Sometimes No Harness Fits Perfectly - Not Even Ours. So We can Custom Manufacture as a Last Resort.

Using our own dear Red as today’s model, we can take a closer look at something that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough when it comes to dog harnesses: sometimes no standard size fits a dog perfectly.

Red is not particularly thrilled with his new modelling career, but he is willing to tolerate almost anything when treats are involved.

At a quick glance, most people would probably look at this photograph and see a handsome dog wearing a black harness. As the manufacturer of the Fluid Motion Harness, however, I see something quite different. I see some things that are exactly where I want them, some things that can be corrected through adjustment, and one important problem that adjustment alone isn’t going to solve.

Red is an American English Coonhound who currently weighs a healthy 64 pounds. He also has a body shape that makes fitting him interesting. He has a very deep chest, a thicker lower neck, and a fairly normal overall body length from the base of his neck to the base of his tail.

When Red first arrived with us about two months ago, he weighed approximately 80 pounds and wore an Extra Large Fluid Motion Harness. After losing 16 pounds, he moved down into a Large.

According to the size chart, that sounds straightforward.

His body apparently didn’t read the size chart.

1. When the Right Size Still Isn’t Quite Right

The first place I look is around Red’s ribcage.

The chest straps on this Large Fluid Motion Harness are adjusted to their maximum length, and they’re still tighter than I would like. You should normally be able to comfortably slide a finger between the webbing and the dog’s ribcage. With Red, getting that finger underneath is a fight.

That’s a problem.

A harness should be secure, but secure and tight are not the same thing. If I have reached the limit of the available adjustment and still can’t get the clearance I want, I don’t keep tightening, repositioning and convincing myself that it fits because the label says Large.

The dog’s body gets the final say.

Going back to an Extra Large isn’t necessarily the answer either. Red has lost enough weight that other parts of the XL would now be too large. This is a perfect example of why fitting a harness is about the entire dog, not simply matching one measurement to a size on a chart.

Remember this for later.

2. What That Raised Back Strap Is Telling Me

Now look at number 2.

The strap running along Red’s spine should be lying reasonably flat against his back. Instead, you can see it being pushed upward.

That tells me to look somewhere else.

In this case, I would start with the neck straps. They need to be adjusted so the upper triangle, where the neck straps and back strap meet, moves farther forward and higher on Red’s neck. In this photograph, I would like that connection sitting closer to the area where his purple collar is positioned.

This is an important part of harness fitting because the place where you see the problem isn’t always the place causing it.

I need to adjust both neck straps evenly, a little at a time, and reassess the entire harness after each adjustment. Keeping the two sides equal helps keep the harness centred rather than pulling the chest assembly toward one side.

3. The Centre Chest Position Is Actually Right

Number 3 is where things get interesting because this part of the harness is sitting where I want it.

The centre chest attachment area should sit over the upper portion of the breastbone, or sternum. On Red, that position is good.

That means I don’t want to solve the raised back strap by simply dragging the entire harness forward and creating a new problem somewhere else. Instead, I want to use the individual neck adjustments to improve the upper position while maintaining the correct relationship with Red’s sternum.

Harness fitting is a balancing act.

Changing one adjustment can affect several other parts of the harness, which is why I always recommend looking at the complete fit again after making a change.

4. Behind the Elbow Is Exactly Where We Want to Be

Finally, look at number 4.

This is one of the things that is working very well on Red. The belly strap has enough length to travel back from the sternum and position the girth strap approximately two to three finger widths behind his elbow.

That space matters.

When a girth strap sits too close to the front leg, the dog’s movement can repeatedly bring the leg and webbing into contact. Over the course of a walk, run or hike, that can contribute to rubbing and chafing around the armpit.

Red’s deep chest makes this positioning particularly important. In this photograph, the strap is sitting well behind his elbow and leaving the area immediately behind his front leg clear.

Sometimes the Dog Is Between Sizes

And this brings us back to the title.

Sometimes no standard harness size is going to fit a particular dog perfectly.

Red is a very good example. The Large gives us good positioning through several important areas and enough adjustability to correct others, but we have reached the limit of the chest adjustment. Moving him back into an Extra Large would solve that one problem while potentially creating others.

That doesn’t mean there is something wrong with Red, and it doesn’t automatically mean there is something wrong with the harness. Dogs aren’t manufactured to a size chart.

Deep-chested hounds, narrow dogs, broad-chested breeds, dogs with thick necks and comparatively small ribcages, and dogs whose proportions simply fall between conventional sizes can all present fitting challenges.

The important thing is learning to recognize what you’re seeing.

A size label is only the starting point. Look at where the harness sits on the dog’s body, check the clearance around the ribcage, look behind the elbows, make sure the sternum is properly positioned, and pay attention to straps that are lifting, twisting or being pulled somewhere they shouldn’t be.

And if you’ve used all the available adjustment and one part still isn’t right, don’t ignore it.

Remember what I said earlier about Red being between sizes?

We can make custom pieces when a standard size doesn’t quite match the dog in front of us. In Red’s case, we need to add approximately four inches to the chest straps to give us the adjustment and comfortable fit we’re looking for.

The important part is that the rest of his harness can remain a Large. The neck, belly length and overall positioning already give us the adjustment we need. There is no reason to move Red into an Extra Large and compromise the fit of the rest of the harness simply because he needs more room in one area.

Sometimes the answer isn’t another adjustment.

Sometimes the dog simply needs something a little different.

And sometimes, that means making the harness fit the dog instead of expecting the dog to fit the harness.