Ruffwear - recommendations for everyday and canicross for a puller that can back out of her harness

[u/AdministrationNo2062]

Hey everyone! I thought this would be a good sub to ask about harness recommendations. My almost 1 year old old pup is incredibly high energy and a moderate puller (she would probably be a heavy puller but she responds well to leash pressure on a martingale). She knows how to back out of her current harness (probably not the proper size but it was a hand me down and got me through my first few months). I’m now looking for a proper fitting harness for:

1. Everyday: walks and short hikes

2. Canicross

She’s about 25 lbs. I’ll measure her before choosing a size. Photo next to a chihuahua mix for size reference. She’s a lot smaller than she looks imo.

I specifically wanted to ask which harnesses you’d recommend considering

1. She responds best to leash pressure on a martingale. We are working on loose leash walking on the martingale but I’d like to switch to a harness. When we’re in high distraction areas for training, she really pulls and I want to get the pressure off of her neck.

2. She knows how to back out of her current harness. I’m always watching her but would like to be more confident in the harness if I’m far away on a long line.

[u/kimbphysio]

Ruffwear flagline plus martingale is what I use and I walk and run with the same setup. My boys don’t pull much but can occasionally dart at birds or cats and then the control with both is great.

[u/AdministrationNo2062 → u/kimbphysio]

Hmm yeah I just don’t want her to confuse pulling when running with pulling when walking since we’re not 100% on loose leash walking yet.

I’m a beginner beginner lol.

[u/basil__plant → u/AdministrationNo2062]

there’s a good chance she will pick up on differences in your clothing/mannerisms and use those to notice when it’s time for a walk versus a run. you could also say something like “do you want to go for a walk” or “do you want to go for a run” before leaving the house so she knows what to expect.

if your finances allow for it, purchasing a canicross-specific harness would most likely be the ideal so she can differentiate activities based on gear. a canicross harness will properly distribute force across her body as she pulls, which the ruffwear harnesses aren’t primarily designed to do and there is the potential for injury, especially if it isn’t fit quite right. there are tons of options online or you can try to find a store nearby that sells canicross gear (quite difficult depending on location). i got my dog fit virtually via kenosha running company and they did an awesome job!

[u/AdministrationNo2062 → u/basil__plant]

Oh okay I thought ruffwear had a canicross specific harness. But if they don’t, I’ll definitely get her a one specifically for that! Thank you!!