Walking a Doberman and Whippet together

Walking a Doberman and a Whippet at the same time when both are lunging at squirrels is a genuinely tough situation — you've got two very different body types, both with serious prey drive, and if they go at the same moment you're losing control fast. The most effective tools for lead pulling are no-pull harnesses and head collars, but the right choice really depends on each dog's size, build, and how they're pulling — and fit is critical for either to work properly. So tell me: how strong is the pulling from each of them, and have you tried any equipment on either dog so far?

Flat collars on a 38kg Doberman with prey drive is a real safety issue — all that force goes straight to the neck and you have almost no steering. With two dogs lunging simultaneously, you need front-clip no-pull harnesses on both of them. The front clip redirects them back toward you when they pull, rather than letting them power forward. My recommendation for both dogs is the Perfect Fit Harness — it comes in modular sections so you can get a genuinely accurate fit, which matters a lot for a deep-chested Doberman and a narrow-chested Whippet. Standard harnesses often gap or twist on sighthound builds and big working breeds. Can I ask — do you walk them on a single coupler lead or separate leads?

Separate leads is the right call for now. A coupler locks their movement together, so if they lunge in different directions — which two prey-driven dogs absolutely will — you get a violent sideways jerk and no ability to manage either of them individually. Stick with two leads, and honestly I'd suggest a traffic lead or a shorter 1.2m lead on the Doberman so you can keep him close to your body quickly if you spot a squirrel first. Once both dogs are in their Perfect Fit harnesses with front clips, you'll have proper steering on each of them rather than just hanging on.

Yes, that's exactly why I'm recommending it over something like a Julius-K9 or a generic padded harness. The Perfect Fit is one of the very few harnesses that actually fits sighthounds well because you measure and order each of the three sections — chest, girth, and back — independently. A Whippet's narrow chest and deep tuck mean standard harnesses either slip forward over their shoulders or sit too loose around the girth, which completely kills the control. Measure carefully using their sizing guide before you order, and if you're between sizes on the Whippet, size down on the chest piece.

One important thing: introduce each harness separately before you walk both dogs together. Let each dog wear it around the house for a few sessions so it's not novel and distracting when you're also trying to manage two leads. And on the first few walks with the front clip, expect them to feel the redirection and stall — that's it working. Give it a few outings before you judge it. The Doberman in particular will figure out the new mechanics quickly once he realises forward lunging just spins him back toward you.