Product Review: Kurgo Journey Harness

Kurgo's Journey harness is a heavy-duty adventuring harness modeled after mountaineering gear. It features a handle on top, a front leash attachment ring, and Kurgo's signature steel nesting buckles. This harness adjusts in both the neck and chest areas, and has a daisychain for attaching a light or other accessory. It is currently available in two colors and four sizes to fit dogs with chests 12-44" around.

Super Rugged, Super Tough

This is a harness that means business. Maybe a little too much business. It's really surprisingly heavy when you first pick it up. Ours is a small, and it's a little bit too small, meanwhile the medium feels like it belongs on a pony.

Sizing issues seem to be pretty common with this harness. For some it works great. However, there are a lot of complaints that the neck loop is too big while the chest loop is too small.

Metal Everywhere

I'm no stranger to Kurgo's steel nesting buckles, but these are a little more difficult to use than the ones on our Go-Tech Adventure harnesses. I think there is metal inside the back plate too, it's what helps keep it in place but also adds tremendously to the weight.

Photo by Erin Koski

Pros

• Can be used as a non-restrictive no-pull front-clip harness
• Handle on back for helping dog over obstacles
• No plastic buckles
• Stays in place, does not rotate around dog's body

Cons

• Sizing issues, large difference between small and medium, many dogs fall between sizes
• Front chest plate wide enough to irritate inside of front legs on some dogs
• Very heavy

Bottom Line

I like the design of this harness, but I don't think it scales well between sizes. I'd prefer something a bit lighter so my dog isn't carrying unnecessary weight for hours.

Bad Idea: Why Can't I Use a Flexi Leash with an Easy Walk Harness?

The PetSafe Premier Easy Walk harness is great for preventing dogs from pulling like sled dogs on walks. Flexi retractable leashes are great for letting dogs have a little more freedom without a long leash dragging on the ground or tangling in their legs. Why not combine them and give the dog the freedom of a long leash without getting dragged all over the neighborhood?

Photo by Erin Koski

Well I guess you can use them together if you want to, but it's not very nice to your dog. You see, the Easy Walk harness is designed to make leash pressure inconvenient and uncomfortable, and the Flexi leash exerts constant pressure. The result is that the dog learns to ignore the signals given by the harness because pulling is actually a good thing.

Using a retractable leash with a no-pull harness means the dog feels a constant unpleasant sensation.

Photo by Erin Koski

The entire point of retractable leashes is that
they do not go slack. Constant tension from the handle to the dog ensures that the leash never drags on the ground, keeping it clean and dry. The bulky plastic handle of a retractable leash houses a spring and a wheel.

Unless the brake is pressed, the spring exerts continuous pressure on the wheel causing it to roll the leash back into the handle. This is what causes an unclipped Flexi leash to go flying back into its handle. Unless the brake is presses, the spring also exerts continuous pressure on the dog. It's not a lot of tension, but it is ever-present tension.

Photo by Erin Koski

In order to extend the leash and get wherever they want to go, dogs learn to pull on the Flexi. The leash is constantly pulling on them, so there is no way for them to walk with no pressure. Just pull against it, and the leash will get longer most of the time.

Unlike other front-clip harnesses, the EasyWalk tightens up across the front when leash pressure is applied. This causes squishes the shoulders and alters the dog's gait. It makes them walk funny. That's not fun, so the dog learns to keep the leash slack so he has freedom of movement.

It's hard to walk while pulling in an Easy Walk harness. A Flexi leash constantly pulls on the dog. Plenty of dogs learn to ignore the feeling, walk funny, and pull as much as they can in the harness. This defeats the purpose of using a no-pull harness. It's also not great for their bodies. Easy Walk harnesses restrict shoulder movement, causing the dog to put more weight on their back end. Using a retractable leash with constant tension probably exacerbates this effect. While it's not always noticeable, sore hips, knees, and backs don't need to be carrying more weight than necessary.

A Better Way to Adjust the Easy Walk Harness

The PetSafe Easy Walk harness works well for a lot of people, but it can be difficult to fit on the dog properly. The instructions included with this harness don't work very well for most dogs. Sure, they look plausible when you read them:














Just make the straps that go around the bottom and top tight enough that they remain in a straight vertical line even when the front strap is pulled forward. Then adjust the front strap so that it is tight enough to stay horizontal, 90 degrees from the other two straps, but not so tight that it pulls them forward. The connector rings and front strap should sit precisely at the level of the dog's breastbone. Easy, right?

The Mythical T-Shape
It sounds easy until you actually try to put an Easy Walk harness on a dog. Then physics comes into play and you begin to realize that dogs aren't shaped like that. I have yet to find a dog on which I could fit an Easy Walk harness as directed. No matter how incredibly dog-suffocatingly tight I make those top and bottom straps, they will not remain vertical. Nope. Not happening. Also, the straps attach to each other via a ring on either side. This allows the straps to rotate freely out of position at the slightest pressure.

If your harness fits like this and any of the straps are at their maximum
length, you probably need a bigger harness.
Photo by Erin Koski

The front strap on the Premier PetSafe EasyWalk harness includes a martingale loop that allows it to tighten. This feature also makes it very heavy. Unless your dog has an extremely prominent breastbone on which to hang that strap, it is going to sag. Heavy leash clips exacerbate this issue, and once again those handy side rings allow it to rotate very easily. There is no keeping the front strap horizontal.

So what can you do? If you try to keep the front strap tight enough to stay up, it pulls the top and bottom straps out of vertical and into the NO Y-shape. If you try to keep the top and bottom straps vertical, the front strap sags. There is no happy medium. Even worse, the mythical T-shape requires that the top and bottom straps sit in your dog's armpits, and fit very tightly. Chafed underarms galore.

The SENSE-ible Solution
The fitting instructions for the SENSE-ation harness are a bit different, but they work extremely well for the EasyWalk. For a better, more comfortable, less droopy fit, loosen that bottom strap and tighten up the top one a bit. The connector rings should now sit higher than the dog's breastbone.

A size bigger, this M/L can be adjusted for a better fit.
Photo by Erin Koski

With the front strap now attached a bit higher, it should sag right into its ideal position. When light pressure is applied, the Easy Walk harness may even take on the mythical T-shape. Since the front is no longer being held in place purely by tension, the bottom strap can be loosened enough to allow some freedom of movement. This also keeps it out of the dog's armpits and reduces chafing.

How to Fit an Easy Walk Harness Comfortably
1. Find the point of the dog's breastbone at the front of their chest, just below their neck.
2. Adjust the top shoulder strap so that the connector rings on either side sit an inch or two above this point.
3. Adjust the bottom belly strap so that it is snug, but loose enough to allow the dog to sit comfortably without getting jabbed in the armpits.
4. Adjust the front chest strap so it is snug enough to sit against the dog's body, but not so tight as the affect the position of the other two straps. It should droop slightly and sit just at the dog's breastbone.
5. If the front chest straps hangs lower than the breastbone or the leash clasp hits the dog's legs, tighten the top shoulder strap more. If the bottom belly strap is chafing under the front legs, loosen the front chest strap and tighten the top shoulder strap.

Keep in mind that Easy Walk harnesses tend to loosen up over time, and need to be tightened and adjusted often. Have you used this harness? How well did it work for you?

Product Review: SENSE-ation Harness by Softouch Concepts

The Softouch Concepts SENSE-ation harness is a front clip harness designed to discourage pulling and promote good leash walking skills. It features a simple three-strap design with a single buckle and a bottom strap made from soft non-abrasive webbing. The SENSE-ation is available in five colors and nine different sizes to fit dogs with chests 13-50" around.

Photo by Erin Koski

While it may look a lot like the Premier Easy Walk harness, the SENSE-ation harness is in my opinion a superior product. With one fewer buckle, it's easier to put on and less likely to baffle the uninitiated. More importantly=, it does not have that obnoxious tightening martingale loop in the front.

While the Easy Walk harness is supposed to tighten across the shoulders to make pulling difficult, the SENSE-ation harness just changes the leash attachment point from the front to the back. The fixed strap gives a much better fit and is far more ergonomic while being just as effective. The issue with the Easy Walk harness is that the martingale loop doesn't actually tighten the harness, it just pulls the top and bottom straps forward and into the dog's armpits.

The SENSE-ation harness is also fitted differently than the Easy Walk, and since acquiring mine I have changed the way I fit dogs with Easy Walk harnesses. Premier tells users that the top and bottom straps should be vertical, and the front strap should sit horizontal and level with the point of the chest. The guys at my local pet store call this the "mythical T-shape" because it just can't be achieved on a real dog. The get the front strap to sit at the point of the chest, it has to be tightened until the top and bottom straps are pulled into the dog's elbows.

The SENSE-ation harness is fitted with the chest trap adjusted a bit higher. When gravity and physics and the laws of nature take their course, the front strap ends up right at the breastbone where it belongs. Unlike the Easy Walk harness, which instructs users to tighten the vertical straps so tight that the front strap stays up, the SENSE-ation harness instructs users to keep things loose enough to be comfortable and allow for natural movement.

Pros: A far more comfortable and easier to use front clip harness that the most popular one on the market. Discourages pulling without impeding normal movement.

Cons: Not Dr Zink-approved because the horizontal strap lays across the shoulder, though this is more a concern for canine athletes and less for average pet dogs. The pink ones I've seen have faded badly even though they haven't been in the sun.

Bottom Line: I feel like this harness was designed by people who actually used it long enough to improve the design and fitting instructions. It's what the Easy Walk harness would be if a team of dog-loving engineers got to work on it. While it hasn't replaced the Freedom harness as my favorite no-pull solution, it's a lot better than the more popular Easy Walk.

DIY: Using a Regular Harness as a Front-Clip Harness

Front-clip harnesses, where the leash attaches to a ring in front of the dog's chest instead of behind their shoulders, have become popular training aids in the last few years. They discourage pulling by changing the angle and direction of leash attachment so that the dog has minimal leverage when moving forward. When the dog pulls forward, the harness uses that force to turn the sideways or back toward the handler.

Photo by Erin Koski

The current front-clip harness lineup includes the Premier EasyWalk, the Freedom harness by 2 Hounds Design, the SENSE-ation harness by Souftouch Concepts, the Walk Your Dog with Love harness. the Walk-in-Sync harness, the Walk Right harness, the Halti harness, the Lupine No-Pull Harness, and probably a few that I haven't heard about yet.

What do all of these harnesses have in common? They each have a ring in the front where a leash can be attached. Know what else has a ring in the front? A Roman-style harness. Mesh and vest-style harnesses don't normally have a front ring, but plain old walking harnesses tend to have one where the straps on either side of the neck meet the strap that goes between the front legs.

Normally the leash would attach to the D-ring at the back of this harness, but it can also attach to the O-ring at the front. Ta-da, it's now a front-clip harness.

Product Review: Freedom No-Pull Harness

The Freedom No-Pull Harness, by 2 Hounds Design (formerly Wiggles, Wags and Whiskers)  is a unique piece of equipment that doesn't really fit into any of the categories by which I usually classify dog harnesses. It's shaped more like a step-in than anything else, but goes on like a Roman harness, with the neck loop around the neck, center strap passed between the front legs, and the belly strap clipped around the dog's middle. The Freedom Harness comes in twenty different color combinations and two strap widths to fit dogs with chests 14-44" around.

Photo by Erin Koski

This harness has a martingale loop on the top that serves to tighten the chest strap around the dog's girth. The tightening strap discourages pulling without choking or hitting sensitive pressure points. While most no-pull products use some sort of pain or discomfort to discourage pulling, this one does not appear to bother extra-sensitive Brisbane.

One of the things I like best about the Freedom harness is the velvet lining on the straps under the armpits. This makes it very popular for off-track greyhounds and other dogs with sensitive skin. Brisbane's armpits are pretty much naked, so I am very careful with harnesses that have straps anywhere near that area. I'm pretty sure the original Wiggles Wags and Whiskers harness was designed specifically for greyhounds.

Photo by Erin Koski

Another unique feature of the Freedom harness is a front leash ring. This attachment point does not tighten the harness when leash pressure is applied, unlike the ever-popular EasyWalk harness.

Ideally, the leash should be clipped either to the back ring only, or to both the front and back rings at the same time. This can be accomplished with a double-ended leash, a regular leash with a carabiner snapped to the handle, or or even two leashes. This allows the handler to primarily use the back attachment point to discourage pulling, and the front ring just for turning the dog around.

Photo by Erin Koski

The Freedom harness has been awesome for Ulysses. He doesn't really pull on the leash, but he does fixate on things like other dogs in the distance. The front ring allows me to turn him around and walk him away in a manner that does not trigger him to react. This is the harness that I recommend now for people who have issues with pulling or reactivity.

Pros: No-pull feature does not make my uber-sensitive Brisbane act uncomfortable, meaning it is not a hugely negative pulling deterrent like a prong collar or string harness. Really does deter pulling, though I have not tried it on a strong dog yet. Does not require picking up the dog's feet to put it on, and the neck loop is big enough to go on without touching sensitive ears. Does not hang loosely, can be worn without a leash attached. Soft velvet on straps behind the legs help prevent chafing, and the harness does not sit too close to the elbows.

Cons: The front strap sits pretty low, probably low enough to interfere with shoulder movement. Brisbane recently developed some hip arthritis, and suddenly became visibly unhappy when wearing any harness that touches his shoulders. Our harness is a size large, I tried going down to a medium in hopes of having the strap sit higher, but the back loop section is actually the same length on both sizes. I'm also not in love with the sizing, with the large harness we have almost every strap adjusted as short as possible, with the medium they were all as long as possible. I wish there was more overlap. This harness is also sort of complicated for the uninitiated to put on the dog, though it gets easier with practice.

Bottom Line: This is my new favorite band-aid for pulling, and for managing reactive dogs. It has been wonderful for Ulysses and I plan to use it for future fosters as well.

Why I Love Lupine and You Should Too

If you haven't heard of the Lupine company yet, you are definitely missing out. This might be my favorite dog gear, for several reasons. Lupine collars, leashes, and harnesses come in three different widths, 1/2", 3/4", and 1", and multiple sizes to fit every dog. Why am I a Lupine fan?

1. The Lifetime Guarantee. Lupine will replace your gear, even if your dog gleefully destroys it. You really can't ask for more than that. You don't need a receipt, you don't need a sob story, all you need is a destroyed product. You can mail the sad remains of your collar/leash/harness directly to the company. Most stores that carry Lupine products will also accept the bits of your old leash and give you a new one of the same width and size, even if they don't have that exact pattern.

2. The patterns! Lupine gear comes in an ever-changing variety of patterns, mostly inspired by the outdoors and each featuring a name. Patterns are retired after a certain amount of time, depending on popularity. Brisbane's first Lupine gear was a 1" Turtle Reef collar for our trips to the beach. I bought it in 2006, and it's still in production. We now have a Roman harness and 6' leash to match.

Turtle Reef pattern plus chihuahua photobomb.

There was also 3/4" dolphin pattern that has come and gone. I liked the look of the 3/4" stuff better on Briz, so he has a step-in harness, martingale collar, and matching leash too. When my cats were little I got them a seahorse print Roman harness and leash, which they were never thrilled about wearing. Ru has since inherited the set, so I can deck all three dogs out in matching beach gear.

3. The variety! You're likely to find adjustable buckle collars and 4' and 6' leashes in an given Lupine display, and some stores also carry step-in and Roman-style harnesses. I also have several Lupine martingale, or limited-slip, collars for Briz because his head is smaller than his neck. Lupine calls these combo collars.

There are also cat collars with breakaway buckles, and H-harnesses, in 1/2" patterns. There are also slip leads, 15' and 30' training leashes, tiny tab leashes, and a new front-clip no-pull harness that appears to solve the problems posed by the more popular Premier Easy-Walk harness. They even have collars that work with various invisible fence systems.

4. The hunt! Lupine discontinues patterns all the time, but that doesn't mean they simply disappear. The long a store hangs onto their older stock, the more likely they are to still have a discontinued pattern around. The 1" cow pattern in the picture above was discontinued before Brisbane was born in 2005. I have found several collars and leashes in that print, mostly at grooming salons, humane society adopt-and-shop storefronts, and other locations where selling product isn't the main goal. Many Australian cattledog fans love these collars, and so we watch for them wherever we find older Lupine stuff. I like donating them to people who rescue cattledogs. We also now have a 3/4" retired cow pattern to watch for, too.

5. The future. I have helped friends get their chewed Lupine gear replaced, but I have never had the pleasure myself. None of my dogs are destructive chewers, and unlike many decorative collars these stand up to itchy dogs scratching at them. Some of my favorite beach gear is getting a bit faded, but everything remains structurally sound. The salt water is slowly taking its toll on the metal hardware, however. I dutifully rinse everything in fresh water after every trip, but I'm still expecting something to fail eventually. I'm hoping something fails in a completely epic fashion someday, like a completely corroded D-ring, just so I can send it to the folks at Lupine and make their day a little more interesting.