Do Bernedoodles need a harness?
There are a few different reasons and instances in which you’ll want to leash up your Bernedoodle. But what is the best leashing option? Your two main choices are either a collar or a harness. But do Bernedoodles need a harness? We’ll answer that question and more below.
Firstly, there are some instances in which a leash for your Bernedoodle is not required at all. For instance, you may have a fenced in backyard where he or she can roam around freely at their leisure. You may also have an electric fence installed. In this instance, your puppy will have a collar that will interact with the invisible electric fence to deter your furry friend from leaving the safety of your yard.
Then there’s the instance in which you’ve done a great job training your Bernedoodle so that a leash isn’t even needed when you go for walks. We just want to point out that while training your Bernedoodle to be off leash is a great accomplishment, it takes time. There are also places such as busy streets with heavy foot or vehicle traffic where off leashing isn’t a great idea.
As mentioned above, if off leash isn’t an option, then you have the choice of collar or harness. Let’s first take a look at the collar option.
Collar
The collar is something you’ll want on your dog nearly 24/7. It goes around your puppy’s neck and should fit securely but not too tight or too loose. A good rule of thumb is that you want to be able to get at least, but no more than two fingers between the collar and your dog’s neck. The collar is a great way to keep tags on your dog. In the unfortunate event your puppy gets loose and is lost, the tag will have your dog’s name on it as well as your contact information. Your dog really should never be without a collar for this very reason.
In addition, the collar will typically come with a relatively thick ring that you can connect a leash to. This is a great option for taking your pup out for a quick potty break, getting him or her to/from the car, and potentially even going for a walk.
But why potentially? With a collar, if your dog decides to pull while on the leash, all the stress will be on their neck. This will be uncomfortable for your pup physically and could cause him or her to have difficulty breathing while there’s a lot of force on the collar.
Harness
Enter the harness. A harness is an alternative way to leash your dog, but it should not replace your Bernedoodle’s collar. As mentioned before, your Bernedoodle’s collar should have tags attached to it with contact information in case he or she goes missing for whatever reason
There are many different types of harnesses to choose from. The one we originally used for Cooper was a basic one that he slipped his two front paws through and clipped around his torso. We liked it at first, mostly because unlike the collar, all of the force and stress was now on Cooper’s shoulders and chest rather than his neck. But there were a few issues.
Issues
The first issue is that with this harness, was that there was only the option to clip the leash to Cooper’s back. So while it changed where the stress occurred, it didn’t stop him from pulling. The second issue is that while this harness seemed secure, Cooper proved to be a Houdini of sorts.
When the neighbor’s dog came over to say hi to Cooper, he got extremely excited. So much so that he was somehow able to wriggle out of the harness. This was terrifying to us because he was most definitely not trained enough to be off leash. Luckily, we were able to quickly grab him and attach the leash to his collar to keep him safe.
We quickly researched options to prevent this from happening again in the future. The first was to research a different harness and the second was finding a safety clip. The safety clip attaches to both the collar and to the harness so that even if he gets out of the harness, he’s still connected to us by his collar.
As we were looking for a new harness, we were able to find one that went over his head and around his torso. The part that went over his head was just to keep the harness in place, but did not bear any of the force when he pulled. That force was still on his shoulder and chest. But the other thing this harness came with was a clip not only on his back but on his chest as well.
We bought both the safety clip and the new harness, got him fitted and took him for a walk. Instead of clipping to the back of the harness, we clipped to the front. The difference in terms of pulling was night and day. Coopy stayed right by us for the entire walk such that the leash was loose instead of taught when he pulls. By clipping the leash to the front of the harness, we were almost able to “steer” Cooper where we wanted.
The only issue is that we think we bought the wrong size because the harness pulled to the sides depending on the direction Cooper was moving in. We talked with a dog walker and she gave us a great alternative that is supposed to be escape proof and have a better fit. Even with the new harness though, we still used the safety clip, just in case!
There are a number of different types of harnesses, some specifically made to be no pull. There are some that have a rope that goes around your Bernedoodle’s snout to detract from leash pulling. But we felt a little odd going with this route as it seemed like it would be uncomfortable for Cooper. So far the front clip has worked wonderfully, so we continue to use this option.
Conclusion
So do Bernedoodles need a harness? We think the answer is “no”, they don’t need them. But we highly recommend using one for a few reasons. The first is peace of mind as the owner of your Bernedoodle knowing that your puppy is safe and secure when going for walks. To be extra cautious, we highly encourage the safety clip be used along with the harness.
The second is that any stress from pulling will be on your puppy’s shoulders/chest rather than neck with a collar. And finally, the harness with the front clip will help leash train your pup to reduce pulling making your outings more leisurely and enjoyable.
