An Investigation of Force Potential Against the Companion Dog Neck Associated with Collar Use

Pulling behavior while on-lead in dogs is a common problem with the potential for serious injury to both dogs and humans. Harnesses are often marketed as a “no pull” alternative to traditional neck collars. However, a literature search revealed only one previous study comparing leash tension in collars vs. harnesses worn by dogs lured with a food treat which showed greater leash tension when using a harness compared to collar. To further investigate this occurrence, our study compares pulling force generated by dogs of various sizes wearing either a traditional neck collar or chest harness when exposed to common environmental stimuli. Privately owned companion dogs (n = 28) were evaluated in a randomized cross-over design wearing a 1.5-inch flat nylon collar and standard padded chest harness clipped in the back and grouped as follows: small (≤ 13 kg); medium (14–22 kg); or large (≥ 23 kg). Each dog was presented with three commonly encountered environmental stimuli (unfamiliar dog, food, thrown toy) during a walk outdoors. Pulling force against the neck was measured with a digital dynamometer attached between the collar/harness and leash and measured as pound-force (lbf). Measurements were converted to Newtons (N) for statistical analysis (1 lbf = 4.45 N). Dogs pulled with greater mean force (P < 0.0001) while wearing a harness as compared to a collar (60.5 ± 3.91 N and 37.81 ± 3.51 N, respectively). Furthermore, peak pulling force was also greater in the back-clip harness (198.84 ± 5.43 N) as compared to the collar (162.80 ± 5.38 N) (P = 0.03). When peak pulling force was expressed as a % of body weight (% BW), dogs categorized as small pulled with the highest force (122 ± 9.45% BW) when compared to the medium and large group (85.8 ± 10.09% BW; 82.7 ± 3.62% BW) respectively (P < 0.0001). These data are the first to compare measured force exerted by dogs exhibiting natural pulling tendencies and demonstrate that companion dogs pulled with greater force when wearing a padded harness as compared to a traditional collar. This information may help provide insight into the selection of proper equipment for dogs to improve the walking experience for both dogs and their owners.