How To Tighten A Dog Harness: 6 Easy Steps
Walking your dog is one of the highlights of the day, and if your pup is wearing a harness, know that there is a proper way of tightening it. Harnesses are adjustable, and knowing how to tighten a dog harness can be beneficial for your beloved pet. Using a harness instead of a collar is a beneficial change to your dog's well-being since it reduces the stress on the neck and allows him to walk naturally.
A harness is good for your dog if adjusted correctly and properly. They are used for several reasons, such as for safety, guidance, and pulling gear or for other behavioral purposes. Regardless of the purpose of why you use a harness for your pet, it is a simple but important task that you have to do properly for your dog's safety and comfort. This article will teach you how to tighten a dog harness in six steps.
Proper Placement of the Harness Straps
You need to check the strap placement after putting on your dog’s harness. The harness should fit below the neck and should not put any pressure on your dog’s throat. Moreover, the chest strap of your harness should not go across your dog’s shoulder joint. Otherwise, it will inhibit the shoulder and leg length stride of your dog.
Easy Steps on How to Tighten a Dog Harness
Step 1
The harness should be on the correct side before you can place it over your dog's head. Typically, a harness with a label is easier to put on since it should be on the outside. This is the correct way of doing the first step on how to tighten a dog harness. After that, place the front ring for the leash in front.
Step 2
Put the harness' front loop over your dog's head. For some harnesses, you might need to hook the strap loop by the buckles. Hook the same to its respective buckle and then place it over the dog's head. To know whether you placed these correctly, each of the side straps should be behind your dog's neck, on its back, in the front portion, and against his chest above the leg muscle. This will allow the free movement of your dog. Make sure that the leash ring is in the front area.
Step 3
The harness should sit comfortably over your dog’s back and his chest. Adjust these straps as necessary and check whether your dog is comfortable with the adjustment.
Step 4
Do not buckle up just yet since you still need to slide the belly strap under your dog. Examine whether it is too loose or too tight while attempting to buckle it on the other side of the harness. Make sure that everything fits your dog's torso snugly. Make sure to adjust the straps by sliding and pulling through the adjusters as you may deem necessary.
Step 5
For the last time, adjust the front part of the strap since the other parts have already been adjusted. At this juncture, the dog should be able to sit and lie down at ease after the necessary adjustments. Check whether his movements are restricted.
Step 6
Check whether you can put your fingers easily under all parts of the strap between your dog's body and the harness itself to test the comfort of your dog further. You would know it is too tight when the harness is too snug that you cannot fit your fingers in between.
5 Common Misconceptions in Tightening a Dog Harness
If there are easy steps to tighten a dog harness, there are misconceptions that you should do away with in doing so. Here are some of these misconceptions.
1. Dogs tend to pull more when they wear a harness
It would be best if you believed in the opposite. Dogs will pull less when wearing a harness since their owner has more control over them, and their weight is heavenly distributed.
2. There is no wrong method on how to tighten a harness.
If you improperly tighten harnesses, this can hurt your dog and cause discomfort. Although you want the harness to be fully snug on your dog's body, you have to make sure that it is not too tight.
3. There is a bigger probability that a dog would escape while wearing a harness.
This is not true because dogs will less likely escape from a securely and properly tightened harness.
4. You can let a dog wear a harness all the time and leave it on.
Harnesses are undeniably comfortable to wear for dogs. However, it would be best if you took it off at night to let your dog's skin breathe. Moreover, some dogs tend to tear off their harnesses when left for too long.
5. It isn't easy to put on a dog's harness on your own.
It is indeed ideal to have your dog wear both a harness and a collar. The collar serves as an identification tool, while the harness lets you have more control over your pet while walking. Just like collars, a harness is easy to get on dogs. The trick is to position them properly over the harness to slide it off easily into the body and keep them calm throughout the process.
Conclusion
Now you know how to tighten a dog harness. It is an essential task that you can easily do before walking your dog in a park. Make sure to follow these easy steps so that your dog can walk around comfortably and securely. Your dog's safety and comfort are two of the essential factors to consider in tightening a dog's harness.