Harnesses

[Alana McGee]

Hi Everyone,

There has been so much talk on harnesses and I have a new simple harness right now.
I haven’t had Ashley in a harness in a while, since she did not like putting them on and
I wanted training classes to be fun. She is a bit of a shy dog, so just so many dogs was a
distraction in the beginning and the added slight distraction of a harness was not needed.. So we have taken a break from a harness and now I need to spend some time, making
them fun to put on and wear.

When she is full grown, I was looking at getting the Julius K9 harness as her future service dog harness. The Ruffwear-Front-Range-Padded-Comfortable-Outdoor-Pet-Dog-Harness
looked like a potential for mushrooming since it has padded belly area. Or would some
of the tracking harnesses be a good option?

All suggestions, thoughts, opinions welcomed. Thanks!

[Alana McGee]

We really like the K-9 julius. In fact I need to get some soon (I have also been trying various harness for the last 2 years- and so far, I like it the best- for all my dogs– who all have very different body types. Lagotto small & large, Aussie & mega-Labmix). The padded front one are nice too- just focus more on fit and ease of movement. Keep in mind because you will be mushrooming/ sticks, etc- about how many handles/ loops are on the harness. The harnesses I have currently are activedog police style harnesses that are pretty minimal but have a soft handle on top and allow for free shoulder movement and activity. It hasn’t gotten caught on much but I tend not to use it in heavy brush environments for that reason (unless I know there are tons of large logs/ hills and I either need to help Duff (he weighs 75- 80lbs) over things, or he help me up hills 🙂 )

[Alana McGee]

I found these two articles helpful in deciding on harnesses (both by canine fitness professionals):

http://www.pawsitive-performance.com/blog/does-…tivity-you-are-doing

alpineoutfitters.net/scripts/article.asp (reposted on a manufacturers website, but it looks like it was originally published in a different publication).

(edited to add: I’ve not tried the harnesses specifically recommended, I just found the information useful)

[Alana McGee]

We have two that we use, the k9 julius is our tracking harness. He can really lean into it and “pull” me. (Tippet does not pull hard, ever, but if he did, this one would be best as it doesn’t cut into him. Nice to put on, too

We also have a soft comfort fit one that we use for nosework and (if necessary) truffle work; and any other kind of stuff we need a harness for. It will hold him, he can lean into it and has enough adjustment for him to fit well.

[Alana McGee]

There are definitely a lot of options and a lot of considerations. The first thing I think of is “will my dog be pulling on this harness?” If so, look for a harness that is designed for safe pulling and avoid ones that are designed to prevent pulling.

If my dog isn’t going to be pulling much (ex. hunting off leash or dragging a line) I might look at harnesses that have other features I like but maybe aren’t idea for pulling.

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