# Harness or NOT



## Cleo101 (Jun 3, 2011)

As most of U know I am expecting my very first mini poodle :act-up: I just have a few questions...

1. Is it ok to put a harness on ur poodle when U are taking him/her for a walk and take it off once U are back home? I am going to keep my poodle short until I can learn the clipping techniques...So that is why I am wondering about the harness....

2. Is it ok to put bows in poodles ears (hair)? 

Since this is my very first poodle I wanna make sure I do what is best for her, I am kinda worried about the bonding issues tho...Because since she has been with my dad/mom for 2 yrs....I am just worried that she wont adapt to my ways...My mom said that once she brings her, she wants me to do everything for her (my poodle) so that she will bond with me...She is already crate trained so that is a plus for me, and my mom is bring me her crate...She has been around other dogs and children so that is not a concern for me..My concern is how my dogs will adapt to another dog on the house....

Any pointers will be helpful to me, since I have a few weeks before she will be here, so I can plan and get ready for her:act-up:


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## ArreauStandardPoodle (Sep 1, 2009)

I do not like harnesses. It is my opinion that they throw out a dogs elbows, making them look like a Bulldog.

Bows???? Of course! If people can put their Chihuahua's in dresses, why not a Poodle with bows?

Just love her. She will bond with you when she knows she is part of your pack and that she is loved.


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## WestCoastSpoo (May 11, 2011)

ArreauStandardPoodle said:


> Just love her. She will bond with you when she knows she is part of your pack and that she is loved.


I love that! So simple, and so true :love2:


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

I don't like harnesses, either, but I know people who use them on their mini's. I don't know of any standard poodles that use them, though.

Bows? Yes, of course. And you can paint their toenails if you want,too.


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## jade cat (Sep 22, 2009)

We use a harness for Eddy, he needs to be nice and safe in our car


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## faerie (Mar 27, 2010)

i use harnesses on my cairn terriers. they are 17 pound puppers. i won't use anything else for them.
why? 
they are evil. pure and simple. especially lily monster.
we call them the bad babies (even though they are 6 year old dogs) 
i love them to distraction, even max, who is dumb as a box of rocks.
anyway ... 

i like the harnesses on my little guys because they can't turn and back out of it like a buckle collar (which i had happen w/ lily and she ran in traffic and it was so terrierfying) and while it's not the perfect collar for walking and training a dog, it has come in SO handy when walking my little guys.

little guys can't pull like my bigger girls so i'm not as concerned about my arm going out of socket, the cairns walk fine on lead w/ harness. 

i'm not talking obedience trained walking in heel, but just walking.
the harness works because there are idiots in this world who think all the time how their dog is perfect so they dont need to use a leash.

then the dog comes charging up at the little guys. i've had to reach down and grab 2 cairns up by harness in my arms at same time to keep some fricking dog from chomping them.

also since my cairns are so evil they aren't always obedient. (HUGE difference between cairns and poodles who will actually mind on occasion ...*sigh*) if they aren't coming from the yard or heaven forbid escape and are on the loose (cairns are notorious escape artists) and i have to snatch them up I can grab the harness. gives me enough momentum to pull them up in my arms.

you can put bows in their hair and or give them a tiara and wings if you want.

aww ... by faerie made, on Flickr


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## Cleo101 (Jun 3, 2011)

*Thanks!!!*

thanks everyone for their input on this...I think I will use a harness just for walking atleast until I feel comfortable and then use just a collar....My mom has told me that she does not walk the greatest on a leash that is why I wanted to know if a harness would be better atleast I can control her better and shes never ridden in a car before so that might be a challenge for me as well...But I hope not, I hope she will grow to love rides just like my 5lb Diamond does :act-up:


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## sschoe2 (Mar 16, 2011)

Poodles have delicate tracheas, I don't like having the leash attached only to the collar and applying pressure to the neck. 

I use the easy walk harness and Victoria Stillwell's technique of taking 5 paces backwards when they pull.


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## WestCoastSpoo (May 11, 2011)

I was just reading "Family Friendly Dog Training" by Patricia McConnell and she actually recommends a harness style for some dogs - but the kind where the leash attaches in the FRONT, at the chest of the dog. That way they don't get that pulling urge they would with a normal harness and it's easy to control them because when you pull it, it kind of turns their whole front end. I think that would have worked well with the Yorkie we had, but I'm not sure what I'll use with our spoo pup...


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## WestCoastSpoo (May 11, 2011)

jade cat said:


> We use a harness for Eddy, he needs to be nice and safe in our car


I love your pic of Eddy - he looks so happy to be feeling the wind on his face  ADORABLE!


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## sschoe2 (Mar 16, 2011)

Yep that's the easy walk. It attaches on the chest and kneck to the collar so when they pull they get deflected to the side which is similar to the sensation of a correction with a choke collar (an out of balance sensation that snaps them out of it).


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## PaddleAddict (Feb 9, 2010)

I don't like harnesses, even on tiny toys, because they encourage pulling (they evenly distribute pressure so that it is not uncomfortable for the dog to pull--in fact, it feels good for them to pull on a harness, unlike on a regular collar) and don't reinforce loose-leash walking. A poodle's trachea is no more delicate than any other dog. The main thing is you must train the dog for loose-leash walking. Front clip harnesses are a training tool. They are not intended to be used for life, but are a temporary tool to help you as you train loose-leash walking on a buckle collar and leash.


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

I am no expert but I have had no problem using a collar on Swizzle. I asked the vet and she said it was fine. Swizzle picked up walking with a loose leash very easily.


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## jade cat (Sep 22, 2009)

WestCoastSpoo said:


> I was just reading "Family Friendly Dog Training" by Patricia McConnell and she actually recommends a harness style for some dogs - but the kind where the leash attaches in the FRONT, at the chest of the dog. That way they don't get that pulling urge they would with a normal harness and it's easy to control them because when you pull it, it kind of turns their whole front end. I think that would have worked well with the Yorkie we had, but I'm not sure what I'll use with our spoo pup...


Ha Ha Thank you Eddy is a proper odd ball, I think he likes to pose for the camera really!!


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