Like so many of you, my wife and I are meticulous shoppers. Whether it be online or in-person, we tend to put a lot of research into the things we purchase so that we know we're putting our hard-earned money on the proper products. There are so many options for even basic items like leashes and collars that it's easy to get lost in what we're buying.

We will be writing reviews as we purchase and use these items ourselves. As you do your research for products you're planning to buy, our goal is to add another layer to that research.

Ever since we’ve adopted Markus, we've been pretty hard on his leash training. We’ve been training him on a harness with a front clip because we figured that a little bit of discomfort today will establish better walking habits for the future. For this training, we've been using the Easy Walk by PetSafe, which we reviewed a several months ago. 

For the most part, the harness has been fine although we've noticed constriction around his shoulders. We've found that he doesn’t seem to run as fast or as freely when he's wearing the harness - even if he's off-leash with the harness still on. We ran some test and confirmed that with just a collar or without the harness, he runs more freely so we’ve been on the look out for a harness to finally replace this one.

On our last trip, we did a number of hikes and exploring of the Pacific Northwest. We noticed that when Markus needed to get around and boost himself like up logs and rocks, he struggled to do some of it. We decided after the trip that we’ll get something more comfortable for Markus since we tend to do a lot of trips and hikes like that.

The Freedom No-Pull Harness

In search of a new harness, we asked around for people’s opinion and we went into some local pet stores to try out a few. Between effectiveness and price, we ended up going with the Freedom No-Pull Harness and have been using it as our day-to-day harness since.

There were a few things that we liked about the Freedom No-Pull Harness. The first thing that was important to us was how the harness sat on him. The straps were a lot higher up and there’s another strap going down the middle of his chest. This made the harness a lot safer than the previous harness where we mentioned there were moments would Markus would pull back to expose some holes where he could slip his paws out. He wasn’t able to do this with this harness.

The Front & Back Clips

Like the EasyWalk, the Freedom No-Pull also had a front clip. What’s nice was that it also came with a back clip and we saw this extra option as a good way for us to progress in our training from the front clip to the back clip.

Using the front clip for leash training has been very effective. The idea behind the front clip is that when the leash is clipped to the front and the dog pulls, they end up being jerked towards the side. This makes it very uncomfortable for the dog when they’re trying to pull and slowly, but surely, they learn to stop pulling. The front clip is also really uncomfortable for the owner, but it is effective for training purposes.

Since Markus has been consistently walking without pulling, we figured it’s a good time to start training him with the back clip. We ended up getting the Freedom No-Pull because it allows you to choose between the front or back and we liked having that option. But the reason why it’s called the No-Pull harness is because it’s also made to discourage dogs from pulling forward.

What makes the Freedom No-Pull unique is that the harness tightens around the body if the dog pulls forward with the clip on the back. In this way, it’s a bit like the Martingale except that it tightens around the body instead of the neck. It’s this same discomfortable that’s supposed to discourage the dog from pulling.

Wearing the Freedom No-Pull

This harness isn’t as easy to put on as the EasyWalk harness, but I would imagine it's a little bit more secure for that reason. The harness requires you to loop the hole around the dog's head and then there's a strap that goes under the belly area, past the legs and clips on the back.

Where the EasyWalk harness could be taken off with just an unbuckling of a clip, the Freedom No-Pull requires the dog to back out of the hole for the head. This makes it slightly more difficult if your dog’s also wearing a collar, but it’s fine once you get used to it. I'm happy to use a harness that’s harder to put on and trade that for something he’s not as easily able to slip out of. Whether it's the effectiveness of the harness or because he's become well trained in walking, we haven’t had many issues with walking him on the Freedom No-Pull, which has made it a lot more comfortable for all of us.

The Negatives of the Freedom No-Pull

As much as we like this harness, we unfortunately think there's a good chance we're going to have to change out of it soon. Since we've been using it for a few weeks and months now, we've started noticing some balding patches exactly where the bottom strap is. The balding is starts from his belly area and also around his armpits. At this point, we're monitoring the balding to make sure that it's actually the harness and not an allergy from foods or treats he’s had. 

We’ve also triple checked the tightness of the straps and have gotten store owners to look at it for us just in case too. We’re confident we have everything adjusted properly and we also can't go much looser without compromising the safety. This is too bad because this harness checks off all the boxes for us and we happen to really like it. At the end of the day, it’s not meshing well with Markus and his skin so it is not an option for us.

Final Thoughts on the Freedom No-Pull

Except for the strap that's causing the balding, we really like the Freedom No-Pull Harness. So far, Markus has kept up with his leash training after switching over to this new harness and he hasn't pulled forward very often. It's too bad that we're likely going to have change it up because of that one strap. 

I do think that the fit's not the same for all dogs. Perhaps the way that Markus is shaped causes more tension in areas that might not be the same for your dog. I would still try it out at the store or, if possible, to try it out for a week or so and then decide after that. You never know, you just might be fortunate enough to not experience the balding and only reap the benefits!

We’re so grateful for your support of The Markus Project. We mostly choose our locations through searching and word of mouth. If you know of a park, trail or location you think we should check out, please share it with us. We’d love to know!