How many times have you seen a dog that is out for a walk, pulling on their leash, choking and hacking as they go. They look like fish on the end of a string, trying to pull every which way and dragging their owners behind them.

This behavior in a Dachshund could be deadly to their health.

When a dog acts this way on a leash they are doing tremendous damage to their wind pipe and vocal cords. Since a Dachshund has a very long back, a great deal of pressure is placed on their back and neck by pulling and straining on a leash. This could very easily result in back problems and breathing problems.

Most unruly behavior problems of this sort are caused by a leash that is attached to the dogs' collar. For some odd reason, almost all dogs pull and strain when a leash attached to the collar is being used.

You can determine the damage that can be caused to your dog, by doing a simple test on yourself. Put a towel around your neck and have someone hold it while you try to move in the opposite direction. Suddenly you can feel the pressure on your windpipe and vocal cords. Imagine what would happen if you did this 2 or 3 times a day while using a much smaller cord around your neck.

A Dachshund that has this much pressure put on its' neck and back everyday will surely develop back problems in the future.

My Dachshund injured her back when she was allowed to be unrestrained in the back seat of my car. Fortunately for me, she only had a bad sprain in her neck and didn't have a break. It took 6 weeks before she was allowed out of her crate area and was able to walk without pain.

She always loved to go for walks and wanted to resume them as she got better. I knew because of her delicate neck, that there was no way she could go out with a collar leash again.

I had seen many dogs that were on a harness leash and they didn't seem to pull as much or put as much strain on their necks and backs.

After doing some research I had almost settled on a harness leash, when I happened to see an old western movie on TV. The farmer was plowing his field with two horses that were connected to his plow by harnesses. These horses were pulling his plow day after day and I could tell that all the pressure was put on their chests and not on the necks.

I figured that if it was good enough for horses, it was good enough for my Dachshund.

The harness I purchased, slips over her head then under each leg, with a fabric square that rested on her chest. The pressure was spread out over her chest area and under her legs.

She gave no indication of pain and best of all she didn't choke or hack and she didn't try to pull away. I knew right away that this was the right leash for my girl. We go for walks a couple of times a day and I am happy to say that she feels no pain and actually seems to enjoy the walks more now that we are using the harness and not the collar leash.

Don't risk the possibility of giving your Dachshund back or neck problems because you are using the wrong kind of leash. A leash that is connected to your dogs' collar may cause windpipe damage as well as possibly destroying their vocal cords.

Dachshunds are unique because of their short legs and very long back. Too much upward pressure on their neck that is caused by a collar leash can result in severe damage to your Dachshund. Make sure that you keep your dog safe and healthy by using the correct leash, a harness leash, when out for a walk.