She had an Easy Walk Harness in the past, but it always rubbed under her armpits, leaving red marks and once actually cut the skin. I quickly pulled out the other harness, a nylon strap back clip harness which didn't seem as bad, but still left red marks on occasion after a long walk or hike. With both harnesses she did NOT want them on- she'd run away and shake when I picked up the harness or asked her if she wanted to go out.
My criteria for a new harness:
- Soft wide straps, mesh, or padding so it wouldn't hurt her skin.
- Doesn't physically restrict her movement.
- Durable so that it can withstand hiking, pulling, and... chewing...
- No clips against her skin that could pinch her or feel uncomfortable.
- And lastly, finding one in her size was going to be a challenge!
We went to PetSmart and were disappointed that the harnesses they had there didn't come in a tiny size for Delilah. The extra small could have fit a dog twice her size! They had another design that fit a little better but it restricted her movement rather significantly- she could barely walk!
I went home and started looking at harnesses online. Julius K9 has some really nice harnesses that look like they would fit her. I hesitated though, because the appeal for me would be getting custom patches to put on the harness. It did not appear as though the company sells custom patches for the Baby 2 size. They had some odd premade patches though- like "Dylan." I mean, who names their dog Dylan? I can't imagine that's a best seller. I would have done "Bella" or "Riley" or something a little more popular...
ANYWAYS, while I was worrying about all of that, my boyfriend took the initiative to buy Delilah a harness on his own. I'm actually impressed by how well he did. It's a Precision Fit harness by My Canine Kids and so far has been great! It's an awesome highlighter yellow color that looks really good on her. She seems really comfortable in it- she doesn't try to chew it off and she's not scared of putting it on.
I was a little skeptical of the design- two straps came up over her back and velcro'd together, each strap with a D ring at the velcro end so the leash could clip the two straps together. I was glad that there was no buckle that could pinch her, but I didn't think the velcro would hold up against her pulling. I'm probably one of the very few owners out there that not only lets their dog pull, but encourages it. But so far it's been great and she's pulled me all over the neighborhood!
Sam also picked up a Lupine training lead. It's super helpful to have out in the yard where she's not allowed to be off leash- this way she has room to play and train! Very soft and comfortable to hold as well. It's kind of annoying to manage it though, I used it on our hike today to practice recall and it kept getting tangled around the trees, undergrowth, and even roots. But it seems like it will come in handy on occasion, especially out in the yard.
