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Harnesses

rory

Well-known member
Karlin - you have to let me know how you like the Puppia harness. My co-workers all think I'm crazy and paranoid for thinking Rory has some weird neurological disease, so I made a bet with my coworker that if Rory does have it, she has to buy that harness for me! And if he doesn't, i'll buy something of equal value for her pup. ;)

I'm thinking the green or the light blue would look nice on Rory, don't you think??

I'm worried he'll pull more w/ a harness -- think he's a sled dog or something. Does anyone have experience w/ the harness causing hair to rub off? They also seem annoying to put on/off... Can you tell I really don't like harnesses? And then what do you do about identification? Do you still leave the collar on in case they get out? I like my animals ot have ID on at all times just to be safe and I don't plan on leaving the harness on in the house...

http://www.petlondon.net/acatalog/Soft_Harness___Two_Tone_Lead.html
 
Sure you leave a collar on unless there's a reason not too (it causes great discomfort). Mine both wear collars.

They only wear off hair if you have an abrasive harness that they wear all the time (this is why I am switching to the Puppia one; the nylon ones have worn off some hair but `i was leaving them on all day as it was less fuss then putting them on and off 4-5 times a day -- I have to walk mine that many times as I don;t have anywhere for them to poop or pee but on a walk). Ask Gríma about the Puppia harness and hair, as she has one for Andrea. My vets prefer harnesses for small dogs to take pressure off the trachea which can be damaged from pulling (whereas they had never seen a case of a dog harming itself in a harness). I don't notice they pull any more in a harness than a collar -- I switched both to harnesses months ago. They are also easy to grab if anything threatens the dog -- I really like them.

:)
 
karlin said:
They only wear off hair if you have an abrasive harness that they wear all the time

Ermmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm not actually so.....


When Maxx was younger, he pulled so much that the Vet suggested a harness. We went out and got him measured for one and duly bought it (it wasn't one of those gorgeous puppia ones btw). He used his harness for quite some time, then one day after having him clipped I noticed a small bald patch that looked like ringworm. I immediately took him to the Vets who carried out £675 worth of skin and blood tests for just about everything under the sun - everything was coming back negative but the patch was getting bigger icon_nwunsure :~(

One day I fastened his harness on and it suddenly clicked - it was the harness rubbing him that was wearing the fur away!!!! Thing is, the harness was a really good fit and wasn't rough or anything either. As soon as we stopped using the harness the hair grew back :oops:

Now, Maxx won't walk on a harness but loves his collar. In fact, if I remove his collar for washing or anything he dances around so much that I've had to buy a spare LOL I think he feels naked without it!
 
I'd guess it depends on whether the dog pulls and how the harness fits. I know plenty of harness users and never hear of anyone losing hair with one. At any rate the hair abrasion on my two is almost unnoticeable and I until recently left the harnesses on perhaps 14 hours a day. I only noticed when I had one on his back giving him a belly rub. Now I do this all the time and in months of wearing the harness, had never even noticed any hair had worn away! It is just a small area. I think they might be more prone to this as they have such deep chests.
 
I'm new to all this dog stuff and Louie is my first so i'm reading all the information I can!

Presently the only collar Louie will fit into is a cat collar, but i haven't actually bought one yet!

The lead is another story. He is a bit fidgety with the collar on but when the lead is attached, he just rolls around trying to bite it!

I can't take him for walks until mid-September (he's getting his vaccs) so i can worry about it a bit later!!
 
Ok. I'm ordering the harness. What size?/? I think he measures Large - based on their measurements. He's 20" around the chest and 15" around the neck. Does that seem big??
 
Harness

Yikes! If Rory's a large, then Abbey must be an Xlarge. I want to order one too, but I want to be sure to get the right size. What color are you getting??

Wait, wasn't your coworker going to buy you one?
 
I ordred the green. And yea -- if the MRI comes back positive, she'll pay for it. ;) Got a matching leash, too! :D
 
I got the Puppia harness in large and it was too big for both mine; so have sent it back for two mediums. But I LOVED it -- just recommended it to Clare to suggest for SM cav owners. Rory I think you'll like it -- very soft and so easy to put on; easier than the step-in harness I have now.

They could have worn the larges but really they'd have been very loose. The belly strap was at its tightest already. Mine have about 12"necks; Jaspar is 17lbs and Leo only about 15.5. With a large you'd have tons of room on the belly (it expand to twice the size of the smallest setting so would have fit a cavalier more than twice the size and I'm sure it will fit the neck -- the neck on these is llike a bib and they fit with lots of slack.

I also got the star collar on PetLondon which is very cute, but also it was a size too large. I hate having to wait again!! :( I want them NOW but am not going to London anytime soon so had to return by post and then wait for them to be resent.
 
Hmm... Think I should order a medium, then?? I placed the order last night, but it probably hasn't shipped yet... now i'm worried it will be too big.
 
A large should be fine -- Rory's neck is three inches large than Jaspar's and Leo is quite small. Jaspar would have been OK in the large but as I was sending back the other things I thought I'd get medium, as it would fit better.
 
Well don't say this now. I already changed the order to a medium. I re-measured Rory and it should be fine. 14" neck and 19" chest. I caught them before they shipped it out. Should arrive tomorrow or Saturday. :)
 
On those measurement a large will be fine -- and there's plenty of room for a larger size cav Jen! :)
 
Harness

I swear, she's like the German Shepherd of Cavs. She's bigger than all those we've met...even with loosing weight, there's nothing petite about her. :oops:
 
Abbey sounds like Maxx LOL I get people stop me and ask if he is a Cavalier :roll: Someone said he looked like a mini Burmese mountain dog - how dare they???? icon_crying .

Maxx weighs in at 14.6kg and his Vet said he only has about 1.5kg to go and then he'll be a perfect weight for his size. I do love the bigger Cavaliers though - at least you can grab them easier when they are getting into mischief LOL
 
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