Harness & Clipper
 

Hello,

I'm new to this forum and want to inquire on some things for my precious lil' Lily. I hear more and more about dog harnesses instead of collers and was wondering which was better to get. Do you use the vest type harness?

Also, I might start grooming her myself as she's very petite (4.5 lbs) and needed some recommendations for clippers. I hear people mention the Wahl Peanut.

I don't keep her shaved as I don't like the real short short look. I did have her recently trimmed to about 3-4 inches on her body. She's so relaxed & mellow that I trim her face and places at time by myself and thought about doing it all as I just love her and hate being without her.

Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated...

Welcome to YT as far as the harness vs collar...I use collars for identification and I have one(cat break away) with a little bell so I hear her coming. As far as harnesses that's the only thing I would use for walking...I wouldn't want any stress to her trachea. Depending on how old Lily is and if she's gone growing I would invest in a quality harness. I have a buddy belt, there's a member here that sells them and they also have them on amazon most people with yorkies get a size 1 or 2. I'm not sure about the grooming part. I plan on keeping my baby in a show coat, but I'm sure others will have more knowledge on this than I do.:welcome4:

Harnesses should only be used when hooking your dog up to a leash because hooking the leash to the collar can lead to collapsing trachea and there is no cure for that. Collars are fine for tags ONLY never a leash. I love the buddy belt harness.

Buddy belts are on my "must have" list for my boys. I have collars on both my boys for identification purposes, but I never walk them on their collars. I use harnesses for them.

A few days ago, when I was at the Humane Society, I am fairly sure I got to hear what a collapsed trachea sounds like. There was a lady who had 2 yorkies and was taking them back to the vet area. Of course, she had both of their leashes hooked to their collars and they were pulling as hard as they could at the end of them. Whenever the one dog took a breath, he made the most awful sound. It was so loud and even the guy at the front desk said he'd never heard anything like it.


As far as clippers, I have Osters, but I am not sure what kind they are as I've had them for years. I bought them when I was 14 years old and they've held up all of these years. I have a 5 blade and an 8 blade that I use on the boys. I occasionally have used my SO's clippers as well because they've got plastic guards on them that are great if you want to leave more length.

I use the 5 blade for a puppy cut and I use my 8 blade around the bum and pee area. I am sure other people have some better advice than I though as I am not a professional groomer.

Hello and welcome to yt. I have the buddy belt. I just love it. Kristin ( Maximo ) sells them here. I got a Rubit dog tag clip to put his tags on. I can switch them from harness to harness. I have an Andis clippers. They are awesome. They are the cordless variety.

Thanks for the replys so far. I will start looking into all these suggestions.

the choke*free and buddy belt are the best harnesses that I know of at this time.... either would meet your needs. I like them both

My two wear a lightweight (lil'pals by coastal pet) collar with a bell and very small aluminum tag. For walking or traveling in the car they wear a step in type harness. Very easy and cool for our hot weather. I keep their rabies tag on this harness.

I groom mostly with a scissor but bought the Wahl peanut for ears,butt and foot pads.I don't think I could do a whole cut with it- the blade is quite fine and it would take forever.