on a tight schedule, and you're taking the dog for short walks in the early mornings and late evenings.
Remember that the dog won't be sleeping with the collar or harness. So, you'll have to put it on the dog before you go for a walk. Now, the ease of wear between harnesses and collars is another subjective topic. For instance, we have the over-the-head harness that goes over the dog's head like a collar.
So, for the dog to put on this harness, it's like the dog first wears a collar, and then you proceed to the next steps of fitting it around the torso and buckling it up. Usually, these harnesses take longer to put on a dog than collars.
So, collars are the winners in terms of ease of wear and convenience. However, that doesn't work on all dogs and harness styles. Dogs have predatory instincts and perceive anything coming from above their heads as a threat.
In fact, territorial dog breeds might even be aggressive against it. So, when comparing collars to harness styles like step-in-harnesses, your furry friend might be more ready to wear the harness because he just steps into the harness, and you buckle it up.
So, if you're getting into running battles with your dog because it hates anything getting over its head, then a step-in-harness is more convenient.
Security
You have no control over what you'll encounter when you're going out for walks and hikes. For example, you can encounter several squirrels on a hiking trail that has no history of squirrels or meet a stray dog.
The main reason you're getting a harness or a collar is to secure your dog. You want something that will help you keep your furry friend under control, whether he is aggressive and charging to attack, excited and wants to chase a squirrel, or just adventurous and pulls on a leash.
Now, the issue of security is twofold: escaping and breaking. In most cases, harnesses win in both. One, the harness fits snugly on the body, and you secure it using multiple straps. That means the chances of the dog slipping out of these straps are low.
On the other hand, most collars go over the dog's head, which means the head can fit through the collar opening. Even if the collar tightens a little around the neck, remember the two-finger rule, where the collar should leave enough room to slip two fingers.
As a result, a dog that knows how to wiggle can easily slip out of the collar. Also, dogs with narrow heads such as the Greyhounds and Salukis can easily escape even without much wiggling. For the second security issue of breaking, the multiple straps and buckles in harnesses means more strength.
Usually, the straps and buckles share the dog's pulling power. The more buckles there are, the less force there is per buckle. For instance, if the harness has four buckles, and the dog exerts around 100 pounds of pulling force, each buckle holds around 25 pounds of force.
On the other hand, a buckle collar with only one buckle means the buckle has to hold all the 100 pounds. As a result, the chances of the collar breaking is high compared to harnesses. So, a harness is more secure compared to a collar.
Fashion Statement
Dogs are part of our families, and many dog owners don't want to leave their dogs during family events. For instance, you'll want the dog to be part of a family portrait during vacations. At the same time, you might want to match your outfits to show cohesiveness in the photos.
The best way to give your furry friend the same cohesiveness is to match the collar or the harness. But which one gives the best fashion statement? Well, it boils down to coverage. Since the harness covers a larger area of the body, using it to personalize the dog has a more significant impact compared to a collar.
For instance, if the family outfit theme is blue, a blue vest harness is enough to make the dog complement the outfits, even if the dog's coat color is tan. Doing the same for a collar will have less to no impact. It's not even uncommon for the camera to fail to capture the collar depending on the angle and the dog's head position.
Health Risks
The health of your furry friend is one of the most important things to consider, and can make or break your choice for a harness or collar. Now, the harness sits on a larger surface area, usually around the back and chest. As a result, the harness distributes the pressure better than a collar.
In fact, that's why there's a misconception that a back-clip harness encourages pulling. You'll even find some dog trainers advising dog owners not to use harnesses during leash training. But in a real sense, the harness doesn't teach the dog to pull.
The issue is that a harness is so comfortable and distributes pressure so well that the dog throws its pulling force against you without feeling unpleasant. The build-up of the opposition reflex is what makes dogs seem to have a more pulling drive when using back-clip harnesses.
Trainers aside! The fact that a harness sits in less sensitive areas and distributes pressure so well minimizes the chances of injuries and health risks. On the other hand, the collar sits on the dog's neck. When the dog pulls, most of the pressure goes to the trachea area.
The shocking statistics is that when dog collars were tested to see how much pressure they exert on the neck when the dog pulls lightly, strongly and when there's a sudden jerk, the lowest recorded pressure was 83kPa. Considering that a pressure of 4.3kPa is enough to damage the human tissues, it means a dog pulling on a collar can easily cause injuries.
Another heartbreaking research shows that over 26,000 dogs get injured or die every year out of collar accidents. In most cases, it's the collar getting caught on loose roots and branches, dog crates, furniture, gates, and fences. So, if you don't want to risk your dog dying out of strangulation or having trachea collapse issues, consider a harness.
When to Use Harnesses
Now that you know the features of harnesses and some of the harness styles, here is a summary of situations that need a harness instead of a collar.
- Heavy pullers: If your dog is a heavy puller like the Huskies, use harnesses to avoid hurting the dog and causing skin irritations and chafing. However, we suggest you use tactical no-pull harnesses so you can redirect the dog's pulling force and discourage the pulling behavior.
- Brachycephalic dog breeds: If your dog is brachycephalic like the Bulldogs and Boston Terriers, a collar will just worsen the breathing problem. So, use a harness.
- Dogs with orthopedic disease: If your furry friend has skeletal issues and has problems getting up or walking, use a harness so you can help lift him up when necessary, such as when going upstairs.
- Cold weather: During cold weather, it's advisable to use a harness so the dog can benefit from the additional coverage and warmth.
- Personalize: If you want to personalize your dog with things like embroidering and engravings, a harness gives you a bigger surface area to work on.
When to Use Collars
Although we have listed some dangers of collars, it doesn't mean they are bad and shouldn't be used. No! Collars are the best solution in the following situations.
- Daily walks: The collar is easier to put on the dog compared to a harness as long as the dog doesn't have problems with objects getting over the head. So, it's the best option for daily walks.
- Leash training: Since the collar feels unpleasant when the dog pulls, it's a good option for leash training. However, to avoid injuries, we suggest you use high-quality martingale collars that are neoprene-lined.
- ID tag attachments: Collars usually come with rings to attach the dog ID tags. So, when going into crowded places and busy streets, use a collar so you can attach the tag.
- Warm weather: Since the collar offers minimal coverage, it's the best during warm weather.
- Budget: Generally, collars are cheaper than harnesses and are the best option if you're on a tight budget.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, each piece of equipment has its pros and cons depending on the situation. But going by the number of pros vs cons, and the gravity of those pros, we believe harnesses are the overall winner. They win in all the fundamental things such as security, safety and comfort. But for the short daily walks, collars work great.