Skip to content

How To Put On A Dog Harness – A Step-By-Step Guide

A dog is your best friend for life, and you always want the best for them. From getting the best quality food to investing in essential equipment that keeps it safe, you will want to ensure that you give your dog the best items and care to help it lead a wonderful and healthy life. An essential product that every dog owner must own is a harness. It is the safest way to walk a dog and prevent it from running into harm.

Why Choose a Harness Over a Collar?

Although many dog owners use a collar, a harness is much more practical and popular for several reasons. Since a harness distributes the pressure and weight across the chest and not the neck area, the risk of choking is much lesser than when using a traditional collar. It also offers much better flexibility to the owner, who can grab it from multiple places, depending on the situation and position of the dog. Finally, it is much easier to train a dog with a harness as it does not allow the dog to pull beyond a certain point and gives the owner more control during training.

How To Put a Harness On Your Dog

Before you get a harness, you must take neck and girth measurements of your dog, so you get the right size for it. You must also decide which material is right for you and your dog before buying a harness. Once you’ve got a durable and sturdy harness, here’s how you can go about putting it on your dog.

  1. Allow Your Dog to Sniff the Harness– Hold the harness or keep it down for your dog to sniff and inspect it before you try putting it on. This will allow it to become familiar with the harness and reduce any fear it may have about having it on for the first time.
  2. Let Your Dog Calm Down Before You Start– It is much easier to put a harness on when your dog is calm as compared to when he is too excited and jumping about. Let it calm down and stand beside you before you attempt to put on the harness.
  3. Put The Harness On– Based on your preference, you can either get a step-in harness or an overhead harness. You can put on a step-in harness by placing your dog’s paws in the triangular slots on either side of the chest strap. Then, simply buckle the harness around your dog and you’re good to go. In the case of an overhead harness, you must slip it over the dog’s head and tuck the centrepiece under its chest. Finally, fasten the straps around the dog’s body, behind its legs. In either case, if the dog is hesitant, you can lure it down by offering it a treat and then gently putting the harness as described. Don’t forget to tighten the straps if the harness is too loose, and alternatively loosen it up a bit if the harness is too tight.
  4. Take Baby Steps– Before you take your dog on the road for a walk, check whether it is comfortable with the harness on at home. Once it’s comfortable at home, take it outside in your garden to see if it is still fine with the harness outdoors. Only after you’re confident your dog is comfortable, attach a leash on the harness and start exploring the big wide world with your favourite animal.

A dog harness is an essential investment that goes a long way in keeping your dog safe and helping you enjoy your walks with it. At Space Textiles, we’re proud to offer British-made dog harnesses that are designed to provide the ultimate comfort and performance. All our products are strong and durable and have been designed to fit your dog well and to offer it maximum comfort and protection. Check out our exclusive range and shop now!

Basket
Back To Top