Harness recommendations for puppies

[Greengreented]

Hi all, I have a 17-week-old Cockapoo and I had an awful fright the other day when she slipped out of the (fairly cheap and cheerful) harness she was in and started zooming around the field on our walk. Thankfully she didn’t run away but I had a long couple of minutes getting her to stop zooming and come back to me (we’re still working on recall). It was partly my fault for not being in the right position and I pulled the harness meaning she could just slip backwards out of it. Does anyone have any recommendations for a good harness? I will of course be more attentive in future on walks and have fitted a clip on the current harness now so it also connects to her collar, just in case, but if there are any better harness options out there I will be buying one!

Perfect Fit gets my vote everytime. Its so adjustable, and as you can change each bit individually its much easier to keep them in the right size

Truelove harnesses are great & adjustable

Another vote for perfect fit

What harness have you got?

The classic Julius K9 (and similar looking ones) are t-shaped, which are quite easy to escape.

Look for one with a y-shape at the front - this are much harder for a dog to slip out of. We use Ruff-Wear webmaster if you want to see what I mean by y-shape, but there are cheaper versions around.

www.wooflesonline.co.uk/

Really good products and they're a small business.

My pup had a Hugo & Hudson at that age and I've since swapped to a Twiggy Tags harness which I absolutely love. It's adjustable around the neck and also has a buckle there so it's basically like taking a collar off instead of having to pull the harness over the head which my pup was never keen on. It also has 2 adjustable straps around the body with a buckle on each side.

Other features include a handle on the back to grab hold of your dog, front and back D rings for your lead and it has reflectors on it.

I've bought and returned so many harnesses because my dog is super fussy, if they have bulky adjustable buckle things near her elbows she ends up throwing her elbow out to the side as she walks.

Perfect Fit, you can change parts as they grow, they are really well Madde and the customer service is amazingly good and they are so helpful on the phone if you have any questions or issues.Perfect Fit Harness

Ooh thanks all, really useful!

Perfect fit!

Ours has a Heele one. Not expensive and has never escaped. It's a Y-shaped one with loops at the chest and shoulder.

Just a collar and lead (not an extendable lead). We had a harness initially but our (old school very experienced) trainer recommended going straight to a collar & lead and ditching the harness altogether. Never looked back. Although never use just a collar with an extendable lead.

With a puppy it's much better to have a harness, because jerking on a collar can cause distress and choking, which is pretty shitty from the dog's POV. You van teach nice (loose lead) walking without having to resort to that.

Any Y-front harness should be fine

I had puppy harnesses from here (genuine small/local business)

Dragon Leads | Quality Hand Stitched Dog Leads & Collars

A 'Y' harness (AKA 'H' harness) is always best for any dog. This new fashion / trend for the Norwegian style harness is very bad. They are easier to get out of and they are also bad for a dog's natural movement. You can find out more here https://www.dfordog.co.uk/blog/why-h-shaped-dog-harness.html

Have a look at the video on the link above of the dog's skeleton. Really shocking 😮

So harness wise, for a growing pup, choose a Y harness with lots of adjustment points at all the essential places so you can get a really good fit on your doggie. My fave, and a brand that I have been using on my on dogs for over 20 years, is Red Dingo. I love them.

https://www.dfordog.co.uk/red-dingo.html

They are comfortable, safe, very adjustable, wash up well in the washing machine and they last for years.

Harnesses are much better for smaller dogs as they can be prone to tracheal collapse (big dogs too can suffer from it) so I would rather use a harness and spend a little more time teaching loose lead walking than possibly damaging my dogs windpipe.

We had one of these for our mini poodle from about 4 months to fully grown, it still fits her now. They are Y shaped, very adjustable and designed to grow with your dog, https://hurttaonline.co.uk/product-category/harness/razzle-dazzle/

Perfect fit every time. Our crazy retriever is an escapologist and got out of every harness we tried from the age of 12 weeks onwards, until we found perfect fit harnesses when she was about 18 months old. Julius K9 was the fastest and took her less than a minute to escape from!

Perfect fit is great because it's both secure, soft and very strong and comes in 3 interchangeable pieces (you measure and choose the size of each piece to create a custom fit for your dog) and they are happy to post out extra pieces to try until you get the best fit. The design also avoids having to pull anything over the dog's head, which can be helpful if your pup is a bit fussy. It also washes well.

We also use their 2m lead, it has lots of d-rings and can be quickly clipped to both chest and back of the harness to make control easier in very exciting (pull inducing) situations.

https://www.perfect-fit-dog-harness.com/perfect-fit-fleece-dog-harness.html

I would recommend you go to a pet shop with a decent range and get one fitted. We ended up with a brand I'd never heard of (Rukka) but the fit and quality was great - secure, comfortable, hardwearing and with a handle on the back which can be useful.

If your dog pulls (or is young and excite ask) they really shouldn't be walked on a collar as it can cause permanent damage.

My recommendation is Ruffwear Front Range harness. Has a hook on top as well. Not cheap, very robust, various colours.

What your pup will wear 😂

Ours at 8 months is still not comfortable in one despite months of counter conditioning to it. Hers is a perfect fit so we’ve just worked very hard at loose lead walking and use it when we need to. Puppies don’t get much benefit from lead walking so we tend to drive her somewhere for walks. Hopefully when she’s older and less fidgety she’ll be ok with it but if not then no big deal. She’s not a body sensitive dog at all so no idea why she’s so uncomfortable in it.