Dog Community

Is there a such thing as a harness that doesn't break hair??

Posted : 10/12/2006 12:30:10 PM

So Cherokee wears a harness, because she chokes constantly with a collar. She has one of those normal "perfect fit" harnesses, that actually doesn't fit her very well, it's too big, but the smaller size has 3/4" straps, as if the 1" doesn't mess up her fur badly enough.

She has kind of a strange coat. It's long, but quite thick and coarse. I don't really know how to explain it. Her harness screws it up though. She has permanent harness lines, where the fur is broken off to like half the normal length. I don't know why it bothers me so much, but it does.

I've seen a few things that look like they'd work, but they're all for smaller dogs. Cherokee's chest is like 27-28 inches, and everything I can find is for up to around 20 inches. Any suggestions?

I'm adding a few pictures to show what I mean. The second one I brightened so you could see better. I know I'm a freak, and who cares, but I can't help it.

Terri

Posted : 10/12/2006 1:06:09 PM

We used to use a harness made by Sporn. The part that goes under the front legs is covered in fleece. I never had any trouble with it messing up Loki's hair.

Now we use a head halter made by New Trix, which I personally like a lot better than the body harnesses. It doesn't allow them to pull nearly as much. I used the Gentle Leader head halter, but that one messed up the hair on their snouts, so I switched to New Trix.

jenhuedepohl

Posted : 10/12/2006 1:23:57 PM

My first thought was fleece covers for the harness. The ones you can get for horse halters are inexpensive and would probably work. [linkhttp://www.horse.com/products/gift-0__sku-BMH01.html]Fleece halter covers[/link]

You could also try switching to a leather harness. A good-quality leather will get softer and more comfortable with time.

There are also many padded harnesses on the market, but most of the ones I found when I Googled "Padded dog harness" were for pulling.

stardog85

Posted : 10/12/2006 1:51:46 PM

Are you trying to prevent pulling? If so, why not try the Easy Walk or similar front ring no pull harness? I've never seen a broken coat from using them.

Is the harness only worn for walks? I can't imagine hair breaking if it's only worn for short periods, so if she's wearing it all day, try switching to just using it for walks.

If you don't mind pulling in harness or she's trained to walk nicely in harness, I LOVE the Urban Trail Harness Maggie has http://alpineoutfitters.net/Secure/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=155); I got it about 6 months ago and it's been perfect in all sorts of settings (I don't receive anything for promoting it btw).

Maggie has a medium length coat and I've had no problems w/ hair breaking, mainly because it is a padded harness and doesn't slide around like most walking harnesses out there. Here's a shot of Mags with her harness on (we rollerblade w/ it).

jennie_c_d

Posted : 10/12/2006 4:27:35 PM

That harness looks so comfy, Erin. I like that site, a lot.

My dogs have short, short hair, so we don't have a breakage problem. Does she wear the harness when she's not walking?

chelsea_b

Posted : 10/12/2006 5:52:24 PM

She usually only wears it when she's going somewhere, but since my sister and her dog moved in, she has to wear it, so that if she decides to go after Jaz we can pull her off more easily.

She's not much of a puller anymore (let me tell you, "being a tree" maybe 15 times has transformed a confirmed puller, made so by 7 years of "checking", into a dog who walks politely, unless there's another animal around).

I really like that Urban Trail harness, I think I'll get one, and if that doesn't work, I'll try the sporn or fleece covers. She has a Halti head collar, but like I said, she mostly needs a harness for pulling her off another dog.

Thanks so much everyone!!