Collar & Harness help.

Max has very quickly grown out of the harness I originally bought for him (a medium ezydog quickfit harness).

Being a bit of a 'bitza' he seems to be an odd size to buy things for, there's still plenty of room for girth adjustment on the harness but it's not far enough down his chest and it rubbing under his front legs. This length measurement seems to be the one measurement they don't include in their sizing charts. I did switch over to a leather collar but that rubbed his neck really badly  and I can't use his seatbelt clip with the collar either.

Can anyone recommend anything ? I'm concerned about just getting the XL harness in case it's too loose around his chest.

We have a miniature schnauzer.  When we started walking her she pulled like mad on the lead so we got a harness, made her worse. When dogs pull a collar or harness only makes it worse as it supports them so they can rear up and pull more, plus they can harm a  dog, especially choke collars.  Our Vet recommended a 'Halti'  which is like a horse halter. It goes round the snout and clips to their collar. They can still breath eat and bark BUT the moment they get distracted or pull you give a gentle 'tug' and it pulls their head to one side distracting them.  I am not exaggerating when I say that within MINUTES of using it Prue stopped pulling and behaved herself.  If we ever use a normal lead (which is rare) she goes back to her old behaviour.    Hope that helps!!!

Max's attempts to pull me lasted about 2 days, when he realised it was futile he soon gave up  People must have thought I was mad stopping every 2nd or 3rd step and changing direction  Took ages to get around the park.

I like the harness for the car, I have one of those seatbelt plug type lead, if I stop sharply it wouldn't be good if it was attached on a collar.  A body harness also give me the ability to lift his legs off the floor removing most of his traction if he gets too interested in something he shouldn't. Nothing says you've been a naughty dog like being lifted up, glared at and spoken to sharply.

I was looking at the soft neoprene collars as he doesn't wear anything in the house as he has very thin fur around his neck. If  he bolted for the door when it rang there would be nothing to grab hold of and even worse there would be no ID on him if he got out (he is chipped though).

That sounds terrible - I haven't raised an uncontrollable monster, most of the time he responds very well to my various monosyllabic grunts, especially as I've only been training him for 4 months. But given the damage he could do I don't like to take chances.

for my Ollie I bought her a perfect fit harness simply because she has a very large chest (44"), you buy the harness in separate parts - so if the neck is small and the chest big you can be sure it will fit perfectly. They aren't cheap but they are very good.

..... In fact I liked the collars so much I have ordered one! 

More retail therapy for the dog 

Collar arrived in the post yesterday - now that's what I call service! However probably not the best day to try out a snug fleece lined collar as it was so hot - she panted her way round our afternoon walk and then panted all the way through puppy class! She tends to get all her teeth out when panting (back to the slavering beast) so scared the small puppies with her impressive array of fangs!  She can look like she has someone else's dentures in!    

Good news though - no rubbing so her neck wasn't the usual pink after the class. Only thing is that as the fleece gradually compresses her collar is getting looser so I will have to keep an eye on the fit. But thanks Joyfull for the tip off!

Mekuti do great harnesses and double ended leads - you can use both ends of the lead on the harness to help with balance problems or to control pulling, have one end attached to the collar and one to the harness as a 'belt and braces' if you are worried about losing the dog or just use the lead as a normal one.  Hope you find something that works.  I have a separate harness for the car as I found the ones that seemed most secure for the car were not practical/comfortable for long-distance walking.