11/05/2024
A more scientific evaluation of harnesses sent from a friend Lise Pratt
Will be eliminating prior post
Chris Zink, wrote this a while back. Thought you might be interested:
To Harness Or Not To Harness?
That Is The Question…
by Chris Zink, DVM PhD DACVSMR
… that was addressed by a recent study that is the topic of this month’s newsletter. You’ve probably
noticed an upsurge during the last several years in the use of harnesses as an alternative to collars. At
the same time, there has been a concern that harnesses might affect dogs’ gait. Researchers in the UK
investigated exactly that question by comparing the effect of restrictive and non-restrictive harnesses
on shoulder extension in dogs when walking and trotting.
TYPES OF HARNESSES FOR DOGS
There are two main categories of harnesses: those that are considered non-restrictive to front limb
movement, which have a Y-shaped chest strap, and those considered restrictive, which have a strap
that lies across the chest horizontally.
In this study, 9 dogs were moved at a walk and a trot on a treadmill wearing either no harness, a nonrestrictive harness (an X-back mushing harness; Trixie Fusion harness), or a restrictive harness (Easy
Walk harness). The researchers placed markers on the sides of the dogs’ legs and used video cameras
to measure the angle of the shoulder when the front limb was in maximal extension (when the leg
was placed furthest forward).
Some of their results were unexpected!
To Harness Or Not To Harness? That Is The Question…
www.avidogzink.com [email protected] © Avidog-Zink Ventures 2019
DOG HARNESS STUDY RESULTS
Results of the Study: No harness vs. non-restrictive harness vs. restrictive harness
• Dogs wearing only a collar had significantly more shoulder extension, both while walking and
trotting, than dogs wearing either type of harness.
• Dogs wearing non-restrictive harnesses had significantly less shoulder extension than dogs
wearing restrictive harnesses when both walking and trotting. That was the unexpected finding,
and we’ll look at those results more closely in a minute.
The researchers also examined the effect of weights added to the harness to try to simulate the dog
pulling against the harness. The weights were used in a way that caused the harness to be pulled up
and away from the dog’s back at an approximately 45o angle, similar to how the harness would be
pulled on if a person were walking behind the dog.
Results of the Study: Weights vs. No Weights
• Dogs walking using non-restrictive harnesses with weights had significantly less shoulder
extension than dogs wearing non-restrictive harnesses without weights or than those wearing
restrictive harnesses with or without weights.
• Dogs trotting using non-restrictive harnesses with weights had significantly less shoulder
extension than dogs wearing restrictive harnesses with or without weights.
The authors are to be commended for performing this important study and for their excellent
discussion of the results.
One limitation of the study mentioned by the authors was that their system was not designed to
measure step or stride length, or stance time, even though these can definitely affect shoulder
extension. However, a previous harness study did look at those parameters (2). That study showed
that both non-restrictive and restrictive harnesses alter step and stride length as compared to the
same dogs wearing just a collar.
QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS…
1. Why would the so-called non-restrictive harness reduce shoulder extension more than the
restrictive harness?
A: In my opinion, it all comes down to harness fit. As you can see in the figure in the blog, the nonrestrictive harness is not ideally fitted to the dog. The straps that lie in front of the scapula
(shoulder blade) are pressing into the dog’s body (arrows), almost certainly preventing the dog
from moving its scapula forward. This, of course, would limit shoulder extension.
A non-restrictive harness needs to be fitted so that it is tight around the dog’s neck. That way,
when the dog is pulling, the harness applies pressure to the manubrium (the front of the sternum),
and the straps on the side of the neck do not slide back to lie against the shoulder blade. For most
To Harness Or Not To Harness? That Is The Question…
www.avidogzink.com [email protected] © Avidog-Zink Ventures 2019
dogs, this means that the neck part of the harness needs to be adjustable and needs to have a
clip, so that it doesn’t have to be large enough to slip over the dog’s head.
2. Why would the addition of weights to the non-restrictive harness further reduce the dog’s
shoulder extension?
See answer to question 1. I think that when the weights pulled on the harness, those loose side
straps pulled even harder against the dog’s shoulder blades, further restricting shoulder extension.
3. Why would the addition of weights to the restrictive harness allow the dog to have more
shoulder extension?
A: It is likely that by pulling upwards and backwards on the restrictive harness, it allowed the
horizontal band to rise up a bit on the dog’s front, taking some of the pressure of that band off of
the shoulder joint, thus allowing the dog to extend its shoulder further.
BOTTOM LINE
▪ Harnesses are still a safer option for dogs that have tracheal collapse, laryngeal paralysis,
obstructive airway disease or neurological problems involving the neck, such as wobblers
disease.
▪ Because two studies now provide good evidence that both restrictive and non-restrictive
harnesses alter dogs’ gaits, a collar might be a better choice for many dogs. However, dogs
wearing collars should be trained to walk politely on a leash. An excellent booklet that shows
how to do this is My Dog Pulls. What Do I Do? By Turid Rugaas.
▪ If you choose to use a non-restrictive harness, make sure it is tightly fitted around the dog’s
neck so that it doesn’t slide back and put pressure on the dog’s shoulders.
▪ If you choose to use a restrictive harness, make sure it is loosely fitted, so that it can slide away
from the dog’s shoulder as needed.
