Harness Or a Neck Collar: Which One Is Safe for My ESA Dog

If you’ve been a dog owner or are thinking of becoming one then you’d probably experience taking your dog out for a walk or any outdoor adventure quite often. A pooch usually gets bored if it stays at home for a long time which could seriously affect its health. That is why many veterans and pet specialists recommend taking your dog out for a walk at least thrice a week, if not daily. You must to know how to get an esa letter.

However, you cannot take your dog out in public without a leash. You have to have some sort of control over your pet if you are not within the premises of your home. This stands true for emotional support animals (ESA) as well. I am highlighting some important things to consider before getting an emotional support animal letter online.

If you do not know about ESA, let me explain it to you. Basically, an ESA is a pet that an individual with some mental or emotional disorder keeps for emotional support because of their comforting and soothing nature. To keep an ESA, you must have an esa letter for housing issued by a certified mental health professional.

This esa letter acts as a warrant to house your pet and travel with it with ease and free accommodation.

Now that you have an idea of ESAs, let us figure how to ensure that your pet stays healthy or gives you emotional support whenever required.

The easiest and logical solution is to take your pet out for walks, so it remains fit and healthy. However, one of the major predicaments that an ESA dog owner faces is to decide whether to buy a collar or a harness for the pet? Both of them have certain pros and cons which makes the decision all the more difficult.

To make the decision easy for you, I will highlight the major pros and cons of both a collar and a harness and you can decide for yourself what you want for your dog.

Using a Collar for an ESA Dog

If you have used a collar for your pooch before then you would know that they tug it pretty hard which could create tension in the leash, causing the dog to choke. This may seem pretty horrific to you, but do you know that more than half of the pet owners use a collar for their pets? So, there must be something enticing about it that makes them choose a collar over a harness.

A collar is a kind of band that is tied around the dog’s neck and is attached to a leash. Collars come in numerous styles, colors, and designs. The material used for collars is also available in a wide variety, giving you a great list of options to choose from.

While a collar has holes on the strap so it could be adjusted according to the dog’s build up and does not cause any inconvenience for it, some are explicitly designed to constrict the dog or cause discomfort for it. However, the latter type of collars is usually used for dogs that are under training and are not common among dogs kept for emotional support. I mean, why would the ESA owner want to cause discomfort to its source of comfort? It is both illogical and cruel.

A dog that has respiratory issues is usually not suitable to have a collar because it could contract the windpipe and make it prone to the risk of choking even with light tugging.

Using a Harness for an ESA Dog

A harness is usually more comfortable than a collar as it is made up of straps that tie the pet’s neck with its waist, so even if it tugs at the leash, it does not cause him to choke. A harness also comes in many sizes, shapes, and designs so you can choose it according to your pet’s requirement.  

The most common types of harnesses are jacket and vest style harnesses. Both of them are pretty useful for dogs that always try to wiggle their way out of your hold and escape any sort of restraints.

Besides, a jacket and vest-style harness cover up a good portion of the dog’s body and keep them warm if the weather at your location is usually cool.

Some other types of harnesses are made to control the pets that go wild in the public and are difficult to control. In other words, you can choose from different categories of harnesses depending on the type of control you need on your pet. This is not something that a simple collar offers.

Nevertheless, a harness is usually more expensive than a collar and not suitable for long day use. It gets uncomfortable for your dog to be in full-body restraint all day long.

If you ask me whether to use a collar or a harness for a dog, then I would suggest you understand your dog’s requirements and the type of outdoor place that you are planning to take him out to before choosing the restraint.

Besides, I would advise you to take your dog out for a walk more often. There is no point in getting an esa letter online if you are not going to enjoy the benefits of keeping a dog with you at outdoor places. So, make good use of the letter.

Hopefully, this guide will help you to decide what to use as a restraint for your ESA pet. If you still have any doubts concerning it, consult a professional dog expert or veteran. They will probably help you better in understanding what type of restraint is suitable for your particular dog.