Out and About With Your Dog?

The number of devices on the market to allow us to restrain a dog is a minefield so here's the evidence-based research, as well as my input as a chartered physio with 12 years experience and a dog owner.

Firstly, it is not surprising that chock chains are not as common nowadays. This may be due to the effect of strangulation on the dog which is inhumane and may pose a welfare issue. Indeed, one owner went so far as to cause ischaemic brain damage to his dog resulting in euthanasia (Grohmann et al. 2013).

So how about using a collar and lead? Carter et al. (2020) found that despite testing a range of collars no single collar tested exerted low enough pressure to mitigate the risk of injury when a dog is pulling on the lead; even only lightly. Collars may also increase the intraocular pressure (Pauli et al. 2006).

And a harness? Shoulder extension may be limited by a harness, especially if the dog pulls on the lead when attached to the back d ring. This appears to be irrespective of whether or not the harness is a non-restrictive y type or a restrictive chest strap type (Lafuente et al. 2018). As shoulder movement into extension is limited, this places muscles at risk of injury as they are unable to work optimally. Biceps tenosynovitis and supraspinatus tendinopathy are thought to be caused by repetitive contractions while the shoulder is flexed. Repetitive eccentric contraction and concentric contraction of the muscle in a lengthened state have been described as potential factors leading to tendon injuries in working and performance dogs. The restriction in shoulder extension caused by the harness could keep the supraspinatus and bicipital tendons in a more lengthened position, If activities continued as normal, then these tendons could be at an increased risk of injury. Nevertheless, this is all theoretical and is yet to be proven.

What about a dog that pulls? 83.7% of dogs pull on the lead (Townsend et al. 2020). Of the many devices on the market a few stand apart from the others. The T touch harness, the mekuti harness and the halti. Evidence? There are no studies looking at the biomechanical effects of wearing a halti. We've already established that 2 different harnesses restricted shoulder extension. However, what about the effect of the handler? Interestingly, Shih et al. (2020) dogs tend to show less stress related behaviours when led by a female handler which is related to more verbal commands associated with mother-baby interactions.

Therefore, it seems that a dog's welfare when being restrained by a device is not so simple. A myriad of factors mean that this may be more of an individual decision. For me, and my collie-type mongrel, we have found the perfect fit harness allows an individual fit; a bit like a human shoe. We work on our lead training every walk, using high value treats, and our walk time is exactly that. The mobile phone, the ear phones and any chattering in my mind is put to one side. It's time for us to be together.