I started off walking Takara on a harness but soon changed onto collar and lead because I was told if she pulled it could cause her to have more muscle in her shoulders and chest causing her to be built less like a dalmatian and more like a staffie!

Don't know how true that was but she is now walked on a walkezee for long distances.

Personally, I wanted to get her onto a collar and lead as soon as rather than keeping her in a harness when she grew up so thought it'd be better to train her on a collar and lead.
Plus, when she pulls on a harness (not a stop pull harness, a normal one) she can put a lot more weight behind it!

Nah I think thats a load of rubbish, Roxy has always had a harness as she was also a 'run to the end of the lead and flip' kind of dog, so its much safer for her, and now we've done training she doesn't pull on either anyway.

well I personally think it's a load of rubbish too. Sometimes think your damned if you do and damned if you don't. Cheers for your opinions everyone. My mate seems to always look for a reason to try and disprove something we're doing with Suki. He means well but...

It quite possibly isn't true, I don't know but I do know that although Takara did flip on the collar a few times (but stopped after she realised it got her nowhere) she pulled so much on a harness because of the extra strength she could put behind it that I chose to walk her on a collar instead.

Although if we're doing a lot of road walking, she wears her walkezee harness.

A harness' pressure points are around the sterum (breast bone) so by pulling i can't imagine it leading to muscle increase in that area around the chest. I would of thought the leg muscles would increase in muscle tone however. as the dog leans its weight against the lead the leg muscles are taking the strain. especially the hind ones in my dogs case. she stands on her back legs and bounces when shes in a harness!

I had a harness for my pup, but was told by the training class not to use it for a puppy. Something to do with the development of the chest/shoulders.

Apart from it seeming more comfortable, I always felt he was safer wearing the harness, as he has fallen off the (very narrow) bridge before and at least he wasn't hanging by his neck! Its also useful for helping him climb over stiles etc!

Willow has a harnes,and if you look at the pics of her on other threads i think you will see thats theres not a lot wrong with her. as for SOME staff at PAH would not take wot they say for granted,i got my son 2 rabbits from them both females i was told wrong,a few month later six little ones

i had no choice but to put Tilly in a harness as she point blank refused to move in a collar and lead. she would lay on the floor and scream if the slightest pressure was put on the lead. she got a clean bill of health from the vet and someone at puppy classes suggested trying a harness. put it straight on her and she trotted along like she was born with it on! she'll now walk in either so i tend to save the harness for busy places as gives me a bit more control in wheres she's heading!

Hedley has a harness from PAH and I bought it because he is so small and could easily slip his collar. But there are different types of harness arent there? I can see with some harnesses that there is a different distribution of strappage across the chest. Some harnesses have like a V or X shape which is centred on the chest, some "staffy" type ones have a yoke at the front too. The type I have is like a collar, a belly strap with a connecting strap where you clip the lead i.e. two hoops connected by a few inches of strap which goes on the back.

So in answer, I expect it depends on which harness you buy and how much you use it, also how much the dog pulls.

I havent heard that
I dont walk them on harness because I have found that Mia can actually get out of (a properly fitted) harness but she hasnt yet (touch wood) got out of a collar
But my dogs are errmm 'different'