Recommendation of harness

[Bulu]

I have 2 basenjis and have these nice leather harnesses for them. We switched from collars, because of their pulling, and these harnesses have worked for a while, but just in the last couple of days, I have noticed that they are getting balding spots from rubbing right behind their shoulders. I'm not sure if they just hit another growth spurt (they are 15 mos and one seems a bit fuller) or the weather warming up and their fur is changing, or a bit of both. I want to switch, but wondering if anyone knows of a good harness to switch to that is a) comfortable for them, and b) will help keep them from pulling so much. We have tried several options going back and forth from collar to harness, and can't see to find one that works well. Does anyone know if there is anything that exists that's got the comfort of a Puppia, and the control of the Easy Walker?

[jonny b.]

Be interested to hear this too. Jonny pulls also, sometimes a lot and sometimes not at all! depends what there is to chase on our walks….

[nobarkus]

I used harnesses with my 2 all their life. Works great verses pulling with just a collar on and chocking. I don't remember any bald spots from it.

[Bulu]

Do you remember the brand? I just went to one of the Doggie designer shops, cos it happened to be right by my vet, which they had their annuals today, and I found some step-in harnesses in which the fabric is a bit softer than the regular ones. The walk back seemed fine, considering it pouring rain (I had to carry Lulu for a bit of it…the lil diva!)...:o They are made by Trish Hampton, so we'll see...

[basenji_fan]

IMO the best harnesses are Ruff Wear Web Master harness. They are a great all purpose harness. Dogs can't back out of them like they can with just about any other harness there is. The way they are designed they don't rub or cause any friction marks o the dogs, and they also sit lower in the front so they won't ride up into the dogs neck.

I also bike with my dog and he uses this harness, and sometimes pulls me and it doesn't cause him any discomfort to pull me and the bike LOL (I still pedal though).

My boy wears an x-small

[Shaye's Mom]

The "Puppia" brand of walking harness is very good - lightweight and easy to find if you just type "Puppia harnesses" into your search engine - they can cost a lot but they are also very reasonable online if you check various sites.

[bcraig]

We have had the same two problems–the harness chafing at the shoulders and pulling. We went through 4 harnesses in the first 3 months we had Ella, but the one that finally worked for us is the Premiere Easy Walk, size s/m. They make a small and medium but they also make a tweener size of s/m that seems to be the best Basenji fit. Because our girl is such an escape artist we also have her hooked to a martingale collar too. The leash clips into both rings together and she is totally secure.

The nice things about the Easy Walk is that it does not go over their shoulders so chafing is not a problem. It kind of goes around the side of the shoulder. But because it does not go over the shoulders we did not feel 100% secure that she could not get out of it, hence the addition of the collar. She wears a collar with her tag on it all the time and we just put the harness on for walks. Also, the Easy Walk is really easy to put on the dog. The Easy Walk has the clip in the front instead of on top of their shoulders. When they pull it sort of pulls them a little sideways, which seems to be a decent deterrent. This does make it a little awkward and you have to guard against the leash getting caught up in their legs. You get used to it quickly. I will also emphasize that we were (and still are) working on leash training and that is thing that has had the most effect as far as pulling. I don't think any harness or collar will stop pulling without training but a good harness certainly can help.

FYI-Our training was basically rewarding (with treats) walking correctly on the leash, even if it was only for a few seconds at a time on a 30 minute walk. On some walks she didn't earn any treats. But after about 3 walks a day for about 3 months, she really started to turn the corner. She will never be perfect (and she has her moody days) but she has already gotten good enough that the walks are pleasant. On a day last week when she was backsliding and being bad on the leash it reminded me how quickly a pulling Basenji can be so frustrating. As with everything related to Basenjis, the keys are time and love.

[Shaye's Mom]

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I think this post constitutes spamming and doesn't belong in the Basenji forum. I received three e-mails this morning from the forum with this same spam in it - isn't there some way to stop this???

[lvoss]

There is a button in the top right corner of every post so you can report SPAM. I reported it last night but sometimes the admin may not be online so they remove it as soon as they get the notification.

[Kipawa]

On the www.ruffwear.com website are 'barkin boots', made for dogs to wear in extreme heat so the pads of their feet do not burn. Has anyone experienced trouble with their dogs feet burning? Would this product be a 'novelty' or useful? I'm thinking if the cement/ground is that hot that you would have your basenji walk on grass, etc., provided there is some where you are walking. Thanks. Sorry to take this off subject a little.

[basenji_fan]

@Kipawa:

On the www.ruffwear.com website are 'barkin boots', made for dogs to wear in extreme heat so the pads of their feet do not burn. Has anyone experienced trouble with their dogs feet burning? Would this product be a 'novelty' or useful? I'm thinking if the cement/ground is that hot that you would have your basenji walk on grass, etc., provided there is some where you are walking. Thanks. Sorry to take this off subject a little.

No they are not a 'novelty' item, they are very useful item. These are not those type of boots you see on the little "froo froo" dogs. These are built for the outdoors.

The Skyliner boots would be better for just walking in neighborhoods and sidewalks as the Barkin boots are a bit more rugged and designed for trails and things like that.

[MacPack]

I have had dogs do the "hot foot dance" in sand here in Florida in the summer. We are careful not to have them on asphalt very long, but even concrete can get very hot. White sand can be very hot, and if a dog needed to walk on any of these surfaces, good boots would help.

[Mochi]

My B wears his handsome Puppia soft harness, it's breathable and squishy, but very strong. But if i take it off it doubles as his favorite toy! so watch out! here's their website. http://www.puppiaus.com/puppiaus/Product.asp?PK=174C1B03506E&CK=17481901F8

Also, I have a Labradoodle who has issues walking on tile or slick surfaces due to his previous owners abuse (They physically kicked him if he entered their kitchen) So he is terrified about walking on cold smooth surfaces. he has been wearing his RIE adventure dog boots for about a year, anytime we go to a pet store/ vet/ rough hike he wears them, twe don't seem to have an issue with them sliding off. http://www.rei.com/product/767904/rei-adventure-dog-boots

PS about the booties, he does wear baby sock under them. Just regular baby socks, it helps with the stinky dog foot smell he gets from wearing them.

[Hana]

old thread but figured rather than start a new one ?

we picked up one of the new 2012 webmaster ruffwear harness for Hana and she loves it
we let her wear it around the house a lot to get used to it and she does not seem to mind it one bit ?
fits well does not seem to rub hair off like a collar can
nice thing is easy on and easy off with the buckles
we do camping so wanted a harness over the collar so its more comfy cause some parks require the dog to be leashed up all the time and figured she would like this better

also going to get some boots and try them out ? not sure what brand yet but will try the ruffwear