Definitey, but not for the reason you might think.
We always recommend a harness for our sighthounds friends, whether you have a greyhound, whippet, or any other sighthound breed. There's a number of reasons for this which you can find out about here.
But then why do you also need a collar?
It's the law. We think that it's best to use a harness for walks, but you still need a collar to display the ID tag - something like our house collar would be great for this.
But there's other reasons why you might want to consider using both a harness and a collar as well.
Back up:
It's always good to have a back up plan. In case your sighthound were to escape their harness, you'd want some way to catch them and a collar can help with that for a number of reasons:
- You can attach a connector between the harness and collar, so that if one fails, the other will keep them secure and attached to your lead. This isn't really necessary with an escape proof harness like ours, but if using a traditional harness, it's good to be weary of the prospect that your sighthound could slip out.
- If they do get loose, as mentioned before, the collar has an ID tag on it. You want whoever finds your dog to be able to get in touch.
- You shouldn't really use the collar to hold or manoeuvre your dog, but in this case I think we can make an exception. The collar can be used to control your dog until you get them back on lead.
Using a double ended lead:
Naturally with a double ended lead, you're going to want two places to attach it to. One hook can be attached to the back of the harness and the other to the collar.
If you're dog is a puller, has trouble walking nicely, or you're doing some training, you may want to do this. Without delving too far into the topic, the part of the lead attached to the harness acts as a brake, and the part attached to the collar is used to direct or steer your dog which can be used to take them away from the pulling action.
Conclusion:
So yes, you likely need both a harness and a collar, but luckily you can get both here.