Choosing Collars, Leashes & Harnesses for your Dog

Collars:

• Martingale collars. Your dog is going home with a Martingale collar. These collars are a safe way to keep your dog from pulling or slipping out of their collar, without harming their neck. The collars don’t pinch. They use two loops: the large loop fits over your dog’s head and the ring on the smaller loop is where you attach their leash
• Tip: Please check the fit on the collar periodically, especially if you’re adopting a dog that is still growing. The collar should be fitted to your dog’s neck to ensure that when the control loop is pulled, the two ends are close but not touching. 
• Please do not use any type of corrective collar on your dog. This includes choke chains, prong/pinch collars, or shock collars. Not only can these cause significant injury to your dog, they reinforce bad behavior. Many undesirable behaviors in dogs are due to fear. When a dog experiences discomfort from a corrective collar, this reinforces the fear, and ultimately can cause more undesirable behavior in your dog. Learn more.

Leashes:

• Opt for a sturdy nylon or leather leash. A 6’ leash is usually sufficient for regular walks. 
• Please do not use retractable leashes. We strongly recommend that you not use a retractable leash for your dog. Consumer Reports has found tens of thousands of hospital-treated injuries as a result of retractable leashes.

Harnesses:

Some dogs will do best with a harness and leash. For example, if your dog tends to pull when walking, the right harness can help you to control this behavior in a safe manner. Also, we recommend using a harness with many small dogs so that they do not hurt their neck if they pull on their leash. 

We use a variety of harnesses, such as back-clip harnesses or Easy Walk harnesses, depending on the need of the dog. If you’re not sure if your new dog needs a harness, please feel free to reach out to us and we’d be glad to be of assistance.

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