If you’re a new dog owner or getting your first medium or large sized dog, this is probably a question you have.
Small dogs may be fine being walked with a leash by the collar. It can be safe and easy enough, but even they can benefit from a harness.
Larger dogs on the other hand can very easily bend the d ring on their collar out of shape or snap it. They can hurt themselves or you accidentally. A harness helps to prevent a lot of these issues.
Harnesses offer better control, safety, and comfort.
Your dog will thank you for taking the time to size and fit them with a harness. It will improve the quality of walks for both of you and make them more fulfilling.
You won’t have to worry about your dog slipping out of their collar when in a busy area. You can focus more on the walk and your dog instead of worrying about the what-ifs.
We’ll go through the benefits one by one below and lay out the facts for you.
Harnesses Give More Control Over Your Dog
This is especially important with large and very strong breeds. It’s easy for them to pull you along on their walk.
A collar only gives you one point of attachment and one place to control your dog from.
Our Ragnar Harness has two key features to help you keep control over your dog when they get excited.
Redirection
There are two attachment points on our harness. There is one between the shoulder blades and one on the front of the chest.
For dogs that are more inclined to pull, the front harness clip is a great option. Simply hook your leash up to the front harness clipping point and when your dog pulls forward, the force will naturally turn them around.
If you use both attachment points, along with a dual clipping leash like the Fenrir Training Leash, you are then able to have full control over your dog's movement along with two very secure connections to them.
Better Leverage
Those attachment points give you a more secure handle on your dog, but what if you need to act quickly or they just aren’t good enough?
There are two handles on the back of every Ragnar Harness. If you need to act quickly and grab your dog, you have a safe and secure spot to do so.
This can be important near a busy street should something happen and your leash snaps, if your dog decides they want to go chasing squirrels or any other situation where you need to quickly get a handle on the situation.
Harnesses Offer Better Safety
Harnesses offer a safer walking experience than collars alone as well. While nothing is 100% infallible, harnesses are much safer than a collar.
Prevent Neck and Trachea Injuries
When your dog tugs on a collar all of that pressure is across their throat. This can injure or even collapse their trachea.
A harness prevents this from happening entirely. When your dog pulls on a harness the force is distributed across their chest. This is much safer as it’s spread out over a larger area.
The harness doesn’t cut across, buckle around, or sit anywhere near the middle of your dog’s throat, so this is never an issue.
More Secure
Those multiple connection points we talked about earlier serve a secondary purpose as well.
Having multiple places to clip a lead onto means that if a d-ring or clip snaps: you have a back up. Your dog won’t be loose and will still be on a lead.
You can use two normal leads or try something like our Ragnar Training Lead which has an attachment clip on both ends.
Harnesses are also much more difficult for your dog to slip out of than a collar.
Your dog just needs to tug enough to loosen the collar and then they can pull their head out of it.
A harness secures and tightens around the neck, but also buckles and cinches around the waist. It wraps around their stomach behind their front paws and across their chest for a secure fit.
It’s much more difficult to slip out of something that secures the entire torso.
Harnesses are More Comfortable
This can’t be said for all harnesses. They can chafe or rub if the fit is incorrect.
To help combat this, we pad every Ragnar Harness. The top and bottom portions are padded to help prevent any uncomfortable rubbing or cutting into this skin.
This is especially important for dogs with short fur as they don’t have any natural padding against the harness.
Things to Keep in Mind When Buying a Harness
Harnesses aren’t perfect and there are a couple of things you should watch out for. Thankfully, we’re here to be your trusted supplier of dog accessories and are always happy to help!
Sizing
It can be difficult to find a harness that’s the proper size.
Just like people, dogs come in all shapes and sizes. Some even fall between sizes. It can be frustrating and disheartening to try harness after harness and never find a fit.
To combat this, our Ragnar Harness comes in a variety of sizes and all of them are adjustable. They come in sizes small (S) to extra extra large (XXL) to fit the mightiest of canines.
All you have to do is measure around the widest part of your dog’s chest and select the proper size range for their measurement.
Though, we do understand it can be difficult to choose a size when you can’t see the harness you’ll be purchasing.
That’s why we’re always here to help! You can always contact one of our customer support team members and they’ll help you fit your dog with the proper size.
Best of all, if the harness doesn’t fit and you need to do an exchange, we’re more than happy to help. We want you and your dog to feel safe and secure while out on walks.
ID Tags
Harnesses are made for walks. Think of it as a pair of tennis shoes for your dog.
They wear their harness to go out on a walk, hike, to play or to the park. It’s a piece of equipment to be utilised.
Due to this, harnesses tend to lack a place to attach ID and rabies tags. You’ll want to make sure you have a good collar for your dog to wear at all times where their information can be kept.
We offer collars in a variety of colours to match whatever Ragnar Harness you choose, so you and your dog will never be without proper identification.
Conclusion
Harnesses are great accessories for you and your dog. They offer safety and security while out on everything, from a casual walk to a long hike.
You don’t want to be caught without one while training or exploring a new neighbourhood either. They’re stylish and can make all of the difference.
Do you and your dog have a favourite harness? Do you have one of our Ragnar Harnesses?
We’d like to hear all about it and see some photos of your dog enjoying the outdoors, so drop us a line on social media. We’re always waiting to hear from you!