I hate the current harnesses I have for my dogs. They're Petwhatever specials and hit in all the wrong places, don't fit well, don't have good handles, etc.

Anyone have any good ideas on where and what to get? At one tournament, I saw a team that had these sort of net or mesh harnesses, which I though would be great for distributing the stress, etc. At a Colorado tournament, a saw some kind of harness that instead of a loop around the neck and a loop around the chest joined by straps was sort of loops around the shoulders that buckled at the top.

Any suggestions, thoughts, or input?

I think the mesh type harnesses are made for small dogs. When I needed one for my last dog, the largest size they made fit him and he was only 30 lbs.

Just curious: what do you use the harness for? Is it to hold the dog prior to release? My team doesn't use them, so I've been wondering about this whenever I see a reference to a harness for racing.

I use it to hold onto them while going to the lanes, drag them back away from the lanes, hold them at the sidelines when we're waiting to start, and for the boxloader to hold them for recall warmups. I don't like holding them by a collar or leash, because of the stress on their necks. Also, a leash just ends up being something I forget to pick up when we leave the lanes. When I am actually lined up in the lane, I hold the dog just in front of its knees, besides, that really isn't an issue because they glue themselves to the matt in the start position until cued to run.

Thanks. I hate a mystery.

Back to the subject of harness types. Cetacea makes a step-in harness that clips at the shoulder blades (I thought the brand was Denali, but I found it on a google search under Cetacea: http://www.cetaceacorp.com/step-in-harness-c64.html). Gentle Leader makes a front clip harness that gives more control when the leash is on. I like both harnesses, except that the front clip harness didn't fit Zeb well in front. (he doesn't have much of a chest).

I have the same concern about stress on the neck. After Zeb had a cyst on his neck, I've been worried about anything putting too much pressure there in case it left scar tissue. I still haven't found the perfect solution for walking nicely to the race lanes yet.

I use this harness on Mandy (50lbs). For me it seems a little too heavy duty, it could be lighter. If you use a stubby leash on it, you have to connect both the D rings and it's a bit of a stretch for a regular clasp. It fits well, and we'll use it till I find something I like better.

The problem I see with a harness is if you don't use one from the beginning it takes a long time for the dog to use to it. It seems like it restricts their movement. The dogs that have always used one don't seem to have the same problem.

I was training a dog a while back and I notices that he was jumping funny and not stretching out. I ask the owner about it and the dog had never worn a harness before. As soon as we took it off, problem solved. He started jumping better and was stretching out better too.

Jake is a big boy and I always used a harness. He gets REALLY excited in the lanes and I had a hard time holding him

I was at a flyball seminar earlier this year.

One of the first things they told me was "Burn the harness. How would you like to run in a girdle?"

So no more harness. I asked around and got some feedback on how to hold him. So I tired the suggestions and harness no longer needed.

I use this on Fran:
http://www.planetdog.com/ProductInfo.as ... 0HARNESSES

Regular harness rubbed her bald armpits bright red (even making her bleed by the end of day Sunday) and too much padding irritated her as well. This has just a little padding but is still lighter.

She also didn't start off in a harness (and started Flyball when she was 3) but we started using it while playing ball, at practice - got her used to running in it and now she wears it at tournaments and at practice.

She would choke herself on her collar pulling while waiting on the sidelines and until I released her during races. She also has very thing fur on her neck and would have bright red skin on her neck at the end of the day.

Also, I have some repetative stress issues with my wrists and trying to hold back 57 pounds of pit bull muscle with a collar was too hard. Now if my hands are hurting I can loop my forearm through the back strap while we're waiting between heats.

Our other dog did not adjust well to the harness and so we changed him over to a wide (2 inch) collar. It's working well for both him and my Honey.

I don't think that one type of collar/harness/restraint device is either all good or all bad. It depends on what works for the dog - try out different thing and see what works and use it.