The dog harness is a useful accessory that is used in many circumstances such as for sledding, for securing your dog in a car, for walking your dog and for a trip to the vet. In addition to this, a harness helps prevent injuries to the neck and avoids escaping of dog from your control. Before you buy a dog harness, you should find the correct size that fit for your dog. Further, you should take careful measurements of the body of your dog so as to ensure their comfort while he’s wearing it. We’ve written this article to help you through the process of selecting dog harness.
Before choosing the harness, make sure to get the right size for your dog. Following different measurements you should consider before purchasing the harness:
1.Neck of your dog- For measuring the neck of your dog, you can wrap the tape around the thickest part of neck and measure it
2.Chest of your dog- You can measure around the dog’s body with a flexible cloth tape measure. Start at the bottom of dog’s ribcage and go up and over the back. After this, back down to where you started.
3.Weight of your dog-It is the most important measurement, and most harness companies determine harness sizing with this factor. You can also weigh your canine companion by weighing yourself first, then pick up your dog and weigh the two of you together. Now, the difference will be the weight of your furry friend.
After taking all the above mentioned measurements, there are a few more things to consider:
1.Harness Buckles: You can choose plastic or metal buckles. Plastic buckles are good option for light duty with easy dog. These types of buckles are easy and quick to open and close. Whereas, for energetic dogs or dog safety in the car you should consider metal buckles.
2.Step-in or Over-Head harness: Step-in harness shapes like figure 8 and requires your dog to literally step into it. Whereas, over-head harness slides over the dog’s head and secures around the back.
3.Adjustments: It is quite important to note that a good harness has many points of adjustment. We recommend you to go with the over-head harnesses because these offer four or five points of adjustment. Further, you should look for the adjustment around the waist and chest.
After selecting harness of your choice, you should follow below mentioned instructions to fit the harness:
- Place the harness on your furry friend and tighten the buckles in order to ensure a snug, but not tight, fit. You should be able to insert two fingers under the harness at any point. You can follow the directions of manufacturer for attaching the harness around your pooch.
- Check the fur and skin of your dog while wearing the harness. Any signs of fur loss or skin irritation from the harness indicate that the harness is slightly tighter or looser in these areas. You should keep in mind that all the points of harness should fall in appropriate places when your pooch is wearing the harness. For example, in Y-shaped harnesses, the point of the “Y” should fall over the dog’s sternum.
Your harness may be improperly applied or of improper size, if you see any of the following signs:
- Chafing around harness area
- Loosing fur around harness area
- Back piece of harness rotating to sides
- Dog wiggling free
- Dog strongly resisting walking
