No-Chew-Through Dog Harness

May 28, 2007 7:56 PM

Is there such a thing as a dog harness that a dog cannot chew through, or is unlikely to physically chew through? I am not interested in answers regarding repellants such as bitter apple--I already know about them.

It seems unlikely that every harness in the world would be made of nylon, which a motivated animal can chew through in seconds. I'm aware of Halti and comparable head-collar-type designs that might move the chewable bits out of range (those introduce new problems, however).

Why doesn't anyone seem to make a normally designed, comfortable harness out of something the dog can't chew through?

posted by gimonca to pets & animals (9 comments total)

Chain.
posted by Gungho at 8:06 PM on May 28, 2007

I don't know of any material a dog cannot chew through which is also suitable for a harness (leather or nylon are pretty much it), but it seems to me that the solution is to train the dog not to chew the harness in the first place, including not giving him the chance to (i.e. by using a Halti or cage muzzle to physically prevent it while redirecting the dog).
posted by biscotti at 8:12 PM on May 28, 2007 [1 favorite]

Who makes a chain harness?
posted by gimonca at 9:05 PM on May 28, 2007

I've seen dogs attempt to chew through chain, too, and it's so, so not pretty. I'm recommending the idea that you first train the dog not to chew through the harness.
posted by frogan at 11:20 PM on May 28, 2007

Training is not a correct short-term solution in this case, and not really an answer to the question. The question is whether such a thing as a no-chew harness exists.
posted by gimonca at 4:56 AM on May 29, 2007

My last dog chewed through a seatbelt, so I'm saying no to nylon.
posted by monkeymadness at 6:57 AM on May 29, 2007

In my experience there is rarely a short-term solution to dog behavior issues. If it is necessary to leave the dog in the harness unsupervised, would a crate be an option instead? I know some dogs chew through crates, but not as many as can chew through nylon.
posted by ambrosia at 8:10 AM on May 29, 2007

Kevlar dog collar. They could probably make you a harness.
posted by acorncup at 8:14 AM on May 29, 2007

You are probably not going to find anything that fits your request.

I would suggest that if you have to leave the pup in the harness and go away, use an e-collar to prevent the chewing. The best thing is to not leave the harness on the pup while you are away. If your pup chews through the harness while you are on walks, then you probably have a lost cause on your hands.
posted by valentinepig at 3:56 PM on May 30, 2007