Three Great Dog Harnesses for Walking My Service Dog in Training
In November of 2022, I adopted the most magnificent pet on the planet (in my eyes, lol!) with the intention of training her up as a service dog! Lucky for me, my dear little chaos gremlin, Bella, has shown a penchant for service work all on her own, in addition to things that I’ve been able to show her or want to show her.
We’ve been working together to shape the behaviors that come naturally to her; part of that process includes demonstrating the difference in an environment for “work” versus “play” energy. I have found that the style of gear really does make a difference in her focus and performance, and I’m so glad that we have yet another way to help shape and train tasks and responses!
While I am not a professional service dog trainer, I do like to share what has been working for us in our “self training” journey! So here are some great pieces of gear that have helped us over the last few months. It’s my hope that you will also find this helpful in your service training journey, or that it may give you a great starting off point to tailor things to you and your dog’s preferences and comfort level.
Our Favorite Harnesses
After some serious trial and error (Read: Bella eating and/or destroying two lower-quality harnesses as a puppy) we now have three top notch options for various harness walking use.
First up is the Ruffwear Web Master Dog Harness
A pawtrait of the fine young pup in training from April 2022
Web Master Dog Harness with Handle, Ruffwear Brand, $69.95 USD
Bella did very well on this from the get-go, with very little pulling even as an overexcited puppy! We have used this harness more or less since the beginning (after replacing the ones she ate lol) and the Size Small has grown well with her! She’s over 50lbs now, and it’s still fitting quite well with additional room to grow. There’s lots of flexibility here in sizing to also place the harness over or under coats, sweaters, or raingear.
Thanks to the multi-point clips and an over-the-head slip on method, this design makes it more challenging for Bella to wriggle out of (she really, really had to try hard). It takes a second or two to get her in it, so you’ll need patience, but with a good cue of “Paw” to step in and “Noggin” to place her head through we were good to go.
There is room to attach the brand’s flashlight accessory, but only one reinforced webbed fabric + metal attachment spot on the top for your leash or pull-handle. The top handle is extremely tough and reinforced. It’s sturdy enough to physically pick Bella up and lift her up and away from danger in an emergency.
As for durability and safety, I can’t recommend it more! We bought this late 2022 and it’s still truckin. The fabric is stiff and well-constructed, and the belly bands provide a lot of extra support for lifting, and are padded to prevent chafing and rubbing. We’ve had no issues with rashes, scratches, or fur wearing down, nor any chewing at the straps from discomfort.
The Blaze Orange colorway has been great for visibility both in snow, night time walking, and wooded areas.
On walks, the pulling is minimal and Bella remains focused and calm. She can be easily redirected away from other dogs by gently guiding her with one hand on the handle and our verbal cue (“Keep it movin”) In extreme cases of danger or off-leash dog catastrophe, we have been able to physically lift her up and away to safety (no easy feet once she reached 50+lbs of course, but we still managed it thanks to this sturdy harness!)
We have also used both the XS (Red Sumac colorway) and the S (Purple Rain colorway) on a family member’s Bichon Frise, and she ceased all pulling and walks confidently and comfortably while wearing this. The XS is great during warm weather while she has her summer cut, and the S fits better when she’s got a full puffy groom or wearing winter weather clothes. It helps a lot in lifting that little wiggly puffball pal over mud puddles, deep snow, and out of harms way for off leash dogs (fuck your off leash dogs in busy public places btw!) We did, however, notice that on the Bichon’s fur, sometimes the black fabric left a little grey-tinge to her curly coat, but it comes right out with a little water and washcloth so don’t panic! It also does that less over time.
Overall, it’s very comfortable, durable, and holds up well to muck, mud, grime, water, and multiple washes!
Next on my list is another wonderful harness from Ruffwear, the Flagline Dog Harness with Handle.
Our pupfluencer is wearing the Flagline using front-clip leash loop
Flagline Dog Harness with Handle, Ruffwear Brand, $69.95 USD
While the Web Master is certainly comfortable enough to use year-round, I wanted to acquire something a little lighter weight and thinner for warmer weather months. Bella’s favorite hobby is laying out on the pavement doing a little people watching and feral-cat-stalking, and I noticed she was overheating a little more quickly in the thicker fabric of the Web Master. Enter the lovely Flagline Harness option! We have this harness with handle in a size Small and the Salmon Pink colorway. It is perfect for short jaunts in summer weather, sunbathing in the front yard, and playing in the sprinkler or running under the hose mist.
My significant other hilariously refers to this as Bella’s Bikini Harness, due to it’s slender shape, minimal body coverage, and lightweight material. The fabric and construction is much thinner than the Web Master or her other “working pup” harness (I’ll share that next!) making it a great choice for extremely hot days.
I appreciate that this has 2 more additional leash attachment spots where the Web Master did not. Although she is trained to collar walk and harness walk since she was only a few months old, we went through a fantastic phase (sarcasm!) of obsessive sudden squirrel chasing, kangaroo jumping dog overexcited reactivity, and mega-zoomies on leash; I found that clipping her leash to the front reinforced fabric loop during this time curbed that behavior. I don’t personally recommend that for long-term use as it wasn’t the most comfortable set-up for her gait wise, but it immediately curbed that intense yanking. She would pull forward against the leash but it would simply turn her around to face me, immediately breaking the intense puppy energy and we were able to move calmly forward.
I did notice that it’s not as efficient in stopping the pull-factor overall; Bella has certainly realized that she has a little more muscle power in this to direct me where she wants to go, even with verbal cues and redirection. She’ll still try her luck and see what she can maneuver, but when that happens we swap to the front clip for a walk or two and then she’s back to calm walks.
If your dog is a frequent escape artist, this is not the option for you. I did notice that the flexible fabric on this design was far easier for her to slip out of if scared (adolescent fear period is a trip, whew.) Due to the more pliable construction, she was able to wriggle the straps looser and back out of it quite quickly during a panic attack over loud noises, an incoming off leash dog (they’re a scourge and a plague!) and the electric Amazon Delivery Trucks going by. That being said, this is still the harness I probably use most frequently at the moment, but only because I know she will respond to my verbal cues or food lure in a pinch; I would not put her on this lead if another family member was walking her. However, if your dog is calmer on lead, has yet to escape a harness, and is very confident in noisy environments, you should be good to go!
And last, but most certainly not least, we have arrived at my pup’s official “On the Job” working harness: The HNTR 3.0 Dog Harness from Apline Dog Co!
My Workin’ Gal’s first visit to Michaels; a little overwhelming when we first arrived, but had totally safe and secure walkthrough thanks to the HNTR 3.0 harness by Alpine Dog Co.
HNTR 3.0 Dog Harness in Honeydew, Alpine Dog Co. Brand, $75.99 CAD
When I was on the prowl for sturdy service dog harness, I scoured the internet for weeks. I read blog after blog, searched social media posts and reels, and watched countless YouTube reviews before I finally settled on the Alpine Dog Co HNTR design. I settled on this harness after seeing it on some very large-chested, extremely athletic, rough and tough dogs on Instagram of all places. The design seemed extremely sturdy and had some weight to it, and looked very comfortable on “oddly shaped” mixed-breed dogs (at trait which Bella ascribes to.) It had multiple attachment points, 4 quick-release metal buckles, and built-in velcro patches; these were all top qualities I was looking for to suit my needs. I also wanted one that came in a bunch of fun colors or finishes, so we could have some more stylish, professional type gear.
This is one serious harness. It’s thick, well-constructed, holds its shape, and is entirely padded. Another selling point is that it has no step-in or over-the-head nonsense, meaning it’s quick to put on a fidgety dog even on my worst health days; simply put one piece on top of her back, and one under her belly, click the buckles, and go! It has room for her leash-to-harness tether, her pull handle, her leash, and then some. Plus, the velcro backing made it a breeze to customize with our favorite custom-made text patches and tags. It stands up well to all weather, and certainly had no signs of wear and tear after a good scrubbing (thanks, Bella, for rolling in animal feces and rotting critter corpse in your nice brand new working harness!)
Sizing things on my dog is a lot of trial-and-error. She is a mutt of unknown origin, with our best guesses currently being Cattle Dog, Kelpie, and Pointer, making her neck very long, her chest very wide, but her middle very slender. It’s impossible to figure out what things will look like or fit on her without a try-on, even wafter measuring. After taking her measurements and seeing she was at the tail end of the Small range, I purchased this harness in a Medium size as my best guess, but I may order a second one in a small. The Medium fits her, but it’s on the smallest adjustment with a little wiggle room. I am thinking about purchasing a small for warmer weather season use, just for a little more security. The Medium be amazing for autumn and winter weather work though when she wears layers (her thin fur and lean body shape mean she gets the shivers without outerwear) under it.
As far as comfortability in cooler weather and high heat/humidity, we’ve used this in 60F-95F degree weather and she’s had no issue with overheating or discomfort, so it’s looking like it will be a great all-weather, all-season option for us.
We’ve had this harness for a few months now, and I am in love. Overall, her behavior has been impeccable when she’s in it! Thanks to it’s weight and construction, she responds extremely well to verbal cues as well as directional guidance from the pull strap. She walks so well on this both indoors and out, that I could probably solely use the pull strap without the leash and have no issue.
As far as escape-proof, I will say she’s only managed to sneak out of it once and it required an immense amount of effort and contortionist maneuvering on her part; she did so while my arms were full of her stuff from exiting the backseat of my parents’ SUV, LOL. So it’s safe to say it’s thus far proven very escape-proof for this Gumby jointed dingus. Time will tell if she is able to figure it out, but for the most part she doesn’t seem interested in attempting it anyway! She appears to already understand that this harness means we are going somewhere exciting, and that she will need the utmost focus on mama when we get there.
Plus, not going to lie, it’s literally just an absolute head turner and we have experienced a much better response to our working service team energy thanks to its professional appearance!
As of July 2023, this colorway is currently sold out, but there are plenty of other wonderful options to choose from. Additionally, each colorway also has its own coordinating leash and collar option. While we use other collar and leash gear, I did appreciate the opportunity to get an entirely matching set. That’s always a win in my book.
The company is based in Canada, but shipped to the USA surprisingly fast, and that was a wonderful perk.
So, there you have it, folks. These are my current three favorite harness options thus far, but I’m sure they won’t be the last and only! Stay tuned for more options in the future, and we’ll be posting additional gear recommendations soon, too. Thanks for stopping by!
Your feedback or conversation is always welcomed! Feel free to recommend your favorite harness options in the comments. I’d love to see what everyone’s working with and hear how they work well for you and your pups!
