Chris
Premium Member
All mine have martingales. We went for Leashes By Design -- you practically have to take out a second mortgage, but they're gorgeous, last forever, and don't pull the ruff.
Harness or Collar on a Rescue Dog?
- Thread starter NLadybug
- Start date
romeosangiovese
Forums Enthusiast
For flighty rescues, because I'm paranoid I would have on both a martingale and a harness where the leash clips on in the front. I would remove the harness once I've got the dog less jumpy or I've figured out how to read the dog somewhat. (I have a friend who walks her dog of many years with TWO leashes, so I'm not that bad right? 
)
)Lacey'sMamma
Forums Enthusiast
I just want to add i really didnt like the martingale at all, and i dont feel like its safe... if your that concerned about the dog getting lose then putting on a good harness would be the safe route to go. Or even doing both at the same time. My girl didnt really try and get out of her collar ever so i didnt need it to begin with, and it didnt have a buckle as well. Plus i felt like she would have to way of getting it off if she were to get stuck. and it tightens. My vote is for a harness all the way!
Caro
Moderator
My dogs have both martingales and harnesses and when I use them varies on what we are doing and the type of lead I want them on.
If you are very worried about her getting away you can do both. Try something like an Easy Walk harness with a double lead and hook one end on the front of the harness and the other end on the collar/martingale. This is great for flighty dogs, pulling dogs and escape artists and is gentler on the neck. I went to a seminar on fitting collars and harnesses as part of my instructor training and this was highly recommended for skittish dogs. I am going to try it with my sister's rescue when I go visit her in a few weeks.
If you are very worried about her getting away you can do both. Try something like an Easy Walk harness with a double lead and hook one end on the front of the harness and the other end on the collar/martingale. This is great for flighty dogs, pulling dogs and escape artists and is gentler on the neck. I went to a seminar on fitting collars and harnesses as part of my instructor training and this was highly recommended for skittish dogs. I am going to try it with my sister's rescue when I go visit her in a few weeks.
OntarioSheltie
Forums Celebrity
Hi, I am new to this Sheltie Forum. I have had shelties for over 20 years and I just love them!! I have an 11 year old mahogany sheltie named Duncan, who has been with us all his life. We had our little Bonnie until last year when she was run over by a car.
We have just adopted a blue merle from a shelter, she is 7 years old and from a puppy mill out of state. I had a harness on her and had her outside. My husband started to chop wood, and she got out of that harness and ran! Well, we were able to get her and put her in the house.
My question is: for a rescue dog that has not had much contact with anyone, and with NO training, which type of collar or harness will be best? I REALLY don't want her getting away again!! (We have not rescued a dog like this before.)
Thank you so much for an answer!
On second thought, for a dog that is fearful and has had no previous leash training, a head collar like a gentle leader might be better.
http://dogs.about.com/od/productreviews/gr/gentleleader.htm
A gentle leader would give you more control and when fitted properly, is hard to get off. It stops pulling on the leash and for a nervous dog, can be very calming.
We use a gentle leader on Toby, who we got from a sheltie rescue 4 months ago. He too had no leash skills what so ever and suffers from anxiety. He's doing really well using the gentle leader, which he actually likes wearing (most dogs take a while to get used to it). It calms him down and seems to make feel more secure. When he gets upset it allows me to gain control of him and calm him down MUCH quicker.
If you're still concerned he might escape you could always use a head collar in conjunction with a harness or martingale, until her leash skills improve.
I've also taken Toby to a basic obedience class, which has done wonders for his confidence.
I started by boys as puppies with harnesses. My Maverick was an escape artist and got out once or twice, it really helped train them with pulling and the leashes did not tend to get twisted up in their legs. Since they are big boys now I use the Martingale collars because I really like having a collar with an identifier on it, and they do not pull with these either.
Donna
Donna
I would use a Halti rather than a gentle leader. I found the gentle leader not a strong as the Halti, and it would also get in their eyes. Also the Halti has a saftey strap you can put on their collar incase it would unsnap or the dog get it off. The only problem is the smallest size Halti is a 0 and will only fit one of my shelties. My other sheltie is too small, (ll lbs) so I do use a gentle leader and another leash on a harness as a backup. I am very nervous because both are runners and car chasers. So if you use a gentle leader, use a back up leash too.
Marie
OntarioSheltie
Forums Celebrity
Interesting, I used to have a halti for my parent's sheltie and I found the opposite, that the halti was more cheaply made and that it pulled at Milo's eye. I have seen that the halti's have been improved since I last bought one though.
I have to disagree though, the gentle leader does not interfere with a sheltie's eyes from my experience. I've used it on three shelties for training.
ClantyreSheltie
Forums Sage
Yeah, but 90% of them aren't properly fitted.
I bought a gentle leader a few years ago, so maybe they have improved them. Or maybe it was the kind I bought. I am interested in seeing if they have improved them, as I do need one for my Lexi. I found the nylon thin, but it was a very small size. The halti was thicker and the snap 3x the size. My shelties are very tiny so I think anything probably would get in their eyes. I put the smallest sized Halti on my 2 little ones and it literally fell off of them.