I need a new harness for Aspen but she is impossible to fit. She is super skinny but tall and long. Even if the measurements indicate something will fit, it never does. Those of you with 'hard to fit' dogs, what are your favorite harnesses?
My girl is all leg with a small body and like zero chest. The Ruffwear Webmaster works great. It's a little loose in the chest area even at it's tightest fighting, but it doesn't cause rubs or seem to bother her at all. We easily do 10km + hikes (on & off leash) and it doesn't slow her for a second. When she sees it coming out she immediately sits and lifts her right paw waiting for it to be put on So I don't think she finds it uncomfortable.
I like the quality of ruffwear harnesses, but I've learned that it's best to size in person rather than buy on the net. They don't fit my guys well. I have issues with the neck size on these harnesses being too big...
Right now for harnesses...
Dexter (long bodied and lean) has a brilliant K9 I'm using for nosework. He does have a front range for active everyday (hiking,geocahing, etc.) but it had to be altered in the neck. I took him in to try the smaller size. It fit his neck but was too small around his chest and would have cut into armpits badly. Since I purchased online, I would have had to pay return shipping, so I decided to have a friend alter it instead.
Leggs (tall, thin, deep chest. Almost sighthound like) has a Julius K9 IDC I use in some sports classes because of the handle. His everyday wear harness is the freedom. I took him in to try out harnesses as well. Same issue with the neck on the ruffwear being way to big, so didn't buy.
I think if I was going to splurge on harnesses now, I would go with a custom Alpine outfitters.
@kmes I love the idea of the Ruffwear but even when it is snug My guy (i guess because of his weird shape, skinny neck and barrel chested) he can easily pull out of it when he starts to back up.
We really like the IDC harness, it is also fully adjustable, and comes in many different colors. Also its style is comfortable, because it doesn't ride up in the armpits and the neck part.
I have the Ruffwear Front Range as well. I use it for running as well as hiking and the additional front clip is very practical. However, we had a hard time fitting it on our corgi mix. Even so, even a collar is hard to fit on him because he has such a fat neck.
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