Hi!

I am looking into getting a better harness for my pup, I have found a great site that makes each harness to the size of the dog.

Would you guys recommend i buy one for Keeva at her age 15 weeks, or wait until she is fully grown?

Thanks in advance x

I personally wouldn't spend the money on a custom harness until grown. Then I would get something super nice. She could do a lot of growing for the next few months still and something adjustable will allow her to remain comfortable as she fills out and save you money.

Thats what i was thinking, it does seem like a stupid question..
Im just not sure which of the cheaper harnesses would be best for her until she has grown fully, as they are shaped differently to the custom made ones.

Oh I don't know i'm, getting myself into a muddle here haha

Without sounding too ignorant, or asking a stupid question. Why is a harness required for a pup?

I thought the purpose of a harness was to allow the body to absorb the burden of pulling something.

Jeff I'm just guessing here, but her pup maybe a puller when walking, and a harness is easier to control your dog vs collar and leash.

ah yes, she is a puller, so rather just using the collar which i tried for a week it wasn't easing up no matter the persistence..

It makes it difficult to walk them, I always say my girl has supergirl strength, haha. Sadly us women tend to be smaller, and it looks like your girl will be on the bigger side, harness maybe the best way to go. May I suggest doing command training as well when walking, since you should be doing 20 minute walks at a time. when she starts pulling excessively do a sit and stay, then resume walk. Until you find a harness you like.

She has been responding so much better since i got a cheapish harness for her, she is now really good at walking outbound lol, but pulls a lot when she knows we're heading home. Hopefully she will get to grips with walking better for the full duration of the walk.

I'm just trying to plan ahead - financially

Thanks for your response Renee! I will let you know when we get a full walk with no pulling

Excellent, try reading the thread "Noticed something weird with Riley", bunch of us gave info since Jeff had questions on walking Riley, may help you too.

Jeff, harnesses are not required. However many people choose to use a harness instead of a collar for a variety of reasons. Plus, there are many different harnesses that serve different purposes. Some reasons people prefer walking in harness is to protect the dogs throat from damage or collapsing when pulled on. Even if you have a good, loose leash walking dog, at some point they will pull which can damage the neck. The neck is a sensitive area which can cause dogs to be more reactive when pulled on a collar, after all, animals do go for the jugular for a reason. Some harnesses are designed for pulling, others for walking, and some are even designed to discourage pulling. So really one needs to know the purpose of the harness they want before deciding which to buy.

Keeva, it just doesn't make sense to purchase a custom fit harness for a growing pup. She'll grow out of it before you can get much use from it making it a waste. Better to get an adjustable while she's still growing then get the custom when she's done growing.

Huskyluv wrote:

Jeff,  harnesses are not required. However many people choose to use a harness instead of a collar for a variety of reasons.  Plus, there are many different harnesses that serve different purposes. Some reasons people prefer walking in harness is to protect the dogs throat from damage or collapsing when pulled on. Even if you have a good, loose leash walking dog, at some point they will pull which can damage the neck. The neck is a sensitive area which can cause dogs to be more reactive when pulled on a collar, after all, animals do go for the jugular for a reason. Some harnesses are designed for pulling, others for walking, and some are even designed to discourage pulling. So really one needs to know the purpose of the harness they want before deciding which to buy.

Got it. Thanks for the very detailed explanation.

My girl isn't much of a puller but I have found the harness to be nice on those odd occasions such as when half the trail crumbled out from under her feet and she almost slid down a steep bank, or the other time when she stepped off a rock and found out she knows nothing about swimming in deep water. I am able to pull her back from her demise without hanging her. Yes, she is really that unfortunate/clumsy.

I think the issue i'm having with regards to the harness is that a lot of the ones you adjust are unstable for huskies, but atm i will wait until she is fully grown to get her the best!

Hehe Jenn, that made me chuckle, I have found Keeva to be extremely clumsy too