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What Is The Best Harness For A Traumatized Dog?


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I adopted a galgo in Spain and am bringing him home in early April. Despite having been in foster care since late September, he is still very afraid of people. I need to buy a harness to take to Spain with me. Can anybody recommend the best harness for an extremely scared dog? I've seen the Waggles, Wags and Whiskers training package, but I'm wondering if it might be overkill and scare him even more. The harness will also need to be comfortable during the long plane trip. Can anybody think of anything else that might help?

 

 

 

Thanks

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Xavi the galgo and Peter the cat. Missing Iker the galgo ?-Feb.9/19, Treasure (USS Treasure) April 12/01-May 6/13, Phoenix (Hallo Top Son) Dec.14/99-June 4/11 and Loca (Reko Swahili) Oct.9/95 - June 1/09, Allen the boss cat, died late November, 2021, age 19.

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I used a WWW harness on Gizmo. He was so bad when we first picked him up that Mike had to literally slide him across the back of the truck to get him out. He was not going any where near Mike. It took him about 20 minutes to get him out. Once out I put a harness on him with no problems. I just made sure I did it in the house in case he tried to escape. The harness was comfortable to leave on him all the time if necessary.

Judy, mom to Darth Vader, Bandita, And Angel

Forever in our hearts, DeeYoGee, Dani, Emmy, Andy, Heart, Saint, Valentino, Arrow, Gee, Bebe, Jilly Bean, Bullitt, Pistol, Junior, Sammie, Joey, Gizmo, Do Bee

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I'm pretty sure the airline won't allow you to leave a harness on him on the plane. You'll have to check.

 

The WWW harness in and of itself is just a harness with about 1.5 inches of martingale "action" on the back. I only use it with a plain old leash.

 

I'm sure it would work just fine. The only thing that you need to worry about is the dog getting away from you.


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Susan,  Hamish,  Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck

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I use the WWW harness with Trolley. She's very shy & in the beginning kept backing up. I was afraid that she would back out of her martingale. She wears the harness everywhere, including riding in the car & seems very comfortable. It gives me peace of mind. :)

Carol-Glendale, AZ

Trolley (Figsiza Trollyn)

Nevada 1992-2008...always in my heart

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Guest MnMDogs

We use the WWW with Greg. When we first got him and he spooked a few times on walks (we had to physically carry him out of the house, he was so afraid of the outside), we used the harness and a martingale so we had a back up in case he broke loose from a leash.

 

He also wore the WWW a lot of the time while he was in the kennel and I think it's pretty comfortable.

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I love the WWW harnesses, I initially bought for my spook girl, but on this case I think I would go with the spook harness from Majestic. It's always better to be safe than sorry. I've seen the spook harness on a little female greyhound at an event and there was no way she was going to get away unless the owner dropped the leash. It fit her nicely and she seemed very comfortable wearing it. I agree with the other poster, I don't think the airline will allow the dog to wear it in the crate in the belly of the plane.

Sunsands Doodles: Doodles aka Claire, Bella Run Softly: Softy aka Bowie (the Diamond Dog)

Missing my beautiful boy Sunsands Carl 2.25.2003 - 4.1.2014

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O would go with the spook harness in this case.

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Susan, Jessie and Jordy NORTHERN SKY GREYHOUND ADOPTION ASSOCIATION

Jack, in my heart forever March 1999-Nov 21, 2008 My Dancing Queen Jilly with me always and forever Aug 12, 2003-Oct 15, 2010

Joshy I will love you always Aug 1, 2004-Feb 22,2013 Jonah my sweetheart May 2000 - Jan 2015

" You will never need to be alone again. I promise this. As your dog, I will sing this promise to you, and whisper it to you at night, every night, with my breath." Stanley Coren

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Guest mirthlesstroll

My friends found this for their Grey when he had his front leg amputated: http://www.ruffwear.com/Web-Master-Harness?sc=2&category=1131

 

He wears it most of the time so his Mom & Dad can hoist him up when he falls.

They aren't cheap, but they are worth every penny! The straps are padded, and there are lots of adjustment points.

I got it for my breed-snob, not small animal safe Grey, and I was so pleased with it that I got 2 more! 1 for my shy guy Trent, who managed to get himself out of a WWW harness, and 1 for fosters.

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Not sure what will/won't be allowed in the airline crate. Apart from that, I'd go with either the RuffWear (short term) or the Majestic Collars spook harness (longer term). Whichever you use, make sure it's adjusted *snugly*. Most folks you see walking their dogs in harnesses have them waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too loose.

Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in Illinois
We miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10.

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Spook harness, hands down. We had a foster from Guam who would freak out whenever she saw a non-grey. She never even got close to getting out of her spook harness and it made me feel confident in taking her out.

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My Ibizan was able to get out of a snug WWW harness (in truth it was a bit small on him so it definitely was not too loose). Thankfully he's not my spook and he trotted right back to me, very proud of himself for being a houdini. The WWW harness is a great harness and I use it on some of the Greyhounds at times (like when we are hiking) but even a minute chance of being able to be pretzel-twisted out of is too much of a chance for me with a spook. I'm convinced that Spanish hounds are made out of rubber bands because they are so flexible. blink.gif

 

My vote is for the spook harness from Majestic Collars. It is what I have for Argos. Unless his chest shrinks that harness is not coming off. The extra strap is pretty much made out of peace of mind.

Edited by GreytHoundPoet
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