SimonJester753 Report post Posted July 15, 2010 I'm planning on making a walking harness for my dog. I've got several questions about materials and design. I bought latigo side which I'll be using for the main construction. I may want to pad it. I've seen harnesses padded with neoprene. I'm sure it's functional, but I don't like the look of it. I was thinking of elk skin or some light garment leather with some kind of padding under it. What would be a good padding material? Keep in mind it will get rained on and maybe even be submerged while swimming. The other padding option could be to line it with sheepskin. The problem with that is my dog has allergies, but I'm not sure if wool is one of them. Does anyone know of any patterns for dog harnesses? I have pictures of 2 I like. Where I'd like to change the design from the pictures shown is I'd like to add a leash attachment on the chest. I'm not sure if this style of harness would work well with the leash attaching to the chest – I don't know if it may be easy for the dog to back out of the harness. And that leads me to my final question. I've found that my dog can wiggle out of the nylon harness I now use, if it's gotten a bit loose. I want to get a short length of chain with a bolt snap on each end, to tie the harness to his collar. Do these come pre-made? If so, what are they called? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bex DK Report post Posted July 19, 2010 Not sure on that type for the front attach. We have nylon front attaches for our BCs but have contemplated making our own in leather in similar designs. The fact that the nylon sometimes loosens is really annoying, although we've fixed it on the one done growing by burning holes on both sides of the D ring with a hot ice pick and putting a plastic cable tie through the holes so it can't slide. The front attach harnesses I have seen are usually a "collar" around the chest to which a piece that goes around the chest is attached. The tricky part is that size needs to be adjusted several places to keep things fitting right... like on both sides of the ring on the front and to both sides of where the front piece attaches to the chest. Haven't worked all that out yet to start on making our own. Also concerned about what exactly might be patented with those designs. To convert to leather, we'd definitely be using significantly different hardware and materials, but whether that is enough to be free from copyright/patent conflicts, I have no clue. No good ideas for padding either. Maybe some kind of foam with a softer leather over it on the inside? Pig skin is both strong and soft... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
