Harness designs?

    • Gold Top Dog

    Harness designs?

    Now that Ziva is pretty much done growing (she'll be 17 months in 3 days!), I'm starting to look into buying a nicer harness for her to hike in.  She currently wears a regular Lupine H-back harness.

    Maggie has an Alpine Outfitters Urban Trail Harness that I like - it's regular H-back style with padding, a split chest design, and extra D rings.  I was planning on buying one like hers for Z but I'm seeing some other harness designs that look nifty, so I figured I'd get some thoughts from you all on what you've had good luck with.

    I'm looking for something that won't cause chafing even if wet, has some padding, is easily washed, and comfy.  She's off leash in some settings, but in others she'll be on a flexi or regular leash so the harness also has to have durable hardware as it may have some force on it at times.  I also use harnesses when the dogs are on longlines as a safety precaution in case they run after something and are stopped suddenly. 

    Ziva is a small dog so she has a bit more flexibility when it comes to styling than Maggie.  She only has a 12" neck and 20" girth if that helps. Thanks!

    • Gold Top Dog

    The Ruffwear Webmaster is the only harness we've tried and I doubt I'll ever switch (besides a leather SchH harness).  Kenya also had a backpack but I didn't like how the harness parts worked so I got the newer model Ruffwear Approach, which is basically saddle bags on an even more padded Webmaster harness and we love that product as well.  

    The things I like about the Webmaster...

    • Dog can't step out of it
    • Padded, but not heavy or bulky
    • Two straps around the dog's belly
    • I like the design of the top and how it contours to the dog rather than a harness that's just a bunch of straps
    • It just seems to fit more snuggly than other types I've seen on dogs
    • She can run at full sprint and wear this harness for road work (biking) and it stays fit but does not chaffe

     

    • Gold Top Dog

    Emma is Ziva-sized and wears a ruffwear harness, as well. We love it! We have a Lupine harness, and several others. Some hurt her skin. Most break her coat (so regular wearing makes "collar lines" on her). The ruffwear seems to be the most comfortable thing for her. It's the only one she won't chew or try to pull off, if it's left on her all day. 

    • Gold Top Dog
    Another vote for the Ruffwear harness. My two belgians love this harness - our's is actually the Palisades dogpack, but I take the bags off when we don't need them and just use the harness that is underneath. Jamie will usually chew on any other type of harness that is left on her for any length of time, but she doesn't mind the Ruffwear. I've been toying with getting a smaller one for Lilly, though I'm not sure they make them small enough and I don't know that I should spend the extra money at this point!
    • Gold Top Dog

     If I were going to buy another harness for Ben, I'd order a Ruffwear and pay international shipping prices for it.  I love them. 

    ETA:  Holy moses I can get them here.  Does it matter that I don't *need* a harness for Ben?

    • Moderators
    • Gold Top Dog

    Benedict
    Does it matter that I don't *need* a harness for Ben?

    absolutely not!

    Another vote for the Ruffwear Webmaster - we use it for biking & hiking - Also I remember a while back someone having to snatch their dog as it got too close to a cliff, never thought that would come in handy

    However....  when we were in the mountains and in the river, Bugsy the do everything at top speed dog tried to follow DH out to a huge flat rock in the middle of the river.  He wound up slipping on the algae covered rocks and got himself stuck between boulders.  DH had to lift the boulders and I had the pleasure of lifting Bugsy up by the handle. Surprise

    One thing - if your dog is between sizes go with the smaller size - we have the large and it is nearly too big for Bugsy and I now know he weighs 107.8 lbs!  BlackLab got one for Apollo and it looks a better fit on him even though he weighs the same.  It fits B's chest well but is too big at his waist