You will have no doubt heard about the miracle NO PULL HARNESS and I certainly get asked a lot about them. So if you have a dog that pulls, is a “NO PULL” Harness your magical solution to your walkie woes? What is a NO PULL Harness? How do they magically stop a dog from pulling?
Well honestly the only difference between a NO PULL Harness and any other Harness is that a NO PULL Harness has a front D ring.
Of course you want a very strong constructed harness with thick strong straps, adjustment at the neck and chest points, and the front straps should go around the shoulders at the front and not across them, so it doesn’t affect the dogs gait when they walk and you want secure, quick release buckles but you want that for any harness. It can be a classic style or step-in-style design, the only thing that makes it a NO PULL harness is the front D ring. Some may also have a side ring added as well.
So you can see anyone can advertise a NO PULL Harness if it has a front D ring on it. The harness itself has no specific construction or unique design to stop your dog from pulling. It still comes down to training your dog to walk nicely on the leash. The entire concept of the NO PULL Harness is based on the fact that by attaching a leash from the front instead of at the rear, like with all other harnesses without a front D ring, that you can change the dogs’ direction when it pulls while you are walking.
Similar concept with training using a halter. By changing the dogs’ direction and redirecting their attention, from the front, you are essentially turning the dog around towards you if it starts pulling the leash taut. With a rear attached leash however the dog literally just pulls against you and this encourages its reflex to pull back even more. You need to lift your leash UP if your dog pulls when the leash is attached from the rear of the harness and not BACK to discourage the natural urge to pull harder against you. So you still will need to put some training and effort into getting your dog to walk nicely on a leash even with a NO PULL Harness. It is not a magical designed harness that miraculously just stops your dog from pulling. HOWEVER some people do find it works well to stop their dogs pulling finally and making their walk more enjoyable by having the leash attached from the front instead of the rear of the harness and pulling them into them to slow them down with some effort, training and time.
With NO PULL Harnesses you can also get a double ended leash or leash attachment and have the leash attached at both the front and the rear positions for better control while walking your dog essentially pulling them back from both points simultaneously.
Currently we only have a few NO PULL Harnesses but because of their popularity we are choosing with all our new designs to have a front D ring added for those who really want a NO PULL Harness or to be able to attach a leash from the front. I find however most people who request one don’t actually know what they are asking for, and think that their dog will just miraculously stop pulling if wearing one. Unfortunately its not quite that simple and there are what some believe pros and cons of both, meaning positioning your leash at the front or at the rear, as remember essentially this is the only thing that makes a NO PULL Harness different from any other harness.
Complaints such as easily becoming tangled with the leash when its placed at the front or I’ve heard of the NO PULL harness coming off to the side and the dog able to escape them. However if any harness is coming off when pulled via a leash from the side or the front or even the rear – it just isn’t adjusted correctly and most likely not tight enough or doesn’t fit the dog, or it is poor quality construction and stretching as the materials can not cope with the pressure of the dog pulling against it, as a properly fitting, quality harness, will not do that. If you have googled this topic there is a lot of debate of whether NO PULL Harnesses and halters are harmful and interestingly a lot of the most prominently advertised "NO PULL HARNESSES" I've seen are actually a design where the straps go across the front at the shoulders and not up and over the shoulders and this causes problems with the dogs natural gait. Most concern seems to be regarding these badly designed harness styles more so than anything to do with attaching the leash and walking your dog via a front D ring.
So if you have dog that pulls, you definitely want to get them a harness rather than a collar, as a harness will redirect them via their chest, not pull their neck and head and tug their throat and choke them. You can try a harness that has a front D ring (NO PULL Harness) and experiment with where you attach the leash to the harness – either the front – or the back – or perhaps try both and see which position is better for your walks.
Make sure any harness is adjustable at both the chest and neck positions so you can get the right fit of the harness for your dog as I find so many dog breeds need more adjustment for a smaller neck and larger chest ratio and many cheap harnesses have no neck adjustment at all. This means the harness was purchased for the chest dimensions only and/or to make sure it would go over the dogs head. This does not give a good comfortable fit, usually the neck is too large and gaping once it is on or the entire harness sizing was selected to fit the dogs chest only. Poor fitting harnesses will add to your walkie woes and are uncomfortable and unsafe. Also ensure the strapping of the harness at the front goes around the shoulders not across the front of the shoulders as this affects the dogs’ normal gait when walking. Invest in a top quality, well-designed, fully adjustable harness especially if you have a dog that pulls!!! Sometimes just a properly fitted harness can make all the difference.
If you have a leash with only one clasp and you are wanting to try a NO PULL Harness on your dog with dual leash positions, see our 2-in-1 Leash Extenders which can be added to your existing leash. Typically this could be used to walk two dogs simultaneously but it can also be used to extend your existing leash so that you have one clip for the front and a second clip for the rear of the NO PULL harness. Our Adjustable 2-in-1 Leash Extenders also work on our car restraints to clip 2 dogs into one car seatbelt buckle and could also be used with your existing car restraint and no pull harness as well for dual connection in the car.
So I hope this clears up exactly what a NO PULL Harness IS and also what it is NOT. You will still need to invest in training your dog to walk nicely on a leash, but there could be some simple ways to get this sorted quickly with a correctly fitting harness, the right style of harness that works for you and your dog and some awesome accessories such as convenient treat bags to make your walkie woes dissapear!
Hendricks and Maple have both step-in-style, classic style and NO PULL style Harnesses available with high quality construction and high quality materials, all our harnesses are adjustable at both the chest and neck points, and all shoulder straps go around the shoulder at the front and not across the shoulder at the front, they are lined with breathable mesh for your dogs comfort and have secure quick release buckles, we have sizes ranging from XXS up to XL so check them out and purchase online at www.hendricksandmaple.com
We also ship worldwide, offer AFTERPAY, have eGIFT CARDs for any amount and no expiry too, so perfect for gifting especially when you don’t know sizing or preferences. We also have many matching accessories available for our harness ranges to make your walkies easier, more enjoyable and effortless such as treat bags and walkies bags that are both crossbody, over-the-shoulder or hands-free waist designs, leash extenders and car restraints, as well as soft fabric leashes in luxe corduroy, velvet and silky-smooth denim fabrics and cotton rope leashes which are perfect for dogs that pull so that you don’t hurt your hands hanging onto them, so jump online and check out our gear and GIVE YOUR BOW SOME WOW!
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