When the dog does not allow itself to be dressed
Published: 2022-07-06 16:09:01

There are always those dogs that just won't get dressed. Some of them show fear when you come with the harness, others freeze and still others even start with defensive behavior.

## But why is this so?
Often it is said, "well no wonder with an animal protection dog, he knows nothing". And sometimes these voices are even right. But it would be too simple to see only the animal protection dogs with this problem. Unfortunately, very often small mistakes happen, which show their effects when dressing or something was missed in early childhood.

The fact is that dogs that do not let themselves get dressed have a reason for it. Often this reason can only be guessed at (bad/no experience). Sometimes, however, the action or act of dressing involved is the problem.

Close observation of body language and the situation is crucial here.

## First signs
Before the dog avoids the harness completely, the first signs of discomfort are often apparent much earlier.

These are the signs you should look for in your dog:

- Licking over the muzzle
- Smacking
- Turning head away
- Lifting paw
- Turn away body
- Blink
- Make eyes small (pinch)
- Put on ears
- Shake after dressing

## Maybe you notice something about these signs?

They are appeasement signals! The dog wants to defuse a situation that is unpleasant/dangerous for him.

If you now change something in the situation, your dog will be noticeably relieved and gladly participate again. But also here it is important to find out the reason for the discomfort.

## The rude human

Since we are much taller than most dogs with our upright gait, we tend to lean over them when getting dressed (and also in everyday life).

To a dog, however, this seems very threatening. Feel free to try this out by getting down to your dog's height and asking someone to lean over you. It is not a nice feeling.

In some situations (e.g. when the dog should feel comfortable with older people) it can be useful to train this leaning over. Here you go very small step by step, and so show the dog that whenever a person becomes rude, something great happens. So we change the dog's feeling.

Even if you don't want to think about it all the time, you can make leaning over palatable to your dog. For this, however, you should seek the advice of your trainer.

Otherwise, the rule is: when dressing, tend to squat down and face the dog sideways. With a well-trained hand target or a cleverly placed treat, the dog can also be positioned and turned appropriately.

## The right harness

When it comes to the harness, it's much the same as with the muzzle. One sees far too often dogs with unsuitable models running around.

The following points should be considered with the harness
- Under the straps fit several fingers, so that nothing presses
- The harness does not slip even when running
- Buckles and seams are well made (safety)
- The belly strap is 2 fingers to 1 palm behind the elbow, depending on the size of the dog.
- The Y on the chest rests on the sternum, not over it

Especially the last point is important to prevent choking when pulled. For this reason, even a collar alone is usually not suitable. Because even with dogs that walk very proficiently on the leash, it can happen that they get scared. If the dog then jumps a little to the side and into the leash, a collar is very painful (the thinner and harder, the worse).

So-called Norwegian or saddle harnesses offer exactly the same problem. They too have a pressure point on the dog's trachea (or larynx) due to the transverse chest strap, which can lead to health problems. In addition, the shape of these harnesses massively restricts movement in the shoulder. Therefore, they are completely unsuitable in any situation.

However, Y-harnesses can also be ill-fitting and thus uncomfortable for the dog. In this case, it is probably not surprising that the dog does not like to be put on.

This connection is also possible if the harness is padded too little or with inappropriate material. So a fleece padding can be nice and soft and super suitable for short-furred dogs, but for swimming it can be very uncomfortable, because it gets soaked with water and is then cold and wet for a long time.

As you can see, the type of dog, the activity and also the physique require very different things from the harness.

The latter is especially evident in dogs with deep chests, often. They often need an x-shape of the chest strap (there are 2 straps running on both sides of the chest to the belly strap), because the harness slides too much to the side with a simple strap.

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## The feeling
Some dogs don't like harnesses because they don't like to wear something on their body. This can be due to the fact that they never got to know it and have to get used to it slowly.

But it can also be that a dog is extremely sensitive to touching the skin or certain parts of the body. In this case, a good veterinarian (physiotherapist) should be consulted. If pain or excessive sensitivity of the skin is the cause of your dog's aversion, this problem should first be remedied.

Only then can you work on the harness again. Unfortunately, it happens from time to time, especially in these cases, that the pain memory is so fixed that the dog never accepts a harness. In this case you have to find alternatives for the individual case. But this should also be worked out with a trainer.

## It has nothing to do with the harness at all
Especially with fearful / insecure dogs it also often happens that the harness is associated with a walk and the dog wants to avoid it. This may be due to overwork, pain or anxiety and should also be discussed with a trainer or behavioral veterinarian.

There is an opportunity to re-occupy the harness in a positive way by always having particularly great things happen after it is put on (re-trained). For example, the dog can be dressed to play foraging, cuddling, feeding, etc. Here, however, the dressing should absolutely be trained beforehand so that the dog participates voluntarily. If one omits this preliminary work, one can occupy oneself the mad things also negatively and thus the fun in it ruin.

## But a collar
As already mentioned, a collar is usually not a good alternative, because the risk of injury is much greater. Also, with a good harness, there are more options for equipment. The best example of this is the drag line. A drag line can be a great securement tool, especially for a new or fearful dog. It can also allow a greater range of motion for dogs interested in hunting without endangering other animals. BUT a drag leash should never be attached to a collar, as it puts the dog's life at risk.

Securing in the car is also more limited with a collar. For example, I can not hook a seat belt in the collar, because there is also a danger to life.

But of course there are cases where a harness is simply not possible (for example, a large tumor in the area of a belt), where the way out on a collar remains the only option. Here, a sufficiently wide one should be chosen that does not constrict the dog, but not so wide that the movement of the neck is restricted.