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pretty, comfortable dog harness recommendations

38 replies

stilllill · 12/07/2023 12:46

DDog is 10 and doesn’t pull, he’s a shih tzu and not very active, so I’d love some recommendations for a pretty, comfortable harness for him— preferably with matching lead. Thanks!

OP posts:
drivinmecrazy · 14/07/2023 13:35

Perfect Fit here too. Particularly good if you've got a puppy as you can replace pieces as you go without the need for a new harness.
Brilliant for our 5 month old Weimaraner.
Also customer service is second to none

Cirice · 14/07/2023 18:37

Spanielsarepainless · 14/07/2023 12:59

I wonder why all the police dogs I see on the television have the Julius K9 harnesses.

I dont know, but my Julius broke and could have been a huge problem if we'd been on a walk in the street.

bobby81 · 14/07/2023 19:33

Fuzz yard step in harnesses are worth a look.

TerrierOrTerror · 15/07/2023 14:32

My terrier is a funny shape and we've tried a lot of harnesses. Our favourites are the Hurtta Weekend Warrior ones, or the Poppy & Ted 3-Click Adjustable ones.

8Ash · 08/10/2023 19:19

Non-Stop Dog Wear Line harness is the best we've found for a truly comfortable, functional and non-restrictive fit. They do teal and orange colours which are bright and attractive.

Perfect Fit is a very close second but as it's fleece you may get matting with a long coated dog like a Shih Tzu.

Agree with those saying avoid JuliusK9 like the plague. Horrible design.

HateTheView · 09/10/2023 00:53

We have a truelove harness. They come in lots of different colours.

EchoVerse · 21/07/2025 06:59

Recently, i tried EzyDog Quick Fit Harness which worked nicely for my dog Juniper. She seems much more comfortable. Actually, this harness spreads the pressure across the chest, making walks much easier. They have different sizes and colours as well. If interested, you may check their range here: ezydog.co.uk/collections/dog-harnesses

EdithStourton · 21/07/2025 09:45

Since this thread has come back to life...

A while ago I read several studies about harnesses, collars etc, including one that compared 'restrictive' (eg Julius K9) and 'non-restrictive' (y-harnesses). It found that, surprisingly, the 'restrictive' harnesses causes LESS restriction, not more, than the Y-harnesses.

Abstract here:
https://bvajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1136/vr.104946
There was also a blog discussing the paper, which said that fitting was absolutely key, but that seems to have vanished.

SpanielsGalore · 21/07/2025 10:02

Interesting, since i have always read Y shaped harnesses are better for the dog.
It doesn't sound like it was a very thorough test though. 9 dogs on a treadmill.

julius-k9.com/y-harnesses-can-restrict-the-dogs-shoulder-movement-even-more/

CyberStrider · 21/07/2025 10:41

A study of 9 dogs isn't worth the paper it's written on!

Ylvamoon · 21/07/2025 11:08

Whatever pretty design you go for, make sure it’s Y shaped and fitted correctly to avoid restricting shoulder movement.

I recently got these, no idea how long they will last...

www.baileyandcoco.com/collections/dog-harnesses

EdithStourton · 21/07/2025 12:06

CyberStrider · 21/07/2025 10:41

A study of 9 dogs isn't worth the paper it's written on!

I would agree that it doesn't show very much, but it is interesting. TBH a lot of research involving dogs uses tiny sample sizes, which is 100% a problem, especially when it is used to support advice to dog owners or changes in the law.

A well-known trainer who is all over socials was a while ago hymning a paper that he claimed showed resource guarding could be vastly improved entirely force-free. The paper had a sample of 4 dogs, 2 of which were lost to follow-up. Of the papers I've read about training and e-collars, a significant proportion cite a study on radio fences (where the electric wire is buried and the dog wears a special collar) which looked at a total, er, 5 cases drawn from a population of unknown size (but likely to be in the thousands or tens of thousands).

Still, you and @SpanielsGalore did inspire me to go and have another look and I found I was able to read the whole of a paper of which I'd only previously been able to access the abstract. It has a sample of 57 dogs and mixed results on stride length:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10888705.2023.2259796#d1e880
TLDR It seems to depend on breed. But again, by the time you get down to the breed some of the samples were tiny (4 French bulldogs), so it's indicative for further research rather than anything else.

I will take me half a day to parse it properly, but I'll do it at some point.

Incidentally, if you look at mushing harnesses, they seem to fit closely at the base of the neck and to have the strap that goes under the dog well behind the elbow. I assume that this is to keep the shoulder assembly completely unimpeded, as mushers look for speed, and you're not going to maximise that if your huskies can't fully stretch their legs.

Yeah, I know I'm a sad nerd... I don't need telling!

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