The use of a harness vs. a collar
Is it harmful to attach a leash to your dog’s neck?
By Emily Larlham
People who live with dogs for companionship and friendship all want what is physically and
psychologically best for their dog. We get dogs as companions in order to experience friendship,
trust and to take care of another living creature that depends on us for their wellbeing. Many of us
have a sense of pride when it comes to taking care of our beloved dogs, so finding out about
information that conflicts with how we are already caring for our pet can feel like a personal affront. I used to walk dogs with the leash attached to a collar or slip lead until I was confronted by someone
who suggested I use harnesses instead to prevent neck injury. I felt harassed, annoyed and in
disbelief that this ‘know it all’ dare lecture me on how I take care of dogs, because I love my dogs
dearly! I also felt a feeling of shame from the social interaction of being told I was doing something
wrong by a stranger in a public place. Although the information hurt, a seed was planted in my brain
and it began to grow. It has only been a handful of years since I started using only harnesses on
dogs and wince when I see a dog hit the end of their lead on a collar. In this article I will attempt to convince you for your dog’s quality of life and physical wellbeing to not
to attach a leash to your dog’s throat. Be it for any reason such as obeying leash laws, managing
behavior, or being in a serious rush to get out the door. I strive to put forth the information in a way
that will not cause the reader the feelings I felt when I first was asked to consider using a harness
instead of a collar.
Aren’t dog’s necks constructed differently than ours?
The use of a harness vs. a collar
A main argument I have heard for the use of collars is that dog’s necks are sturdy, strong and not like
our necks at all. In actual fact, the neck of a canine is physiologically similar to that of a human. Our
general anatomy is so similar to dogs that human medicine has been tested on dogs. Get down on
all fours and gently feel your dog’s neck while you are feeling your own. Both of our necks contain
the trachea, oesophagus, thyroid gland, lymph nodes, jugular veins and spinal column relatively
within the same places. Both contain muscles in relatively the same places.
A dog’s skin is very similar to ours too. Obviously dogs are hairier than us and do not sweat, but the
skin is almost exactly the same apart from the epidermis of a dogs skin being only 3-5 cells thick
when our top layer of skin is 10-15 cells thick.
Can attaching a leash to a collar on your dog’s neck be physically
harmful? Attaching a leash to a dog’s collar can indeed cause physical harm to your dog if the dog were ever
to hit the end of the leash or pull on the leash. This is because the neck of a dog is full of very
The use of a harness vs. a collar
delicate and important physiology that keeps your dog healthy. The thyroid gland for example is
located in the front of the neck below the larynx. Just one incident of pulling on a collar could
possibly cause severe damage to your dog’s health in the same way as damage to your own neck
could cause lasting health issues for you. Why would you take that risk? The only real benefit of
having your dog wear a collar rather than a harness is that it is faster and easier for the dog’s handler
to put on for a walk.
The Dangers of Using Collars:
Neck Injuries- Just one incident of pulling or running fast to the end of the leash could possibly
cause serious neck damage. Neck injuries could include bruising, whiplash, headaches, crushed
trachea, damage to larynx, and fractured vertebrae. A neck and spinal cord injury can cause
paralysis or neurological problems.
In a study of 400 dogs by Anders Hallgren published in “Animal Behaviour Consultants Newsletter”
in 1992, he found that “Pulling and jerking on the leash affect especially the neck and throat in the
dog. As expected, there was no correlation between leash handling and thoracic/lumbar defects. However, one of the clearest correlations in the whole study was between cervical (neck) damages
and 'jerk and pull'. 91% of the dogs who
had neck injuries had also been exposed to jerking on the leash by the owner or been allowed to pull
hard on the leash for long periods of time.” “Playing is harmless ‐ but warm up first. Dogs that often
run, play with other dogs, jump out of happiness or over obstacles, showed no correlation with back
problems. This is encouraging. However, dogs should be given massage and a chance to warm up
before strenuous activities, whether it's before rough playing, hunting or agility.”
Ear Issues- In the study by Pauli AM, Bentley, E Diehl, KA, Miller, PE ‘Effects of the application of
neck pressure by a collar or harness on intraocular pressure in dogs’, it was found that pressure in
the eyes “was significantly increased from base-line values when a force was applied to the neck via
a leash to a collar, but not to a harness, in the dogs of this study.” This type of intraocular pressure
can cause serious injury to dogs already suffering thin corneas, glaucoma, or eye injuries.
Eye Issues- Dr. Peter Dobias, DVM states in an article ‘Dog collars can cause disease and possibly
lead to cancer’ which can be found here: http://www.peterdobias.com/community/2011/07/dogcollars-can-cause-disease-and-possibly-lead-to-cancer/, that “Ear and eye issues are frequently
related to pulling on the leash. When dogs pull on the leash, the collar restricts the blood and
lymphatic flow to and from the head.”
Hypothyroidism- The collar rests on the neck in the area of the thyroid gland. As Dr. Peter Dobias
says in his article, “This gland gets severely traumatized whenever a dog pulls on the leash, it
becomes inflamed and consequently “destroyed” by the body’s own immune system when it tries to
remove the inflamed thyroid cells. The destruction of the thyroid cells leads to the deficit of thyroid
hormone – hypothyroidism and because the thyroid gland governs the metabolism of every cell. The
The use of a harness vs. a collar
symptoms may be low energy, weight gain, skin problems, hair loss and a tendency to ear infections
and organ failure.”
Malfunction of the nervous system in the forelimbs- Another health issue that Dr. Dobias points
out in his article on collars is the possibility of malfunction of the nervous system in the forlimbs. He
states, “Excessive paw licking and foreleg lameness can also be related to your dog’s collar. Leash
pulling impinges the nerves supplying the front legs. This can lead to an abnormal sensation in the
feet and dogs may start licking their feet. These dogs are often misdiagnosed as allergic and all that
needs to be done is to remove the collar and treat the neck injury.”
Behavioral Problems- It is commonly believed that in all animals with a brain, behavior is linked to
health. In Anders Hallgren study published in “Animal Behaviour Consultants Newsletter” in 1992, he
found correlations between injury and behavior. Anders writes, “That dogs are so similar to humans
may come as a surprise to many.” “A common cause of behavioral troubles in dogs is disease or
pain. According to those who work with problem dogs, the most usual source of pain
and disease is damage to the muscles and bones.” Anders study was focused on back injuries. Of
the group of 400 dogs, 79% of the aggressive dogs had back problems, while 21% had no back
problems. Of the reserved shy dogs 69% had back problems while 31% had no back issues. This
study shows that there is a correlation between physical health and behavioral problems.
If it’s damaging their necks, why don’t they stop pulling?
If pulling on the collar is damaging to dogs’ necks, why don’t they stop pulling?! Dogs are not
humans and do not operate behaviorally in the same way we do. It would be commonsense for us
humans to stop when we hear ourselves gagging. Our anatomy is similar physically, however our
brains are very different. We cannot make assumptions about dog’s behavior based on how we
behave. If you grabbed an office worker by the tie, he wouldn’t suddenly start madly puling in all
directions going red in the face to get to the walls to pee on them or strain and scream to get to the
female office workers in the building or repetitively hit the end of his tie again and again to see if they
could reach the free doughnuts in the lunch room until he flipped himself onto his back. I have seen
dogs walk on their two back legs with their weight shifted onto the collar to get somewhere. I have
The use of a harness vs. a collar
seen dogs pull so hard that they cannot get a breath into their lungs and dogs drawing in rasping
breaths. I have also seem people jerk their dog so that their dogs whole body lifts off the ground,
and as soon as the dog is on the ground again, he is hitting the end of the leash to get to that other
dog on the other side of the street.
Some dogs would chase a ball or herd sheep until they died from overheating. I know dogs that
have broken off their teeth trying to get through fence or crate, and dogs that have ripped out their
toenails scratching at the door when an owner left for 5 minutes. My border collie ripped off the
pads of her feet while playing in the desert and did not show any behavioral signs of injury until she
got up from a nap, and I realized the pads of her feet were gone. If you have watched the show
Animal Cops you might have seen abuse cases of ingrown collars and severe neck lacerations,
where dogs are walking around normally as if nothing happened with a huge gaping neck wound. Dogs do not exhibit or react to injury in the same ways we do.
How can we know what a dog is experiencing? Is there a way we
can measure pain or suffering?
There is no reliable way of measuring suffering or pain in animals, or humans for that matter. The
most reliable way to measure pain and suffering in humans is through verbal communication with the
patient. MRI scans of the brain can also shed some light on how others feel. Measuring cortisol
levels or stress hormone levels have proven to be an unreliable way to measure pain or suffering, as
they are just too unpredictable in studies. For example, in human abuse cases stress levels could
either be higher or lower than average and conclude nothing. The same unpredictable results can
happen when measuring stress in dogs. Therefore at this point in time there is no reliable way to
scientifically deduce the psychological implications caused by wearing a collar. All we know is that
behavior can be affected by the physical health of a dog.
The use of a harness vs. a collar
If dogs bite each other shouldn’t it be natural for us to emulate
them to train them?
It all depends on your morals and ethics whether inflicting intimidation or pain on an animal is an
acceptable behavior. It is part of human behavior in a society to bully, rape and kill each other, but
that doesn’t make it moral or give one the right to do it to other people. Because dogs and wolves
bully, fight, and kill each other does not make it acceptable for us to emulate their behavior towards
our own dog. Dogs play-fight using their mouths, see the photo above left, but that also doesn’t
give us a right to use collars or intimidation to manage or train dogs. Jerking a dog on a collar could
suppress a behavior from happening, but it can also cause behavioral side effects such as
aggression and frustration. Non-violent ways of training dogs exist that don’t have unwanted side
effects. There is a myth that all dogs correct each other. There are some dogs that correct other
dogs, and other dogs that don’t. You can train multi dog households to cohabit the same spaces
peacefully and actually enjoy being in each other’s presence using Classical Conditioning, instead of
letting the dogs work in out on their own.
Jerking a collar around a dog’s neck does not emulate the biting of another dog physiologically
either. Many trainers hope to emulate dog corrections to train a dog to stay with them or train new
behaviors, but dogs do not bite one another to get the other to stay with them or to train them to
offer specific behaviors through out the day. We don’t even know if dogs consciously know their
actions affect another dog’s behavior in the future. There is the possibility that dogs correct each
other as a reflex, or simply because it has been reinforced in the past. Also, one should be warned
that some dogs will become aggressive when other dogs bite them no matter what the reason.
The use of a harness vs. a collar
Then how do I punish my dog if he pulls?
There is a way of training animals that involves no form of physical or psychological intimidation
called Progressive Reinforcement Training. Please read the Progressive Reinforcement Training
Manifesto at www.dogmantics.com for more information.
To solve leash pulling you can reinforce your dog for being at your side with well-timed treats and the
reward of getting to move forward. You can then “punish” the behavior of pulling, by not moving an
inch in the direction that the dog begins to pull in and instead move backwards. There is no need to
intimidate or hurt a dog to teach him to walk on a leash. The main goal is to never follow a dog on a
tight leash, even one inch, as it will teach the dog that leaning into the leash will yield the reward of
getting to where he wants to go and he will repeat the behavior in the future. Leash pulling problems
can also be the side effects of other behavioral problems such as fear, anxiety or over arousal, so a
trainer needs to get to the heart of the problem rather than work on only the side effects. There are
multiple free leash walking tutorials here if you need assistance: www.youtube.com/kikopup
Here is one basic leash walking video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFgtqgiAKoQ
But my dog never pulls on leash… Yes, perhaps there is a dog out there, that will never ever pull suddenly towards a smell in a bush,
food on the ground, an old friend or another dog. But there might be some time in that dogs life that
the dog might need to be pulled, perhaps a car mounts the sidewalk and you need to jerk your dog
out of the way or perhaps a car back fires and your dog runs forward. We would never attach a
leash to a child’s neck to keep him safe, why would we attach a leash to a dog’s throat when there is
the option of a harness. In the same way a human’s neck could get severely damaged if we fell
forward onto a collar attached to a lead, a dog can suffer the same harm. The use of a harness vs. a collar
Make a choice for your dog’s wellbeing- Choose a harness!
Myth: Harnesses make dogs pull. Truth: People who follow dogs in harnesses make dogs pull. Yes,
in a back clipping harnesses dogs can get more force behind their pulling, and so when they do pull
they can pull with more leverage. The only reason that dogs can’t pull as hard in a collar is because
they are using their delicate organs and their spinal column to pull forward. There are many
harnesses on the market today specifically for extremely strong dogs. If you clip the leash to a front
clipping harness the dog cannot get as much leverage as clipping it to the back of a harness, and it
is easier to reorient your dog towards you than when the leash is attached to the back of the dog. If
you want your dog to pull you sometimes but not others (perhaps on a skateboard or in a wheel
chair) you can put the behavior on cue or you could simply allow pulling when the harness is clipped
to the back and not allow pulling when you clip the leash to the front of the harness. The use of a harness vs. a collar
Choose a well fitting harness that distributes weight evenly and that does not pinch or rub
specifically on one area (for example in the armpits). Make sure not to buy the type of harness that
tightens like a slip lead when the dog pulls in order to cause discomfort or pain. Halters that fit over
a dogs head could also cause neck injuries but in a different way than a collar, as the neck is twisted
to the side or back if the dog were to hit the end of the leash. Don’t buy a harness that rests on your
dogs neck as it could be just as damaging to the throat as a collar, making wearing the harness
instead of a collar pointless. Many suggest a prong collar is more humane as the dog will not pull,
but if the dog were to pull once, all the pressure of the collar will rest on a few tiny points on the
neck. What if that point were to rest perfectly on the center of your dogs’ jugular vain, or larynx. Shock collars are also not a solution because of the behavioral side effects that can occur. Shock
collars are under investigation in many countries for being inhumane and banned in many parts of
Europe (including Sweden where I live).
In conclusion
If humane is defined as having regard for the health and wellbeing of another, then I believe that
attaching a leash to the collar on your dog’s throat is not as humane practice as attaching the leash
to a harness.
Walking a dog with a leash attached to their neck is just not worth the risk of the physical damage to
your dog’s delicate neck, the organs housed within the neck, and the rest of the body that is affected
by pressure on the neck. On a final note, TRAIN your dog to walk with you. Don’t just put your dog in a harness to prevent
pressure on the neck. Training a dog is a wonderful way to spend time bonding and interacting with
your dog and should be one of the joys of companionship.
The use of a harness vs. a collar
Please spread the word. Use a harness when you need to attach a
leash to your dog! Above pictures are of the author's dogs Trisch, Lacey, Tug, Splash and Kiko in their harnesses.
References:
Pauli AM, Bentley, E Diehl, KA, Miller, PE. Effects of the application of neck pressure by a collar or
harness on intraocular pressure in dogs. J.Am.Anim.Hosp. Assoc.2006:42:207-211
Dr. Peter Dobias, DVM’s article ‘Dog collars can cause disease and possibly lead to cancer’ http://
www.peterdobias.com/community/2011/07/dog-collars-can-cause-disease-and-possibly-lead-tocancer/
“Dr. Peter Dobias has been in Veterinary Practice since 1988. In 2008 he sold his thriving holistic
veterinary practice in North Vancouver, BC Canada to pursue his passion for educating the public
about disease prevention and natural treatment methods. He also started a not for profit society
aimed at animal welfare, holistic cancer research and educating the public on the dangers of choke
and prong collars. He believes that together, we can create a healthy and long life naturally. Visit him
at www.peterdobias.com or on facebook at www.facebook.com/drpeterdobias.”
Boyd JS (1991) Color atlas of clinical anatomy of the dog and cat. Mosby, London
Mielke, Kerstin (2007) Anatomy of the Dog In straitforward terms, Cadmos, Germany
Evans, Howard E., deLahunta, Alexander (2004) Guide to the Disection fo the Dog, Saunders, United
States of America
Anders Hallgren, Swedish Vet. Study; Animal Behavior Consultants Newlsttr; July,1992, V.9 No.2.