Don't buy... a harness??

[Sez]

I'm a bit baffled (easily done ) but I am reading through the Cavalier Club's Puppy Pack and it states "Don't buy a harness to walk your dog. A collar and lead is best".
Can I just ask why?

One of my pet peeves is seeing people drag their dogs around on a collar, or dogs who pull against a collar and seem to gasp and choke on every stride. Collars, unless very tight, are easy to slip out of, which therefore means a loose dog without it's tags on. We have walked our lurcher on harnesses since puppyhood and had no problems, and having used collars with previous dogs, I have to say I love harnesses.
Is there a particular reason why the Club says not to use one?

[coconut]

don't know y the club says not to buy a harness but i know alot of us use harness as cavalier get a condition called SM which affects there neck and back, harnesses put less pressure on there back. Like u said that u hate see people out walking there dogs with a collar and they are gasping well using a harness prevents this and is less stress on the dog.

[Katelyn]

Hi! I prefer to use a harness as I hate to see dogs being strangled by their collars! However the reason people are told not to use a harness is mainly because it encourages pulling. If your trying to train your dog to be good on the lead it is very very hard when using a harness as harnesses make pulling comfortable! That is why husky dogs wear harnesses!

[Shelli]

I always use a harness. It causes much less pressure on their little necks, especially if you have a dog that pulls. Dont know why the club said to use a collar over a harness

[Jasperxxgabby]

I've also only used a harness on my two. I couldn't stand them pulling with a collar on, Gabby tends to pull, although Jasper is pretty good but I still wouldn't use a collar on him.

[Lani]

Maybe it is a misprint and they transposed the words?

It doesn't really make any sense to me and I also have only ever used a harness for Lucky. Besides the SM issue and our Cavalier's sensitive necks, it's also just much safer and harder for them to slip out of a harness vs. a collar.

[diddy]

We just got Amber (6 months) a harness this week. She was only 100 yards or so from the pet shop when she snapped her collar pulling on the lead. The harness is much safer and is soft and comfy for her. We did find it harder to make her walk to heel though, so will continue practicing with that.

[cecily]

I don't know either why they'd say that. I was under the impression that harnesses were particularly recommended for cavaliers because of the likelihood of SM and also as a small dog it can place undue pressure on their windpipe.

We've only ever used harnesses, and we like the puppia ones a lot. They're lightly padded and seem comfortable. It spreads the weight nicely if they pull. (obviously you might not want to encourage that but...)

Are you allowed to use a harness in the show ring? If not maybe that's why they recommend a collar and lead.