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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

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Original poster

Julius K9 harness

22 replies

pansycake · 27/10/2017 18:10

Anyone with a little dog got experience of these? Currently using an Ezydog harness and looking at the K9s I am worried they wouldn't be as secure. My boy is just under 5kg.
Thanks 🙂

OP posts:

Thewolfsjustapuppy · 27/10/2017 18:20

I have a Perfect Fit from www.doggames.co.uk for my 4kg Yorkie. She cannot get out of it and unlike the K9 it does not interfere with her shoulder movement.

CornflakeHomunculus · 27/10/2017 18:33

I'm not very keen on them as they can restrict the movement of the dog's shoulders a fair bit.

I absolutely love Indi-Dog harnesses. I use the Houdini harness for all mine as DDog2 is an expert level escape artist and the others are whippets who can slip out of most harnesses without even trying.

Devonishome1 · 27/10/2017 19:10

Yes I’ve got one for my Cavapoo he’s 9kg. It’s the best and most secure harness I’ve ever had. Would definitely buy again.

SavageCabbage · 27/10/2017 19:19

We’ve got an ezydog and a Julius and they are pretty much the same.

Original poster

pansycake · 27/10/2017 21:17

Thanks everyone. I was concerned about shoulder movement in the Julius. Will look at the others recommended ones

OP posts:

beepbeep · 27/10/2017 21:23

we've also got a perfect fit for our small springer - great as you can buy different sized pieces to make sure it fits correctly.

Shambolical1 · 27/10/2017 21:55

I've used Julius K9s on two dogs - previous and current.

In what way exactly is movement restricted? My dogs have moved and are moving happily and comfortably in their harnesses.

A Facebook discussion I saw also raised the point of 'shoulder restriction' which was then repeated parrot fashion, but nobody could give me any information about how it is restricting or provide details of a study saying so. If you Google it, you will find only forum comments with no reliable sources cited.

The newer version - the IDC - has a more curved front band which sits slightly higher and is more comfortable.

I think this business of 'restriction' is perceived rather than experienced, or comes about through incorrect fitting.

The Julius K9 is used on many working dogs around the world and the forces use a beefed-up version of the same pattern.

CornflakeHomunculus · 27/10/2017 22:31

I'm just going off personal experience with similar style harnesses. My dogs definitely don't stride out as much, especially in trot, when wearing something with a band across the front of their chests like that because it pulls the entire thing forwards. It seemed to interfere with them reaching full extension when galloping as well.

Obviously plenty of people use them without issue but I do think that sort of style certainly doesn't suit all shapes of dog and can impede comfortable movement for some.

Shambolical1 · 27/10/2017 22:56

Something is odd with the fitting if 'the whole thing is being pulled forwards'. Sounds like you need to loosen the breast strap and tighten the girth strap a little.

I have running dogs and haven't noticed any shortening of stride at any pace; plus the relative space around the front legs avoids the chafing or rubbing which can occur with other harness patterns.

We worked our way through Perfect Fit (good, but tended to move slightly laterally and with thin straps. Not the easiest to put on; dog once came back from a morning at the vets with it on backwards and upside down) and RuffWear Front Range (second favourite), RuffWear Webmaster (dog did not like the rear girth strap, though it's great for escapers and those who need more confidence) to settle on the Julius K9. Previous dog was happiest in it and current one (who has a very fine, smooth coat) has taken to it like the proverbial duck to water.

Floralnomad · 27/10/2017 23:13

I used to use a Doxlock harness which is similar to a K9 and it was excellent . When it eventually got too tatty I tried a K9 and the belly strap just kept working loose , I had to stop several times per walk to retighten it . I did complain but they were less than helpful and suggested that I sent it back and upgraded to a better model , I didn't bother . I now have an Indi dog Houdini which was recommended on here and it's fabulous , no chance of dog escaping and at a very reasonable price .

Thewolfsjustapuppy · 27/10/2017 23:13

My bigger dog wears a perfect fit harness, she has a huge amount of shoulder movement when she trots - many people have commented that she look like Grand Prix dressage horse in trot- if she had a strap going horizontally across the front of her shoulders I feel that it would restrict that gait. She is very comfortable in a perfect fit and not at all an escape artist. My little dog is an escape artist, she can not get out of her perfect fit, she doesn’t have a special gait or anything so any harness that is comfortable and she can’t escape from would probably be fine. I have never seen a K9 on a dog that small though (4kg)

Floralnomad · 27/10/2017 23:30

I never had an issue with movement in the doxlock type harness and the front strap was excellent as he has tracheal problems so can't have any pressure around his neck . The Indi is equally good because it's quite a low v at the front .

SwimmingInTheBlueLagoon · 27/10/2017 23:46

Sham how gigantic is your dog for you to find perfect fit straps small ? Also I would seriously question the competence of anyone who could not fathom a perfect fit harness - they are actually really simple and very obviously shaped (so easy to see what goes where).

Perfect fit are soft and don't damage soft spaniel fur on my CKCS (never clipped - so full flowing coat), like pretty much every other kind of dog strap (harness or collar) does. It also leaves the shoulders nice and free, fits snugly, doesn't rotate and keeps a Houdini dog in. My bros tri-paw (missing a front leg) rescue dog is a Houdini and severely dog aggressive Jack Russel type - the harness doesn't move at all when she is lunging, back flipping, rolling and flinging herself around (she's getting a lot better now we have the perfect fit and she can't escape, meaning we've been able to do a lot more work on desensitizing her to other dogs). The tried countless types and she could escape them all bar perfect fit.

CornflakeHomunculus · 28/10/2017 01:34

Great Shambolical, the style obviously suits your dogs. I'm not sure why it's such an issue that it doesn't suit mine though. I've worked through a lot of different harnesses (in many different sizes ) to find the right one for my dogs and, without fail, those styles with bands across the chest just didn't work for them.

There's never going to be one style of harness that's perfect for all dogs. Yours didn't get on with the extra belly strap of the Webmaster, I'm not going to suggest you must be using it wrong somehow just because that's the style mine wear perfectly happily.

Original poster

pansycake · 28/10/2017 08:37

Thanks again everyone 🙂

OP posts:

Hoppinggreen · 28/10/2017 11:22

I've got an 18 month old Golden Retriever and recently bought him a k9 harness
It's like having a different dog and I wish I had got one ages ago. He no longer pulls and is much calmer on walks generally.
He seems to like it , gets excited when I pick it up and puts his head through himself. Don't think his movement is restricted at all

Floralnomad · 28/10/2017 13:55

I saw a French bulldog in a K9 at the vets this morning and it looked utterly ridiculous and not at all safe , the back part was way too big on such a small dog . I do think they are better suited to a medium or large dog .

TheFlandersPigeonMurderer · 28/10/2017 16:20

We use one for DDog3. The handle has allowed me to grab hold of her easily on several occasions when she may otherwise have run amok. For this reason alone I am an absolute convert

Shambolical1 · 28/10/2017 20:13

Swimming the straps on the Perfect Fit for my dog were 20mm wide. He was a large lurcher with a deep chest but relatively slim neck; they looked a bit 'pinchy' to me, though they didn't rub. It was the lateral movement I didn't like. It was fitted by the Perfect Fit people so was the right size.

It was not me who had trouble putting it on, but somebody at the vets. It was the least substantial of any of the harnesses used.

It just winds me up, this received wisdom that the breast strap will restrict movement, often coming from people who haven't tried one.

Cornflake I'm sorry you take umbrage but if your K9 harness was being "pulled forwards" it's either the wrong size or not fitted properly. I can't fathom how. Was it tipping up at the back?

My dog didn't like the rear strap on the Webmaster because (unbeknownst to us at the time) he had a problem with his spine in that area. He got on fine with the Front Range but later on we needed a handle (hence trying the Webmaster first).

Kurkku · 28/10/2017 22:10

I have a 5 kg jack russell and have been using a Hurtta Y2 harness most of her life. It is a perfect fit, doesn't restrict her movement at all and it is very lightweight. She loves it too unlike her previous one. It's probably not an issue in the UK, but the K9 harness is very hot in the summer in warmer climates.

SwimmingInTheBlueLagoon · 29/10/2017 13:14

Sham I'm surprised they put a large lurcher in a 20mm - bro's little Jack Russel cross is in the 20mm (on perfect fits recommendation)! My slim cavalier is in the 15mm. So straps are proportionally quite wide on both of these dogs. I really would have expected a large lurcher to be in a 40! Definitely not pinchy on our little dogs (Cavs fur would definitely show if it was).

usainbolt · 29/10/2017 21:56

Christine Zinc has done research on dogs gait and harnesses. She recommends the Y front harnesses not the across the chest harness or the non pull harness

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