Why Harnesses may not be the Best Training Tool

Back-clip harnesses make it comfortable to pull.

Recently, harnesses have been rising in popularity for dog training and handling. But in some contexts, harnesses can actually make training less effective or can even make behavioral problems worse. So when is a good time to use a harness, and when is it best left at home?

Not every harness is created equal, nor are they created for the same purposes. There are two main types of harnesses; back-clip and front-clip. Within these types, there are different designs and purposes. For this article, we're going to look at the overarching characteristics of these harnesses.

Back-Clip Harnesses

Back-clip harnesses are designed to make it comfortable for the dog to pull. They take pressure off the dog's neck and distribute it around the dog's core. Because there's very little pressure around the neck, back-clip harnesses are popular for brachycephalic dogs.

When it comes to dog sports, back-clip harnesses serve as a very useful tool. In fact, almost every dog sport that involves pulling uses them: sled dog racing, bikejoring, skiijoring, etc. Without back-clip harnesses, those sports couldn't exist as they do today.

However, the same reasons they are used in sports may be reasons you should not use them outside of sports. We'll use bitework training as an example.

In bitework sport foundation training, a puppy is put in a harness and held back from a toy they want, which makes them want it more. The puppy can pull as much as they want without choking or feeling discomfort, and they are encouraged to pull. The longer they pull towards the toy, the more they become frustrated that they can't reach it. This generally leads to barking out of frustration, or biting if they can get close enough - which, in the context of this sport, is what we want. We use back-clip harnesses to build motivation (frustration), commitment (fixation) and speed (pushing forward or pulling as hard as they can) while keeping the puppy comfortable.

Many pet owners inadvertently do bitework foundation with their dogs out on their regular walks. They allow their dogs to pull towards or restrain their dogs from distractions (while allowing fixation or staring), which is key in creating reactive dogs... because frustration and fixation are exactly what lead many dogs to become reactive. If pulled away or restrained from the distraction, frustrated dogs will often have an oppositional reflex and will pull even harder towards the trigger. When pulling is easy and comfortable, a dog who really wants something is not going to give up just because they can't reach it. As mentioned above, frustration = motivation.

Furthermore, back-clip harnesses limit your ability to communicate with your dog using a leash because pressure is distributed around your dog's core. A leash and collar add pressure around the head/neck which gives relatively clear directional cues to the dog. Just like riding a bike or driving in a car, the direction we look tends to be the direction in which we go. With a leash and collar, we can use upward tension on the leash and dogs tend to sit: we can add downward tension on the leash and dogs tend to lay down. When a dog is in a back-clip harness and pressure is distributed around the core instead of the neck, we can't give clear directional cues using the leash.

Because of all these factors, back-clip harnesses are especially detrimental for dogs who are prone to reactivity, anxiety, or struggle with other behavioral issues. Those dogs greatly benefit from clear and concise communication and expectations as well as directional control, and the leash can be an effective way to communicate what we want and don't want our dogs to do - especially if paired with other tools that enhance leash communication. The back-clip harness, unfortunately, is not one of those tools.

Back-clip harnesses are great in certain situations (dog sports, dogs with special needs, etc.) and in specific training exercises. For example, if you are working towards off-leash reliability and have your dog dragging a long line, a back-clip harness can keep the line from getting tangled around your dog's legs better than a collar can. However, they don't offer much help for general obedience and leash training.

Front-Clip Harnesses

Front-clip harnesses (popularly referred to as "no-pull harnesses") attach near the dog's chest, in front of the shoulders. These are designed to "cinch" around the shoulders when the dog pulls, which inhibits full range of motion. This stops a strong dog from pulling with full force. It also gives the handler some ability to turn the dog with leash pressure.

Front-clip harnesses aren't used in any dog sports, as inhibiting natural range of motion isn't safe for dogs who are being active. In addition, these harnesses are problematic when it comes to puppies and adolescent dogs. Puppies need to experience their full range of motion: their growth plates aren't closed and they're still developing muscle and muscle-memory. Inhibiting a puppy's range of motion can lead to physical problems later, possibly contributing to injuries or an abornmal gait later in life.

Dogs normally carry 60% of their weight on their front legs. Studies have shown that dogs that frequently wear front-clip harnesses shift more weight to their hindquarters, which suggests that the discomfort they experience in a front-clip harness can cause them to change their gait and posture.

Research also shows that even when no leash is attached to a front-clip harness, it still inhibits full range of motion and affects how dogs carry their weight. This is why puppies, sport dogs, dogs with previous or current shoudler injuries and dogs who have other issues with natural movement should not wear front-clip harnesses.

Furthermore, we have found that although front-clip harnesses make pulling less effective (for the dog), they do not discourage strong-willed dogs from pulling. Dogs that want to pull will continue to do so with an abnormal gait, and will build frustration just as they do in back-clip harnesses.

In general, we never recommend a front-clip harness. We also never recommend a dual-clip harness, because it has the same frontal design as a front-clip harness and inhibits motion.

When and When Not to Use a Harness?

We aren't recommending you never use a back-clip harness under any circumstances. It's important to remember that harnesses do not cause pulling - a lack of training or an unaddressed behavioral issue does. If your dog consistently walks nicely and doesn't pull on a flat collar, chances are they can quickly learn to walk nicely in a harness. But harnesses are detrimental if your dog already pulls, is reactive, or suddenly 'flees' when frightened of something (many dogs can easily slip out of a harness): that's where we highly recommend training with other tools.

If you plan on using a back-clip harness - whether for sport, a brachycephalic dog, or another special circumstance - do your own research on the various types of back-clip harnesses. Some brands are higher quality than others, and some are specially designed for specific purposes. Make sure your harness is well-fitted to the type of dog you have.

Training Tool Alternatives

In our article "Tools - Don't Judge a Book by It's Cover", we review in-depth several tools that can be helpful when training dogs to respond to leash pressure and not pull.

One of the tools we recommend is the prong collar, a type of martinage collar which has been controversial in the world of dog training. Many trainers suggest prong collars are designed to cause pain and fear in order to get obedience from the dog, and that they can never be used humanely. This is untrue and fails to understand the design of the prong collar. Unlike flat collars, prong collars are designed to distribute leash pressure evenly around a dog's neck so the dog doesn't injure their trachea if they pull. If a dog has a prong collar on and they are not pulling, they do not feel any pressure. If they choose to pull, they experience aversive pressure to the extent that they pull.

Prong collars are especially helpful to reduce reactivity (excessive lunging or barking at the sight of people and/or dogs), because reactive behaviors often come from a place of over-arousal. When properly used, prong collars keep a dog's arousal level lower by reducing pulling and fixation. The prong collar also gives a perfectly timed self-correction if the dog decides to make a poor choice by lunging at their trigger. There are proper and improper ways to use the prong collar, so make sure to consult a professional trainer if you want to use a prong collar for training.

Other martingale collars can help for dogs that don't pull as hard, and are a great choice for dogs who are skittish as they can't slip out of a properly-fitted martingale. Martingales are also great (practically necessary) for dogs like Greyhounds, whose heads are as slim as their neck - which makes for an easy escape from flat collars.

If conditioned properly, gentle leaders work for some dogs as well. However, many dogs find them more aversive than a prong collar because of the constant pressure around the dog's nose. We don't recommend 'choke chains' or flat collars for reducing pulling, as both of these tools put all the pressure on the trachea if the dog pulls.

Good Training = A Strong Bond Between You and Your Dog!

In every situation, assess your dog and their needs. Are they ready for a harness? Is there really any benefit to using a harness instead of another tool? Sometimes the answer to this is "absolutely!" but that's not always the case. Sometimes, there are better tools to help you and your dog form a stronger bond as you accomplish training goals. A well-trained dog is a well balanced dog who can enjoy more activities with you!