Why we need harnesses for our Furry Friends.

We treat our dogs like we’ve always treated them…and they’ve been fine…right? Or, have they? This post is to educate on the importance of NOT using a collar to walk our dogs. I’ll share a few personal stories and get a bit more clinical. Thank you for reading and adding your own comments or experiences below.

We had just returned from a few days at the beach, staying in our Motor Home with four sweet fur babies and noticed our Aimee’s right eye was blood shot and seemed a little inflamed around the eye socket. At 10 months old, I was praying it wasn’t Cherry Eye or something worse!

I put some compresses on her eye, some colloidal silver drops and called the Veterinarian. It was a day to remember as I drove Aimee to the Emergency Clinic who had an Ophthalmologist available to look at her. An hour later a Neurologist was called in to look at the X-Ray and chat together about what they saw. This was quite nerve-wracking for sure!

Essentially, I was told that there is a tendon that goes from the front of the chest, in front of the neck, under the chin, to the side and behind and around the ear, over the head, to the back of the eye:

The Specialists explained that most likely Aimee’s pulling on her collar had caused the inflammation. They both cautioned me against ever walking with a dog utilizing a collar. A HARNESS is the way to ensure the health of the dog in so many ways!

This Poster explains many other body functions that could be damaged by a dog’s owner pulling the collar by walking on a leash – so fascinating: https://www.freedogz.be/equipment/image/data/pdfs/posters_web_EN.pdf

On “The Healthy Cavalier” group on Facebook a woman shared her story. I contacted her and she was happy to have me tell you, “if only one dog is saved” from her story, it might be worth it: “My boy (Lucky) died on Thanksgiving due to laryngeal paralysis caused by the pulling with a collar. He was diagnosed at 7 years old after I had taken him to 8 doctors to finally get the right diagnosis. His trachea completely collapsed. It was/is devastating…I’m taking my new Rescue to dog training and it kills me to hear these dogs coughing and gasping as their owners are yanking at their collars…”.

B.A.O.S. or Brachycephalic Airway Obstruction Syndrome (BAOS) is a challenge in the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Due to the comparatively short length of the head and also the compressed upper jaw, many of our dogs have respiratory challenges. Our dogs often have the reversed hiccups or “reversed sneezing” due to the trachea collapse. My dogs will have this when they are really excited (to see me, dinnertime, going “bye-bye”, etc.), so I know it’s partially neurological. I can stop the hiccups by covering his/her nose and turning the head side-ways. I don’t have it on video, but here’s someone else who caught their Cavvy in the coughing act: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBGAUZNcOAc

We have been trying out all kinds of harnesses, trying to be able to recommend to you what we think would be best. We have added those we have used to our Recommended Lists: https://lifewithcavalierkingcharlesspaniels.com/recommended-items/ It has been important to me to be able to get the dog in and out of the harness quickly and fit it so that it’s not too tight (you can fit one finger around the harness) and adequately holds the dog while we walk/run/exercise without getting out of the harness. We have used the ones on our list while traveling, training and in public. At home and while sleeping, we do not use anything that can get caught up on. I have another story from a few decades ago to share with you:

We thought our Beagle, Shilo would be fine while we played horseshoes around the corner at the campground. She had just been walked and played with and seemed to be resting quietly next to the picnic table. We had been camping almost a week and we were winding down, our last evening here at the “Ten Mile Campground” in Southern Oregon. About 20 minutes after we tied Shilo to the stake and long lead, we came back, calling her to us with no response.

She didn’t come. She was awake, but didn’t come…what was going on? Upon investigating where she was (under a bush), we found our precious girl had wound her lead rope all around the bush and had PULLED HER COLLAR TIGHT…so tight that her eyes were bulging out of their sockets! I think we found her just in time. She recovered just fine, but scared us to death!

Friends of ours showed up at a recent Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Meet Up with their two dogs showing off their harnesses and telling us about their new life jackets that they love. It’s a local company that I’m sure I’ll be ordering from sometime: https://ruffwear.com/

It is my hopes that ALL dog owners everywhere would learn the basic anatomy of their dog and the dangers of wearing collars exclusively. Keep a harness handy and avoid the issues we have seen and experienced. Thanks for reading!