Harness for a lil guy named bo

[Stetson912]

@Sheilajeanne, thanks I understand now. I will be doing that with the top strap. I think that and shortening  the harness are the only alterations to make to it. And when I replace the strap I will take up the slack in it. 

Thanks for the insight. I appreciate it 

[Sheilajeanne]

Glad to be of help! 

I was just looking at your photos of the harness. Where /how did the D ring fail? Did the leather break, or did the D actually break? A D ring you use for something like this would have to be a solid piece of metal, with no joins in it. Cheaper D's have a join along the flat part, and will just pull apart under strain.

If it was the leather -oops! Even with 3 layers on the centre section of the strap, the D ring attachment still only has 2 layers, so not sure it would hold.

Anyway, shortening the middle strap will help the chest strap take a lot of the pressure, and you may be okay with the redesign. Hope so...

Plannning to do a leather harness for my younger dog sometime soon, so this has been helpful to me, too. The dog in the photos turns 11 the first week of January and she is still very active and can be a real PITA sometimes!

[Stetson912]

The Dee is solid cast brass 1/8" thick at least.

The leather broke because I was dumb and skived the part where the leather wraps around the Dee and I shouldnt have.

I'm thinking I'll double the thickness or do one and a half thickness at least. So there will be added leather there at the Dee and harness ring. That'll be 18/20oz of leather. Should hold then right? Haha

[Sheilajeanne]

Yep!  

[roo4u]

just a bit about prong collars...they are not intended to be used as a single collar they are a correction device but when properly applied to the dog.  prong collars are meant to be used high up on the dogs neck with a buckle collar below them.  two leashes should be used a short leash on the prong for the correction and your regular leash on the flat collar for general use.  this method keeps handler from accidentally inflicting pain on the dog if the dog misbehaves.  control should be kept with the flat collar while the short corrections are made with the prong collar.  not all trainers or handlers are proficient enough with the correct use of these collars.  i do not recommend anyone to use one on their first problem dog without some guidance from an experienced handler or trainer.

[Sheilajeanne]

Very true, roo! (Though I don't agree with the double leash method. If a dog is walking properly on the leash, there is no pressure on the collar. If it starts to pull, it corrects itself. As for the prong causing pain, put a prong collar around your wrist, and jerk on it. The sensation is not comfortable, but it's not painful, either. (And we don't have a nice thick fur coat the way a dog does.) Anyway, something else that should be added: prongs absolutely should NEVER be left on the dog when the walk or training session is over. Worst thing you can do is tether a dog using a prong. They can catch a hind foot in it when scratching, and it is also possible for the links to come undone. The ends of the prongs should be smooth, not sharp. Cheap prongs made in China can have sharp burrs on them that will hurt the dog's neck. If you see photos on animal rights sites showing holes in a dog's neck from a prong, that's the sort of prong that was used. I have never, ever seen that sort of damage from a prong, and I've been using them since the 1980's. Most of the people I train with also use them.

I have a Herm-Springer prong - paid $50 for it. Quality doesn't come cheap!

Edited December 28, 2017 by Sheilajeanne