Dog Harnesses – Tried and Tested by Our Dogs at Benafim Dogs
Once upon a time in the not so distant past dogs were walked with a collar and lead. Those days are long gone and harnesses have become one of the ‘essential’ items to have for your dog. With so many choices and designs on the market and with BIG claims to match where do you even start when it comes to choosing the right harness for your dog?
Our dog’s reviews on 5 carefully paw picked harnesses
Our dogs bought 5 different harnesses to test and give us feedback on. The five they selected are: Rabbitgoo No-Pull Dog Harness Vest, Julius K9 Harness, ThinkPet No Pull Dog Harness, Ruffwear Webmaster Multi Use Dog Harness and Musonic No Pull Dog Harness.
Each of these harnesses were tested by many different dogs at Benafim Dog Shelter, from small to large dogs, dogs who are angels to walk, to those who have a tendency to pull when walking, and even those who are scared to walk on a lead. Our dogs are the experts we are just the ones passing on their feedback with just a little bit of input from us humans too, as let’s face it some harnesses require a degree in ‘harnesses’ to put on a dog. Our panel of experts testing and reviewing the 5 harnesses are Nora, Max, Killo, Indy and Mely – let’s see what they have to say:
Rabbitgoo No-Pull Dog Harness Vest
Max is a small 1 year old boy of 8 kgs. He is not used to wearing or walking on a harness and is very puppy like in his behaviour. Once the straps are adjusted to the right size (the part us humans always get in a twist with) the harness is very easy to fit and Max was able to stand still long enough for us to do this. Meaning the process is very quick! The harness slips over the head and there is one strap to fit under the tummy. Max really didn’t seem phased by having a harness on for the very first time and we are sure the soft padded cushioning within the harness helped him feel comfortable. These harnesses are also suitable to work with GPS trackers.
There are two options for attaching the lead – on the top of the harness or at the front. Attaching the lead to the front is designed to stop the dog from pulling on walks and is a common feature on many harnesses. Walking Max with the lead attached this way distracted him and all he wanted to do was play with the lead. We don’t blame him really, definitely not a substitute for basic training a dog to walk on a lead!
The Details
Padded air mesh
Reflective threads for hi visibilty
A sturdy top handle for lifting the dog
A front ring and a back ring
Available in S, M, L and XL
Many different colours to choose from
Summary
A sturdy, padded and comfortable. Very easy to put on and take off. A noticeable difference to pulling when we tested this harness on dogs who are used to being walked on a lead both with and without a harness. Max being the exception who was too busy wanting to play!
Check Price on AmazonJulius K9 Power Harness
Can a harness be cool and trendy? If yes then this is most probably the one our dogs would like to be seen out and about in. Killo’s face may not show this but deep down he is thinking “yep this is it, the real deal when it comes to harness wearing”……Us humans love the option to customise the harness with interchangeable velcro labels as well as flash light holders for night time walking.
Kilo had never ever had a harness on before and is a very shy and apprehensive dog when it comes to new situations and experiences. A definite positive for the Julius – K9 is that it is incredibly easy to put on for us humans meaning less fiddling and fuss for shyer and more nervous dogs. Simply slip over the head and fasten underneath the chest/tummy.
The front band on the power harness provides the pull back you need to safely stop your dog pulling. The fit needs to be perfect on this harness otherwise the front band can restrict the natural walking movement of your dog and could have an impact on longer walks if not correctly fitted. Mely has a tendency at times to launch herself forward if she sees a cat. With this harness we had much more control over these sudden forward launches.
The Details
Available in many different colours
The K9 harness is available in many different colours.
The front band across the chest features a hi visibility strip for safety when walking in the dark.
A sturdy top handle for lifting the dog
Harness can be customised with velcro interchangeable badges and labels
Summary
A cool, heavy duty, easy to put on harness that is comfortable for dogs and does help walking even the strongest of pullers.
Check Price on AmazonThinkPet No Pull Dog Harness
Nora is a big and strong girl so who better to test this ThinkPet No Pull dog harness. As you can see from her smiley face she was very happy with the feel and fit of the harness. Nora loves her walks and if she sees something she wants to smell or go towards she will pull. As with all the harnesses tested by our dogs, we put the lead on the front clip and the one of the back to see whether it made a difference to the dog’s pulling power. Nora seemed to pull less with the clip in both positions. The harness didn’t restrict movement and her front legs and chest retained their normal walking position and frame.
We know the dogs aren’t reviewing leads but as this harness comes with one they of course had to mention it. The lead is a nice extra but with a plastic and fiddly clip attachment we are not convinced this would last. This shouldn’t put you off the harness itself though.
The Details
Reflective and Illuminous for safe walking in the dark
Padded and adjustable mesh Oxford Nylon lining for comfort
Dog Harness has a handle and two metal rings for lead attachment
Available in sizes S, M, L, XL and XXL
Available in a whole range of colours
Summary
A comfortable harness for dogs and easy to put on for humans. Lightweight to wear and movement is not restricted.
Check Price on AmazonRuffwear Webmaster Multi Use Dog Harness
Dogs first impressions – smart! Humans first impressions – smart! It was slightly fiddly to adjust the straps to ensure the absolute correct fit for the dog but once done the harness does not stretch or loosen. It is really well built with a solid and firm feel to the harness The full coverage and double straps underneath meant that even our super nervous dogs who would normally be able to slip out of a harness were kept safe and secure. Of all the harnesses tested this is the one for any dog owner who is worried about their dog being able to get out of their harness.
The Ruffwear Webmaster harness doesn’t claim to stop dogs pulling and it doesn’t have the front ring like some of the others do, this said we did notice our dog reviewers who have a tendency to pull were better ‘behaved’ wearing the harness.
The Details
Padded chest and tummy panel
The straps are foam padded for comfort
Reflect trim for visibility
Available in XXS, XS, S, M, L and XL
Available in a range of colours
Summary
This is a heavy duty and secure harness for even the ‘Houdini dogs’ out there. The design is padded and does not hinder the dog’s movement. Slightly more complicated for us humans to put on initially compared to some but worth it seeing how comfortable and secure the dog’s were wearing it.
Check Price on AmazonMusonic No Pull Dog Harness
The dogs were pleasantly surprised by this harness. The material is very soft and doesn’t have that ‘firm heavy feel’ once fitted on the dog which is helpful for dogs who are not as used to wearing harnesses. The harness comes with a lead as a nice extra.
Indy is a definite puller on walks, she puts her nose to the floor and off she goes without stopping until the end of her walk. Despite not having a front clip to attach the lead to, just one on the back, Indy did walk with less pull in this harness.
The Musonic harness is easy to put on, has a simple but effective design and the dogs who aren’t used to harnesses really seemed to not be phased at all by wearing it.
The Details
Available in sizes XS, S, M, L, XL
Lots of bright colours to choose from
Safety handle
Breathable material
Lockable Harness clips for extra security
Summary
This harness is soft to wear which the dogs who are not used to wearing harnesses liked. It is easy to put on and did make a difference to us humans walking the dogs.
Check Price on AmazonConclusion – Our Dog’s Verdict
What fun we have had with the dogs reviewing these 5 harnesses. Lots and lots and lots of walking, smiles from the dogs as they sat nicely for photos and lots of firsts for some of the dogs too. Yes, some had never worn harnesses before and were very brave dogs! There was a harness for every dog among the selection we reviewed. For those who really pull, the K9 Power harness is a super cool design according to the dogs and really helped to stop the pulling for the excitable walkers at the shelter. They were impressed too by the Musonic No Pull Dog Harness harness which is a great value for money harness. The Ruffwear Harness is an absolute must for the more active dog and those who are likely to attempt to wangle their way out of it. The ThinkPet No Pull Dog Harness is a great middle of the range harness, it is soft, worked it’s no pull magic and has some nice additional design features. Lastly but by no means least the Rabbitgoo No-Pull Dog Harness seemed to be a favourite among the harness wearing novices who found it was comfortable, offered support but without being heavy.
