Best harness for large dog with deep chest

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we have a dog who is a cross breed between a Romanian shepherd and something else. He looks a lot like a golden retriever. He is a big dog.

He has a weird shaped chest. Like a greyhound, very narrow and very deep, honestly when he lies on his back for tummy rubs his chest is like a narrow mountain range.

We need to walk him on a collar and harness, as he is an incredible escape artist at slipping his collar/harness, and with both he can't/doesn't slip both. We also need a good harness that we can hold, as he is a rescue and sometimes reacts to other dogs, and we need to be able to hold on to him firmly.

We have tried a few different harnesses, but none of them are great as they don't sit well with his weird chest. They can rub when not well sited.

Anyone else got a dog this shape? What harness do you use? Any greyhound owners thst use a harness? What works for you?
He has a LOT of hair/fur, so that does make it hard to fit anything very tightly.

Thanks

Try Dry Dogs website, they do escape proof harnesses for sighthounds. I have a sighthound, but she is not an escape artist, so we use Cosy Dogs, which fits well and looks comfy.

Our greyhound has one of these norwegian harnesses

I got it for a song on eBay so it didn't much matter it it didn't fit. Would be good if you could find a stockist so you could try before you buy.

Thanks,
I have thought of taking him along to a pet shop to try them, but he hates the car and tends to throw up in it, and also because he can be really reactive to other dogs, if we met anyone in the pet shop, we might cause a riot (or he might just wag tails and say hello, depends on his mood!)

Oh my comment was really to booksahoy!

Thanks both I'll have a look at those ones.

Have you tried perfect fit?

Ruffwear ruffwear.co.uk/collections/dog-harnesses either the web master or flag line. They both have belly straps to stop escape artists. They work well on pointer shape dogs, very deep chests but skinny.

so I had a quick look, the dry dogs harness is excatly the right shape, I don't know why I didn't think of looking at sites for greyhounds before. I think it has only just twigged that that is what his chest shape is.

I have been looking at the cosydogs because they look so comfy. Do you think it is easy to slip out of?
He also likes rivers, so it tends to get wet and the cosy dogs is not so much to dry out.

Does the norweigan harness fit round his chest? It seems quite small in that direction?

thanks

When he has on harness and collar, they are linked with a clip, and while he does like to try and get out of his harness, and has been know to, he can't get out of harness and collar, before I am there putting it back on, (he's on a long line) So I am not too concerned about having a belly strap, I am more concerned with the good fit on his deep chest.
lots to look at there, thanks

Another vote for a Perfect Fit harness. Our girl is a husky cross greyhound (and collie and malamute!) with a deep chest, tiny waist and an attitude.

Take your dog in to get fitted as all three parts are added separately to fit your dog.

If is an escape risk I'd go for harness
with extra girth at narrowest point like the design of ruffwear webmaster which stops them being able to reverse away from you pulling harness off over their head. Ideally you also want a Y front chest piece so the straps don't impede the movement of the shoulders, which can alter a dogs gait.
Haqihana double H harness is less bulky than ruffwear just soft webbing and Hound stuff & 2Posh2Pull sell similar made to measure escape proof harnesses.

To be honest, our greyhound is petite so perhaps the Norwegian wouldn't be big enough? She's only 28kg and is on the small side for a grey (still the classic deep chested shape though). It's tricky if he's a bad traveller and reactive. You need a nearby, well-stocked, quiet pet shop!

thanks all, lots of ideas there.
I just had him on the floor tickling his tummy and showing dh why I think this shape or that shape would work.
Poor dog is now very confused and has retreated to his armchair.

I think I'll leave measuring him until later 😁

definitely starting to see the shape we need, quite different to the previous harnesses we've had and his current one (which is rubbing, hence the need for a new one)

We had a spaniel before and they are a totally different shape, and he pulled a lot but never tried to slip his harness or collar (he did once by accident and came straight to me terrified to have got it off!) So such different dogs!

I'd go for Perfect fit as you can fiddle round with the size of each part individually to get it exactly right. They are super helpful as well in picking the right sizes

Have you tried a Halti or Gentle Leader? Anything that attaches the lead to their muzzle rather than chest, as big dogs can still pull really hard with chest harnesses.

this dog doesn't pull at all. He walks beautifully by my side, or potters around at the end of a longer lead following smells etc. It was previous dog that pulled.

But if he reacts to another dog, he can go nuts, and then I need to hold him firmly. And if he suddenly smells something in another direction when on a longer lead, he will twist back to go after it and if the lead is stopping him, then he tries to twist/slide his harness off. So we have to have it quite snug to stop that, so if it isn't the best shape, then it rubs, that is what is happening now.

To be fair, he has only ever once got as far as getting the harness off with me, (tried it many times, but usually if I call him and move slightly it doesn't happen) and then he was still attached to the collar, so still safe. My concern is if he does the twist /slip act when he is trying to get to another dog, that is not a good idea, hence the belt and braces approach.

I have a Perfect Fit for our basset hound, so weird shape tick! One of the parts was the wrong size but they were great with a replacement part. New part was delivered before I'd even returned the old one.

Check out the lupi harness:
www.direct-vet.co.uk/collars-leashes-and-harnesses/2003-lupi-no-pull-dog-harness.html
Worked brilliantly for us.

We have a Belpro multi-use harness. They have the belly strap, and are great for escape artists as the dog can't back out of them! Each strap is adjustable, too, so it works for dogs with deep chests and nipped-in waists. The hi-vis is great, too!

Some other choices here

Great that he can walk nicely on the lead, but also sounds like he does pull when he wants to. Sounds much like our dog and the very best harnesses have been ones that go around the muzzle.

I had Perfect Fit harnesses for my Lurchers and have chosen to go with them again for my new toy breed who is also deep chested.

If you give phone them and give them his measurements they will advise you on which size to try. If any of the component parts aren’t a good fit they will exchange them really quickly and easily.

Another vote for Perfect Fit. The three separate bits are the Y shaped piece for the chest, the saddle shape across the back and the girth (as for a horse) around the tummy. You take the measurements, send pics and a video and can chat to them on the phone. All three bits come in different sizes and colours. Really soft but strong. And you can replace just one bit at a time too if they wear out.

We have one of these for our lurcher. He's large and the XL fits well.

Having a band around the waist as well as the chest means he can't back out if he gets spooked.

www.thetrendywhippet.co.uk/product/black-triple-strap-padded-whippet-harness/

Another vote for Perfect Fit. The customer service is brilliant.

loads of ideas, thanks everyone.