# need harness/collar suggestins for escape artist dog



## w8ing4rain (Sep 4, 2008)

I need some suggestions for my escape artist dog. It seems that no collar or harness can hold her. She currently wears a collar with her tags on it and a harness. I don't like leaving the harness on her because she gets her legs all twisted up in it while trying to escape. Her harness only has a buckle/clip on the part that goes around her chest. The neck part just slips over her head. Last week she managed to get her leg stuck in the neck part and there was no way to unclip it to set her free. We got her out but now I need to replace the harness because it is stretched out and more likely to be a hazard. Would a martingale collar work for this kind of a dog? Obviously this wouldn't be something that could be left on her for safety reasons. I need something that is an easy on and off but that won't let her escape. I like the harness idea because she is a small dog. My main concern is to keep her safe, both from hurting herself on the collar/harness and also from escaping. She has a high prey drive and will take off without warning if she sees something.


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## Nargle (Oct 1, 2007)

Are you looking for something for walks or something to keep on her 24/7?

Basil is an escape artist, too, so for walks I use this particular harness: http://cozycritter.com/cozyharness.htm. It's pretty much like a martingale version of a harness. The straps on the back slide freely, and if Basil tries to back out of it, it tightens behind his armpits and he can't get his front legs through. On any other kind of harness, he can just back up and slip out in an instant. I really like this harness, though, because it works great and doubles as a car harness so he can be buckled in on car rides. And you can pick a custom fabric :biggrin1:

If you want to go the collar route, I think a martingale collar would be perfect. They're different from regular collars because if your dog pulls, instead of focusing all of the pressure on the front of the neck, it evenly destributes the pressure all around the neck and thus minimizes damage to the windpipe. I totally get your concern over the damage caused by collars with small dogs. It's an extremely sad sight to see when a dog has a collapsing trachea.

If you're looking for something to keep on your dog 24/7 for identification, I'd definitely go with a break-away collar. I wouldn't leave any other kind of collar or harness on a dog unsupervised, the risk is just too great. http://breakawaycollar.com/


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## w8ing4rain (Sep 4, 2008)

Thank you Nargle. I am definitely considering the cozy harness. It looks like they make a breakaway collar too. It would be nice to have the harness and collar match. I mostly need the harness for walking. I like to keep something on her 24/7 though because in addition to her escaping from collars she is also a door bolter. Having a collar on her gives me something to grab if someone comes to the door. I also like her to have her ID tags on her in case she escapes. She does have a micro chip but I want her to have visible ID rather than counting on someone to scan her for a chip. 

Now to choose a pattern for the collar and harness. So many to choose from.


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## Nargle (Oct 1, 2007)

I love all of the fabric options for their collars/harnesses! Basil's harness is Autumn Leaves :biggrin1:

As for door bolting, have you ever thought of putting a gate up in front of the door so that there's an extra barrier to prevent her from bolting? If you've got an entry way to your front door, then that's easy-peasy, just get a regular baby gate and put it between the walls, with enough room for the door to swing, so that she can't get to the door. If your front door is flat on the wall, though, you may have to set up several gates/exercise pen type of thing. IMO prevention is always better than having to chase her down the street!


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## Sango (Nov 7, 2008)

My girl used to back out of her collar as a puppy, I used a martingale collar for her and loved it, stopped the problem right away without causing her any harm. If its sized correctly she cant get out of it and it wont choke her or cause neck damage.


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## w8ing4rain (Sep 4, 2008)

It looks like that website offers martingale collars too. So many decisions and choices. I love the Autumn Leaves pattern. In fact it would be my first choice except that we live in the mountains and Dixie's harness gets pretty dirty when she goes on hikes through the forest. I may have to opt for a darker color.


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