But not all harnesses!
Does a dog harness really help to reduce pulling on leash? YES!
We've seen it time and time again with our clients.
But why does it happen? Painful or restrictive gear can create high stress levels for dogs, leading to pulling as a way to cope.
Just like you feel more comfortable hiking in well-fitting shoes, a well-fitting harness can help your dog relax and feel more at ease!
So, what makes a good dog harness? Here are some tips:
🚩Avoid step-in and no-pull harnesses, as they can restrict shoulder movement and lead to long-term postural and gait changes, body discomfort, and stress.
Instead, look for a harness with:
✅ A Y-shape design when viewed from the front
✅ A long enough top strap
✅ A back strap that leaves enough space from the front paw
✅ As lightweight as possible
A harness like this (check out gorgeous Teddy in the video!) will protect your dog's soft tissue, allow natural movement, and help them feel more relaxed.
We know how hard it can be to find the right harness - we've been there too!
That's why we designed our own, the Canuzzo harness. Check out the pinned post to learn more about what sets it apart from other harnesses on the market.
And don't forget to check out our highlights for reviews from satisfied clients and stories of how the right harness has helped solve other behavior problems!
#leashpulling #dogtraining #dogharness #dogmom #pullingonleash #dogtips
The dirty melting season is hard to bear in Estonia...
We are desperate for the spring to come, are you with us?
#doghumor #dogwalkers #easterneurope
Amazon Dog Harness Hunt: Did We Find Any Good Ones?
Watch until the end to find out!
We're dog behaviour specialists from Estonia — follow Canuzzo to learn our secrets, improve your walks, and boost mutual understanding 🐶
So, what makes a good dog harness? Here are our top criteria:
🟢 Y-shaped front: Metal ring on the chest bone to protect the neck and vital organs.
🟢 Front straps: No shoulder overlap, no padding, and full freedom of movement for the front legs.
🟢 Back straps: Positioned to avoid armpit friction and allow natural elbow movement.
🟢 Top strap: Longer or adjustable to prevent scapula restriction.
🟢 Weight: As light as possible for maximum comfort.
A harness that checks all these boxes won't restrict movement, cause long-term mobility issues, or lead to physical and emotional discomfort.
Check our profile for examples of well-designed dog harnesses that meet our criteria!
#dogharness #dogparents doglovers #yshapedharness #dogcomfort
Can dogs and kids be safe?
Absolutely, but with some careful considerations:
☝️We can't expect dogs to tolerate children at all times. Dogs need personal space, rest, and a sense of safety, just like we do.
☝️Adult supervision is a must, always!
☝️Learning to read dog body language can help prevent accidents. A great place to start? Turid Rugaas' book "On Talking Terms With Dogs: Calming signals"
Practice calmness together! Here are some easy ideas:
✅ If your kids are old enough, they can help create sniffing activities for dogs, like hiding treats or making puzzle toys.
✅ Try "social resting": rest and sleep together, using baby gates or playpens for extra safety when you can't supervise.
✅ Take a "sniffy walk" together to a quiet spot with minimal triggers.
If you have kids and dogs living together, share your experiences with us! What's worked for you in creating a harmonious relationship between them?
#dogbodylanguage #kidsanddogs #dogssafety #caninecommunication
This tip can change your whole walk around! Watch until the end
Don't know the benefits of sniffing for your dog yet? Let's dive in 👇
We're dog behaviour specialists from Estonia — follow Canuzzo to learn our secrets, improve your walks, and boost mutual understanding 🐶
Dogs are sniffing machines, with brains and noses perfectly designed to pick up and analyze even the tiniest smells.
They can even detect cancer (some are trained to do so)! Mind-blowing, right?🤯
Sniffing isn't just interesting for dogs; it's also:
🟢 Calming — their heart rate drops significantly! (Check our previous reel for a study from France)
🟢 Necessary — dogs understand the world through smells, so denying them sniffing time is like navigating a busy street blindfolded
🟢 Crucial for peaceful communication with other dogs and humans
Sniffing is a key part of canine body language. If your dog slows down to sniff when approaching someone or another dog, let them!
They're signaling friendly intentions. Pulling them away can provoke conflict.
It's easy to enhance your dog's experience: center your walks around interesting sniffs, and they'll love it!
#dogwalk #dogwalking #dogparents #dogtips #dogbehaviouradvice
Why don't treats calm your dog down?
Read below! 👇
We are dog behaviour specialists from Estonia - ✅ follow our project Canuzzo to learn our secrets, improve your walks & mutual understanding 🐶💛
Food is nice, of course, and can make your dog happy! But happy is not necessarily calm.
When we want our dog to look at something without getting anxious or stressed, we need them to feel really calm.🧘
Seeing food and getting excited about it creates arousal in your dog's body.
They get excited, of course, because they want those treats!
Especially if they are hungry or on a diet that lacks variety or quality (like only kibble).
As arousal grows, it can easily transform into barking, lunging, and jumping.
When walking with dogs who get easily excited or reactive, we recommend:
✨ Choose a calmer place with lots to sniff (see our previous reel for excellent ideas)
✨ Walk slowly and let your dog sniff as much as possible
✨ Keep the treats out
With the right distance from triggers, something amazing will happen: your dog will start learning to cope with stress on their own:
Look at trigger
Sniff the ground
Calm down
This is a much more effective way to change reactive behavior.
Using treats can lead to micromanagement, giving an illusion of control.
But the truth is, treats don't give us total control over what happens in our dogs' brains.
Giving the control back to your dog and creating the right situations for them to learn is what makes a difference.
Let your dog sniff for calmer walks and a calmer dog.💛
Do you agree?
#dogtraining #forcefreetraining #dogtrainer #dogtreats #letthemsniff
Would Your Dog Agree?
As humans, we often look for scenic views for walks with our dogs: parks, central squares, forests, beaches...
But what would our dogs prefer? Are they as vision-oriented as us?
Let's consider the dog as a species:
1️⃣ The Dog's Nose is Incredibly Powerful:
🟢 The region of the brain that processes smells is 40 times bigger in dogs than in humans.
🟢 Dogs have 300 million olfactory cells compared to our 6 million.
🟢 Their noses are built for sniffing with an incredible number of blood vessels, a special spongy structure, and a unique shape with slits.
2️⃣ Dogs Pick Up Social Information Through Smells:
- Who they are (sex, age, size)
- How they feel
- Where they went
3️⃣ Exploration is a Natural Need:
Dogs love to put their nose to the ground, sniff, and collect information.
It's their natural need!
Pretty-looking places are not their priority. Interesting-smelling places are!
This is why we like to take our dogs to unusual spots (if safe and allowed):
🟢 Industrial areas
🟢 Cemeteries
🟢 Parking lots
🟢 Dumping grounds
The bonus: such places are typically quieter and allow for a more relaxing walk!
Where do you like to walk? And your dog? Tell us in the comments!
#dogmom #dogwalker #dogwalk #reactivedogstips
Heidi🐶 helped create the epic ending for this video 🫣
Dog parent, we have a question for you:
Is your dog wearing a harness? A harness of the right shape?🤔
If your answer is "yes", and the harness your dog is wearing looks like the one on Heidi — congratulations!
You have taken good care of your dog's health and safety. ✨
But it's never too late to make the switch. Here are 3 important advantages of a well-fitted harness:
1️⃣ Protects the Sensitive Neck of Your Dog.
Even some pulling happens, the pressure will be distributed through the sternum bone of your dog! Try to feel this yourself as we explain in the video.
2️⃣ Allows Healthier Movement
To move in a healthy way, dogs need to move FREELY.
Free chest, free leg movement, no restrictions by the padding or leash hitting the legs.
3️⃣ You Get a Less Reactive Dog
When dogs feel comfortable in what they wear, and they know that the gear does not hurt, they can finally relax.
A relaxed, calm, stress-free dog is less likely to react to passers-by or jump on other dogs.
Heidi knows about all these benefits too! She even helped us to design a better harness. 🥹
It started out as a project to help our dog behaviour clients, but now we've helped hundreds of dogs around the world to enjoy their walks more.
Want to improve walks with your dog too? Follow us!
#dogbehavioir #dogsafety #doggear #dogwalk
Don't make the same mistake as me:
I am finally able to share this now after 5 years of learning, grieving and making amends.
Since then I learned a lot about dog anatomy, behaviour and movement.
Dog gear has a HUGE impact on how our dogs move and feel. This can turn around their whole walking experience!
So listen up, here is how to choose the right harness for your dog:
Make sure the harness has:
🟢 Y shape in front:
The metal ring sits on the chest bone to protect the neck and vital organs
🟢 Front straps:
they don't go over the shoulders and allow the dog to move the front legs freely
🟢 Back straps:
they should be far enough from the armpits to prevent friction and allow natural elbow movement.
And when you get the right harness, check the fit regularly!
A few years ago I met Elena, my amazing colleague & friend who had the same dream - to create the most comfortable harness for all types of dogs. Here is how Canuzzo harness was born!
I have to pinch myself to realise that my current dog Heidi is wearing the harness that I co-designed.
And that now hundreds of dogs are enjoying their walks in non-restrictive gear that cares about their health.💛
#dogstory #doghealth #doggear #mistake
Only dog parents will understand...
Is it the same for you? 😂
#doghumor
Which one do you have?
Heidi (the big lady with floppy ears) and Ciro (the smaller gentleman) are both 8 years old and come from a shelter...but their personalities could not be more different.
Besides making us laugh daily, they inspired us to design a more comfortable harness for dogs of weird shape!
PS: We did not ask Heidi to sit on command, she simply likes to contemplate and observe the world
#dog #dogsofinstagram #dogs
Dog Gear Myth Busting - Part 1👇
We've all heard it: Harnesses cause pulling on leash. But is that really true?🤔
We are dog behavior professionals and will bust one myth every week, subscribe not to miss!
Let's get real - when our dogs pull on the leash, it's usually because something's not quite right. Maybe they're feeling stressed or anxious, or maybe they're just trying to sniff out all the good smells. Here are some common reasons why dogs pull:
🟡 You are walking too quickly and the dog learns to rush too
🟡 The dog has a very short leash and cannot sniff as much as they need to
🟡 The dog feels very stressed and does not cope with the walk
🟡 Stress can come from tools that cause pain / too long walks / too many triggers / lack of sleep, so many things!
🟡 The dog cannot slow down because something is off in their body: they are unstable / hurt somewhere, therefore they rush to stabilize
So, what's really going on with harnesses and pulling?✨ Honestly, it's not the harness itself - it's usually a sign of a deeper issue. By figuring out what's really going on, we can often fix the pulling problem without needing to train the dog. And the best part? A comfy, well-fitting harness, like the Canuzzo harness you see on these videos, can actually help your dog relax and pull less.
Does your dog pull on the leash? Tell us in the comments!
#dogbehaviour #dogbehavior #dogwalk #dogwalking #dogtraining #dogmom #dogtrainingtips #doggear #forcefreetraining
