Harness ideas for wriggly terrier

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Widgeon

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Morning all, obviously I am doing my own research as well but thought the collective mind might have some experience to offer. I'm looking for a harness for our Cairn; he is currently only 12 weeks old and has a very simple harness of the "pop front legs through and clip above shoulder blades" type, which is working well for now - he's very happy to walk in it and as it isn't adjustable, it's quite stiff and easy to put on. His chest hasn't caught up with his girth though, so there is some excess harness round his chest and he can (if really determined) wriggle out. Anyway, his wrigglyness made me start thinking about what to get when he outgrows this one in a few weeks - he is growing incredibly fast.

Ideally I need something fairly substantial (those floppy nylon strap ones get viewed as tuggy toys and are a nightmare to get him into) that we will eventually be able to use to pick him up with a carry handle / tie a rope to when we're out in the hills. I have heard very good things about Ruffwear but our lovely local pet shop doesn't stock those, so does anyone have any thoughts on them? Any other brands and all opinions welcomed. Obviously I am prepared to buy more than one as he grows, if necessary, and I'm happy to fork out a fair bit of money for something that will last.

Thanks very much!

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ruffwear are good- friend has a webmaster one and its a good harness but you can't completely pick a dog off the ground with the handle though unless you get the webmaster pro?

I went off the front loader style ones-I think on long walks there's no way they cant impinge on their shoulder movement-I have larger breeds though. my two both have Perfect Fit now for general stuff, with seperate ones for tracking/canicross. I've used various and the perfect fit ones have been the best for that-even though when I first got them out of the packet I wasnt impressed.
 
MotherOfChickens said:
....you can't completely pick a dog off the ground with the handle though unless you get the webmaster pro.
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Thanks - yes I had been thinking that a harness would have to be quite "structural" to be able to support a dog enough to use it to pick them up without damaging their back? I will have a look at the webmaster and the perfect fit harnesses - thanks very much for your help.
 
My Cairn x (not sure what she is crossed with as she is a rescue) wears a sporn one I bought it from ebay. No way can she wriggle out of it as it has fastener at the back and that is it. It is quite tough as she is a tough little girl and we do flyball so is a harness is a must. Yes your little one is gorgeous x
 
Perfect fit harness from dog games. Comes in 3 pieces so you can get the right size. The only harness to provide a guarantee that the dog cannot get out of it. Website has a pic of a 3 legged French bulldog wearing one
 
Personally I rate julius k9 harnesses. They are robust and fit well. Plus my old dogs one went in the Washington machine loads of times over 3 years with no sign of wear. Would of used it for our new rescue but she is smaller! But have gone with the same brand again. You can get an extra front strap as well
 
Mine has a Ruffwear harness.its great. It needs to be sturdy as she's a wriggler too and will get out of most harnesses. She has no recall so it's vital she's secure. It's also really comfortable. She's also had a perfect fit one but the Ruffwear one is more substantial.
 
Goodness. My terrier x is about the same size as his cairn friend and would not dream of putting either in a proper harness!

They are light enough that momentarily grabbing with even a thin webbing harness and the tucking under arm is fine.

They won't thank you for the extra heat in a 'comfier' harness.
 
Ezydog quick fit harness are great, they are like a horse breast plate harness and adjustable and really quick and easy to fit as well as being kind and effective.
 
Thank you very much everyone for all your suggestions, there is bound to be something out of this lot that is just right. I'll make a list and go through it!

TheOldTrout said:
He's gorgeous!
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WorkingGSD said:
What a gorgeous pup!
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Thanks...yes he is isn't he. I forget how tiny he is because he's the only dog we have around the house, but we went to a puppy class yesterday and all the others (boxer, goldendoodlepoo (I can't bring myself to say "goldendoodle" in a serious way) old english sheepdog, bulldog) were literally about six times his size. Their owners were all very smug because their puppies are (apparently) pretty well house trained now, but I have to remind myself that 1. he's a terrier, and 2. his bladder is the size of a pea, and 3. we are getting there slowly.....
 
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YasandCrystal said:
Ezydog quick fit harness are great, they are like a horse breast plate harness and adjustable and really quick and easy to fit as well as being kind and effective.
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Yes I vouch for these harnesses, we have one for our big staffy, he's a strong lad and I feel I'm in control when he sees another dog, it also has a grab handle on it for peace of mind
 
We use a julius K9 on our big fella & it's very robust & substantial. Manmat harnesses are also very good & last forever.
 
Julius K9 would be the most robust IME.

However I'd never buy an expensive or non adjustable harness for a pup and would use a collar and lead until they are up a bit. Maybe I'm mean lol.
My double coated dog managed a two hour yomp wearing an Eezy Dog harness last week and managed not to keel over ;)
 
twiggy2 said:
It's a harness not a coat
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I know! But on a little fluffy dog a padded harness (and some of them can cover quite a large percentage of a little dog) with handle fitting etc can be quite cosy.

I like the substantial harnesses for big dogs, and use the grab handles occasionally if a larger animal is out of control, but on little ones you can just scoop it up if you need to! Similarly if you end up holding the grab handle of an empty harness form a med-large dog that is attacking something (not my dog but happened in a park once) that is an issue. Whereas when my little one wriggled out of his harness which a larger dog had grabbed in its mouth and was shaking I was delighted that in an emergency mine *could* escape. We'd have otherwise been likely to be in a situation like ihatework's thread.

I was just thinking that on a small dog a rubbish harness (which won't be too hot/bulky and which they can wriggle out of in extremis (if they get stuck down a hole as well as in a fight!) might actually be preferable to a high quality one which you'd want on a larger animal that can pull more/you don't want to have a break-away option.
 
CorvusCorax said:
Julius K9 would be the most robust IME.

However I'd never buy an expensive or non adjustable harness for a pup and would use a collar and lead until they are up a bit. Maybe I'm mean lol.
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No, I think I know where you're coming from there - the only reason I'm considering it is that we're going camping soon and if we only take his current escapable harness, his options are a) be crated at all times (no fun for him) or b) be carried at all times (also no fun). It's not a walking weekend, just a catchup with friends, but his doggy buddy will be going and I would like him to be able to play with him (supervised) with a bit of thin rope on his harness that I can grab hold of if necessary. He isn't particularly keen on having a lead on his collar (we're working on that) and I also wouldn't want to have to grab him by a lead on his collar, as I'd be worried about hurting his neck. I know that he *can* escape from his current harness, which isn't a problem on our current tiny little morning walks, because he's moving forward rather than actively doing a Houdini impression, but in a super exciting new environment I want to be 95% he can't wriggle out and leg it. And before anyone asks, his 12 week old recall skills are probably not reliable enough yet!

I think some of the harnesses people have mentioned here are adjustable - I'd be looking for an adjustable one so he can use it on the smallest setting now and carry on using it until he outgrows the biggest setting.
 
We just put a link strap between a non escape proof harness and the dog's collar so that he is not loose if he backs out of it. I would probably do this for a pup.
 
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planete said:
We just put a link strap between a non escape proof harness and the dog's collar so that he is not loose if he backs out of it. I would probably do this for a pup.
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Yes, I thought about that but the problem is that he sort of climbs out of it - I agree though, it would stop him doing a disappearing act but probably wouldn't be very comfortable for him. It's still the backup option though!
 
twiggy2 said:
Have pm'd you but there are houdini harnesses that lots of people rate for escape artists
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Thanks very much, read your messages. I'll see whether his escape artist tendencies continue into adulthood - maybe we'll be lucky and he'll settle down!

Thank you everyone for all your ideas, something out of all this lot is bound to suit.
 
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