Cane Corso: Collar or harness?
When I go for a walk with our Cane Corso, I am faced with whether to use a collar or a harness. When exactly do I take what and why I explain to you in this post.
For everyday walking or training, a Cane Corso should wear a collar. The contact between a dog owner and dog is better through the collar. A harness is recommended when running, biking, or using a dragline to prevent injury from quick or jerky movements.
What is better? Collar or harness for Cane Corso?
I think a collar is better than a harness for a Cane Corso. This has, on the one hand, optical reasons, because I like it better. On the other hand, it is more comfortable for the dog because he has less on his body.
With a collar, I have Malou also better under control. In between, it still happens that she pulls on the leash because she wants to go to another dog.
She pulls even more if she wears a harness because she can lie down with her body in the harness.
Of course, there are situations where a harness is the better choice for a Cane Corso.
When I use a harness with the Cane Corso!
With our Cane Corso, I use a harness when we walk with the dragline.
The reason for this is that I don’t want her to run up 5 to 10 meters because she saw something and jumps with full power into the leash. Cane Corsos have a hunting instinct; if she suddenly discovers a deer, she wants to run from the not on it.
With a collar, a blow to the neck could cause dramatic injuries.
But also, when running, I use a harness because she pulls me when running. I take through the harness also the pressure from the neck.
In addition, I can not estimate so well when running as Malou possibly reacts in certain situations, and with a harness, I am so on the safe side.
If your Cane Corso is scared and suddenly jumps forward or to the side every now and then, a harness would also be recommended so that he does not hurt himself.
As a harness, we have a well-padded Y-harness*, which I can recommend.
I would not recommend Norwegian harnesses because they usually do not fit so well due to the transverse chest strap and can disturb your Cane Corso at the shoulders.
When I use the collar with the Cane Corso!
With our Cane Corso, I use a collar in everyday life. So during the usual walk with the “everyday leash” through the fields or the settlement.
The collar has the advantage that we have better contact with the dog and can always incorporate small exercises, especially for leash leadership.
Malou runs excellent on the leash, but the training never stops.
This brings us directly to the next point when we use a collar with the Cane Corso. Namely, when we want to train with her specifically. Communication through the collar is much easier and better than with a harness.
Make sure you use a collar that is as wide and padded as possible and does not hurt your Cane Corso. The narrower the collar, the more pressure on the neck muscles when he pulls on the leash.
We have for Malou a wide, padded leather collar from Bestia*. It also looks just top-notch.
Even if they are well-trained, they can always jump into the leash. The larger the area that holds them back, the lower the risk of injury because the pressure is distributed over a wide area.
When playing with other dogs, we use a collar at most because, with a harness, there are too many possibilities of getting caught with the paws.
Always use a harness with a Cane Corso puppy!
With a Cane Corso puppy, I would always use a harness. The bones and muscles are not fully developed, and a blow to the neck can quickly injure the puppy.
Puppies will jump into the leash between times simply because they see or smell something. To minimize the risk of injury, you should always put a harness on your Cane Corso puppy in everyday life.
Of course, you must train your Cane Corso puppy. For the training of, for example, leash walking, you should choose a suitable collar. Keep in mind that puppies can only concentrate for a short period and must wear the collar only for a few minutes.
We always put both on our Cane Corso when we walked. A collar and a harness so we could always change in between. This way, we could always intersperse short training sessions on a walk.
How should a collar fit?
The collar should fit so that your Cane Corso can not slip out, but at the same time, it is not too tight and constricts him.
Generally, two fingers should fit between the collar and the neck, but not more.
Related Cane Corso posts:
When your Cane Corso is wearing his collar, you must not manage to pull the collar forward over his head.
Which collar and which harness?
With collars and harnesses, you have the agony of choice. I will show you here the collar and harness we use for Malou and can recommend them without reservation.
Since we mostly use a collar, we have chosen a wonderful, eye-catching one in our imagination, which is, of course, also somewhat more expensive than the average. As for the harness, we chose a simple, inexpensive, padded one.
Via the following link, you can find the Bestia collar*. Our harness seems to be no longer available at Amazon. But this harness* is very similar.
Conclusion: Collar or harness for a Cane Corso?
Whether you use a collar or a harness, you must decide for yourself. I would recommend a wide, padded collar for everyday use and training. When jogging or on the dragline, a harness is recommended simply because of the higher risk of injury with a collar.
