Harnesses, collars and really sore nipples

[AnnieKangaroo]

Hey all, us again 🙃

Annie is settling in great. We figured her playtime roaching was just a sign for "give me bum scratches" and complied (not the actual butt, just the meaty part of the legs).

Anyway, new issue! We are $250 deep in collars and harnesses that don't work for us 😬

We've tried a cotton martingale and it's not made well so the hardware twists on the fabric. But previous grey experience taught me that the synthetic woven styles rub off fur

We've tried the following harnesses: 

EzyDog quickfit in XL - goodish but she's between sizes and can easily back out of it when she does her kangaroo leaps. L is a smidge short in the chest strap but somewhat more adjustable, but same backing out issue.

El cheapo $2 store harness which is step through, and she's backed out of it.

PupCrewPro Pathfinder in XL - great, excellent, well fitting, soft chest triangle...except she's now got a raw nipple from where the belly strap rubbed. And I'm fairly sure it's rubbed a bald patch on her belly too. We've only had it for less than a week.

I'm at my wits' end! Soooo much money spent on these and not sure where to turn. We'd like a harness, and a good fitting martingale, ideally that won't rub her raw or rub her fur off (also a common occurrence with anything that goes onto this dog).

Tips?? We're in Australia.

Also open to ideas about how to diy them to be more comfortable! 

Ty

Edited July 8, 2020 by AnnieKangaroo
Title... again

[HeyRunDog]

I can't recommend a harness as the one I tried caused bruising each side of her chest. Grace has a soft house collar with her ID tag attached to it and a padded leather fishtail collar which is only worn when we go out.

[mansbestfriend]

Hi AnnieKangaroo. A well adjusted Martingale *should* suffice when walking your grey IMO. My Max has had a wide (about 50mm or 2") Martingale collar for a long time with no problems. www.etsy.com/au/ has a nice range. He has a fitted (at the shop) Haqihana harness but it's been hanging up unused almost since new. If Annie is jumping about on-leash and backing out of collars and harnesses, I'd make calming of that behaviour a priority. Cheers from Brisbane. 

[cleptogrey]

first of all i would go back to where ever you purchased the equipment that is not working and return it. hopefully you have either your receipts or charge card invoice or at least a store credit and you can purchase food. these days most manufactures/business are trying to keep their customers satisfied.

look at this video and check the sizing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hex3wUqg8Y

as to martingale i find the LUPINE collars- have a life time guarantee even if chewed and they come in a variety of sizes. https://www.lupinepet.com/store/dogs/martingale-collars

i use the 3/4" on females and note there are 2 sizes. you may need the smaller size. there needs to be a 2" gap between rings when collar is pulled taught. my males used the 1" collar- their smaller size for the 1".  the thinner the width the more control you will have. also the type of leash used really helps. personally i like either leather or biothane or even the 1" 100% cotton training leashes.  the lupine leashes are down right uncomfortable and the wide 1" nylon leashes are difficult to control.

as to a harness i will use it on an ill or aged dog. there is 0 control in using a harness. i tried one on a very well trained champion dog who figured out that he could misbehave and lung at anything moving while wearing a harness. it went straight back to the vendor. there are many anti-slip or spook harnesses but you still have a jumping kangaroo on the end of your leash. 

also, look into training classes. you will be given the tools to work with you dog and make walkies most enjoyable. best of luck~

 

[AnnieKangaroo]

On 7/9/2020 at 11:11 PM, mansbestfriend said:

If Annie is jumping about on-leash and backing out of collars and harnesses, I'd make calming of that behaviour a priority. Cheers from Brisbane. 

Thanks for your store recommendation! I'll check them out, as I said her adoption collar suuuuucks and we def need a new one. 

Annie is EXTREMELY well behaved during walkies, so much so that we'd probably be comfortable going off leash if we were more confident in her recall (working on it, but she's just a month in).

Our issue is with big adventures, like beach or other exciting things. We don't want her to not enjoy herself and hopping about is just how she expresses her happiness...but many of these areas require a leash on, and during her jumps she just backs out of some things.

The thing with her backing out also is how she hops about. It properly is like a kangaroo, she goes on her hind legs, front paws up, and up pretty much vertical. Doesn't bolt, just jumps circles around herself. Because there's no tension on the collar as she comes down, it slips off (collar stays up, dog goes down kinda thing). And with her comfy harnesses, the front paws up thing causes the backing out. Honestly it's pretty comical to watch but we're always worried what with her being a greyhound and such strict laws about them ☹️ she's not doing or done anything bad but we don't wanna be caught with a "naked" greyhound when there's already so much stigma.

[AnnieKangaroo]

On 7/10/2020 at 11:09 PM, cleptogrey said:

first of all i would go back to where ever you purchased the equipment that is not working and return it. hopefully you have either your receipts or charge card invoice or at least a store credit and you can purchase food. these days most manufactures/business are trying to keep their customers satisfied

as to martingale i find the LUPINE collars- have a life time guarantee even if chewed and they come in a variety of sizes. https://www.lupinepet.com/store/dogs/martingale-collars

Thanks for that! Do you not find those collars too thin for a greyhound? I always thought we are meant to use the really wide ones so their necks don't get hurt. The Lupine ones look really good though! Love the colours and they seem padded and well made.

Unfortunately stores won't take returns unless they've been unused. We even tried with the harness that's too big for her, which was fitted in store, but as soon as tags come off it's a no go. And my partner bought it and didn't know how to check fit 🤦

As for Annie's behaviour, she's really good on walkies, but we need adventure gear for times when she needs to be leashed but allowed to be excited. Beach, for example. She's also only 2 and I feel that if she were a husky or a lab people would think it's perfectly normal to have a bouncy dog at that age, but cos she's a greyhound she's a bit surprising with her energy. She's never been on collars though, but trained to walk well very quickly - she learns most things within a single day/session and walks on harness were no different. We've had her only a month and she already walks on a slack lead, knows to stop and sit at crossings and hardly ever stops to sniff if we're not doing a sniffy walk. Honestly were so proud of her but we go on many trips and definitely need good adventure gear for when she needs to be leashed, but can still be excited and enjoy herself, if that makes sense? 

[mansbestfriend]

Hi AnnieKangaroo. Helping your dog to be more calm and less excited in the situations you describe, would be helpful for the dog in the short and long term. Cheers.

[mrsmcd7]

I’ve always used the easy walk harness. Life changer for us.