Dog Life With No Spoons

The Effect of Y-Shaped vs Chest Harnesses on the Canine Shoulder with Rachel Bentley, Canine Physiotherapist

Rene Smith and Jade Johnson Season 1 Episode 12

One of the most common questions people have when it comes to finding a harness is "What style of harness should I get?" Almost everyone has strong opinions about which is best and why, often revolving around an argument to avoid any restriction in the dog's shoulder and leg movement. Rachel Bentley, canine physiotherapist, was not satisfied with this argument without evidence to back it up. Joins us today to discuss the recent research she did to investigate whether harnesses restrict shoulder movement and which gear affects movement more. Listen and be as surprised as we were to find the answer!

Resources
Podcast Slides to view pictures and summary

Rachel on facebook: Mobilise Veterinary Physiotherapy
Instragram: @Mobilisevetphysio (with dissertation highlight)
Full research paper: Bentley, R. 2022. The effects of y-shaped and chest harnesses on canine glenohumeral joint maximal extension. Submitted for BSc. (Hons) at Warwick College/Coventry University.

Previous research on Y vs chest harnesses on treadmill:
Lafuente, M.P., Provis, L. and Schmalz, E.A. (2019) Effects of restrictive and
non‐restrictive harnesses on shoulder extension in dogs at walk and trot
. Veterinary
Record (online) 184(2), pp.1-7. 

People on this episode