I grew up with dogs, but haven't been able to have one for years. Now I can. I am the unbelievably proud owner of a mostly border collie called Daisy and a border collie called Cybi, and since people have started rolling their eyes when I mention my dogs, I thought I'd better write it all down instead.
Showing posts with label hurtta harness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hurtta harness. Show all posts
Monday, 11 August 2014
A fortunate break
Having complained previously about the difficulty of getting Cybi's harness on him before a walk, it was actually a relief when he squirmed around so much while I was putting it on him that he managed to break a bit of it. Obviously breakage isn't ideal, except that it's freed up the clip.
Where previously the harness would only loosen by the different between when it was fastened and when it was unfastened, it'll now open completely. And as a consequence, it's MUCH easier to get on and off. So much so, that I've completely revised my opinion on whether I'd have another - it's basically removed all the bad points (except the initial adjustment, but I'll overlook that), leaving only a really well made, apparently comfortable, effective harness. I might have to do a spot of cutting off and melting the strap that can now hang free to keep it out of the way, but what could possibly go wrong with that?!?
Friday, 8 August 2014
Cybi's Hurtta Harness
The Oldies Club (a wonderful charity, highlighting older dogs looking for new homes) recently did a fundraising "harness grab", during which there were lots of Hurtta harnesses available at a discount. There wasn't a "Y" harness available in Cybi's size but I did manage to get my hands on an 80cm Padded Pro in an interesting shade of lime green.
We've spent the last few days trying it out.
The good: Any concerns I had about the harness moving on the dog are completely unfounded, and it does a good job of distributing the pressure across his chest if Cybi pulls. As with when I tried a harness on Daisy, he instantly started to behave himself on a lead, stopped pulling out in front of me, and walked nicely. I'm not sure if I've just got two dogs that are sensitive to pressure on their necks, or if it's typical that dogs pull less against a collar than they do a harness.
The point of attachment to the lead is actually a ring that can float freely along the strap on the dog's back. That doesn't seem like such a big deal until you've got two excited dogs bouncing about, both on leads and both wearing harnesses. Having a single (static) point of attachment means that the lead gets wrapped around the dog as soon as the dog changes direction, whereas having that float increases the amount the dog has to turn before the lead begins to tangle. Obviously it doesn't remove the wrap problem completely as the attachment point is still behind the dog and won't spin (compared to a collar moving on a dog's neck so that the point of attachment to the lead is always closest to the person holding the other end) but it does help somewhat.
The colour is actually really cool. I was dubious, as off the dog the colour is pretty hideous, but once he's wearing it it works on his black coat, and it stands out and is highly visible. The reflective taping is also very effective in twilight and later as it catches car headlights well. The harness is made from slightly padded material, and while it isn't fleece, and the straps aren't so wide as on Daisy's harness, I would have no concerns about chafing if he wore it for a long time. The belly band stays pretty secure, and gives enough clearance behind the armpits that there's no worry about it ending up under Cybi's forelegs.
The not so good:
Putting is on is a colossal, enormous pain. The single clip doesn't undo completely (it just "loosens"), so putting the thing on in the first place requires an obliging dog and a certain degree of dexterity. The dog has to be ok with having his forelegs threaded through a strap into place, and the smaller the dog around the girth, the tighter the harness is adjusted and the less space there is to get the dog's legs through. Cybi is slight for a collie, and just sat there in bemusement as I manhandled his legs into position, involving quite a tight bend at the knee.
Even once unclipped, it still only gives an extra couple of inches of wiggle room to put the harness on the dog
Adjusting it to fit causes the invention of new swear words. I can see why the adjustment needs to be as it is, but it sure isn't easy to get right. It's not possible on the dog (this may be because the harness was brand new and stiff, but that'll be true of most people buying harnesses), so you have to try it, take it off, curse your way through adjusting the belly band tightness by moving the position of the clip buckle, put it back on the dog and repeat as needed. Though once it's done, it's hopefully done forever.
So would I buy another one? At this point, probably not. I'm planning to have Daisy and Cybi try working trials at some point, as I love the balance between obedience, agility and independent working in the scent exercises, and I suspect the Hurtta harness will be great for use while tracking because the dog can work into the chest strap. But for every day going for a walk, not having to manhandle the dog into the harness at the start and end wins, and so I'll most likely revert to plan "A" and acquire a second Perfect Fit. Or possibly look at the Hurtta Y harness - if the clips undo completely it stays in contention, but if there's any dog limbo involved then not so much.
We've spent the last few days trying it out.
The good: Any concerns I had about the harness moving on the dog are completely unfounded, and it does a good job of distributing the pressure across his chest if Cybi pulls. As with when I tried a harness on Daisy, he instantly started to behave himself on a lead, stopped pulling out in front of me, and walked nicely. I'm not sure if I've just got two dogs that are sensitive to pressure on their necks, or if it's typical that dogs pull less against a collar than they do a harness.
Floating ring on the strap on the left (Hurtta), static ring on the right (Perfect Fit)
The colour is actually really cool. I was dubious, as off the dog the colour is pretty hideous, but once he's wearing it it works on his black coat, and it stands out and is highly visible. The reflective taping is also very effective in twilight and later as it catches car headlights well. The harness is made from slightly padded material, and while it isn't fleece, and the straps aren't so wide as on Daisy's harness, I would have no concerns about chafing if he wore it for a long time. The belly band stays pretty secure, and gives enough clearance behind the armpits that there's no worry about it ending up under Cybi's forelegs.
The not so good:
Putting is on is a colossal, enormous pain. The single clip doesn't undo completely (it just "loosens"), so putting the thing on in the first place requires an obliging dog and a certain degree of dexterity. The dog has to be ok with having his forelegs threaded through a strap into place, and the smaller the dog around the girth, the tighter the harness is adjusted and the less space there is to get the dog's legs through. Cybi is slight for a collie, and just sat there in bemusement as I manhandled his legs into position, involving quite a tight bend at the knee.
Adjusting it to fit causes the invention of new swear words. I can see why the adjustment needs to be as it is, but it sure isn't easy to get right. It's not possible on the dog (this may be because the harness was brand new and stiff, but that'll be true of most people buying harnesses), so you have to try it, take it off, curse your way through adjusting the belly band tightness by moving the position of the clip buckle, put it back on the dog and repeat as needed. Though once it's done, it's hopefully done forever.
So would I buy another one? At this point, probably not. I'm planning to have Daisy and Cybi try working trials at some point, as I love the balance between obedience, agility and independent working in the scent exercises, and I suspect the Hurtta harness will be great for use while tracking because the dog can work into the chest strap. But for every day going for a walk, not having to manhandle the dog into the harness at the start and end wins, and so I'll most likely revert to plan "A" and acquire a second Perfect Fit. Or possibly look at the Hurtta Y harness - if the clips undo completely it stays in contention, but if there's any dog limbo involved then not so much.
Wednesday, 16 July 2014
Harnesses
Daisy has walked in a harness since she was really quite small - more details here. It has really worked well for her, essentially stopping her pulling from the point where she began to wear it, which made my life much more straightforward.
I opted for a type that she couldn't extract herself from - she bounces around such a lot that I felt that anything she could climb out of, back out of or needed lifting into was not going to work. On the advice of a local trainer, I tried a variant on the "perfect fit" harnesses just called the "fleece lined" (I bought mine from a local supplier, but the only online stockist I can find is the manufacturer - see here) which go over the dog's head , with a strap between their front legs, under their arms and clip closed. The lead fastens between the shoulder blades on the back, or optionally, there can be a second ring added on the chest strap so the dog can be turned from the front end as well. The Mekuti and various other harness types work in the same way, but I particularly liked the wider, fleece-lined straps on the perfect fit. Not based on anything except gut feel. but I thought that when Daisy was tying herself in knots on the end of the lead it was probably worth having that extra layer of padding to stop her getting chafed.
Another type that was recommended to me by a fellow pet owner, but that ultimately I felt was inappropriate for Daisy was a type of harness marketed as "no-pull". This appears to be the harness equivalent of a check collar - and gives me some of the same concerns. The most well known is the one made by the Company of Animals (a tiny bit more information about them on CoA's own site here). The harness is marketed as instantly stopping pulling, as when the dog dashes off the harness tightens around the chest and legs, reminding it not to charge off - and many people have reported success with this. I'm not sure what would happen though if rather than instantly stopping pulling when pressure is applied the dog simply continued to pull. The harness would tighten to the maximum (as a check collar does when the dog pulls against it) and then have no effect, while potentially having a health impact because it's constricting the chest area.
I have recently seen the Hurtta Y harness, which looks very similar to the perfect fit. I'm tempted to try it while I'm about to buy a harness for Cybi - I'd be interested to see if the very slight difference in the way the neck and leg loops come together on the two harnesses makes any noticeable difference. The Y harness also only has one clip, where the perfect fit has 2.
In addition to these harness type that have a "steering" or "corrective" role, there are also a wide variety of harnesses that serve the same function as a flat collar in that they are simply somewhere to attach the lead. These are fine for the dogs that are sensible enough not to throw themselves around while walking but most seem too "escapable" for me to be happy trying them on my idiots. I have my suspicions that Daisy would be able to wriggle backwards out of the one below due to the wider neck hold produced by taking the chest strap back to the belly band, rather than bringing the leg bands forwards to the neck strap as with the Hurrta Y harness and the Perfect Fit. I could just see her coming to a complete halt, and my continuing to walk -effectively pulling the harness over her head.
.jpeg)
I opted for a type that she couldn't extract herself from - she bounces around such a lot that I felt that anything she could climb out of, back out of or needed lifting into was not going to work. On the advice of a local trainer, I tried a variant on the "perfect fit" harnesses just called the "fleece lined" (I bought mine from a local supplier, but the only online stockist I can find is the manufacturer - see here) which go over the dog's head , with a strap between their front legs, under their arms and clip closed. The lead fastens between the shoulder blades on the back, or optionally, there can be a second ring added on the chest strap so the dog can be turned from the front end as well. The Mekuti and various other harness types work in the same way, but I particularly liked the wider, fleece-lined straps on the perfect fit. Not based on anything except gut feel. but I thought that when Daisy was tying herself in knots on the end of the lead it was probably worth having that extra layer of padding to stop her getting chafed.
 |
| The fleece-lined and perfect fit harnesses from the manufacturer |
 |
| The Hurtta Lifeguard Harness. Same shape as the Pro Padded |
The final type I considered while trying to figure out what was best for Daisy was the Hurtta Pro Padded Harness (and its more brightly coloured cousin, the Hurtta Lifeguard) but I ultimately decided against this fit shape because it appears to concentrate the pressure from the dog pulling across the chest, rather than around the chest and under the body. I'd also be concerned that the harness could slip if it isn't adjusted perfectly and the dog pulls suddenly, especially as Daisy and Cybi do both pull suddenly, and in any one of several directions.
 |
| The Hurtta Y Harness |
In addition to these harness type that have a "steering" or "corrective" role, there are also a wide variety of harnesses that serve the same function as a flat collar in that they are simply somewhere to attach the lead. These are fine for the dogs that are sensible enough not to throw themselves around while walking but most seem too "escapable" for me to be happy trying them on my idiots. I have my suspicions that Daisy would be able to wriggle backwards out of the one below due to the wider neck hold produced by taking the chest strap back to the belly band, rather than bringing the leg bands forwards to the neck strap as with the Hurrta Y harness and the Perfect Fit. I could just see her coming to a complete halt, and my continuing to walk -effectively pulling the harness over her head.
A "normal" harness, expertly modelled by a friend's dog.
I do know a lot of dogs for which this type of harness works well, though, and it's certainly worth considering as an alternative to the traditional single point of contact at the dog's neck.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)