April 1, 2014

A Ballpark Playdate & Harnessing Happiness


No fooling here - it's Ruby Tuesday! Ruby and I had a lovely, if too-short weekend - aren't they always? Our biggest news, aside from my fostering announcement that I made yesterday, is that thanks to Jessica of My Imperfect Dog, I've finally found a harness that I'm pleased with for Ruby. I've spent a small fortune trying nearly every variety there is: front clip, no-pull, easy-walk, etc. and maybe it's from my background in horses, where fit and function of equipment is of the utmost importance, or maybe I'm just extremely picky, but I was disappointed in each and every one. The front-clip are a nice idea in theory, but unless the leash has a very tiny (worryingly flimsy) clip, it's banging on the dog's chest, and the leash ends up between the dog's legs more often than not. Additionally, I found that Ruby seemed very uncomfortable with the chest strap always constricting her shoulder span, and she walked in a twisted sideways manner. Some front-clip harnesses are easily escapable so I needed to jury-rig them to her collar with a carabiner, thereby inhibiting the side-pull mechanism and putting stress back on her neck which defeats the purpose. More traditional harnesses would fit around the barrel but not across the chest, and I felt they were always riding up on her shoulder blades. When Jessica expressed those same woes in finding a harness for Silas, and we compared notes on our quirky dog-twins, I decided to give her recommendation - the Lupine Roman Harness - a try.

 

Despite Ruby's skeptical side-eye, I am thrilled to report that this harness is perfect. It's extremely adjustable, fits snugly across her chest and appropriately around her barrel, is easy to get on and off, doesn't choke her, and I think it is secure enough that it doesn't need to be attached to her collar. In fact, I've ordered an adorable matching ID tag for the harness itself.  The orange is...unmissable, and brighter than I'd like, but it was the best color to match my new favorite leash, the Alite Boa Lite. I put together several of the rejected harnesses and donated them to a local shelter, though I kept the Sense-ible (her first harness) and the Freedom that sort of fit.  Ruby's leash-walking manners leave much to be desired, so I did take her on a little refresher jaunt back in her Halti, something I plan to do once in a while. It does make a big difference, but feels like cheating. I've started being very conscious of keeping slack in the leash by changing direction or simply stopping until she checks in with me, and I am noticing some improvement. The swarms of rabbits that inhabit my complex don't help one bit. 

On Sunday, Ruby met her chug chum at our usual ball field; however, there were already about six other dogs there. Several large, rowdy ones, including a chocolate lab that was acting pretty aggressively through the fence, and what appeared to be two Shar-Pei puppies but what I think were actually Shar-Pei/Pug mixes. I didn't like the energy and could tell that Ruby was going to get overwhelmed immediately by the big dogs so we left in search of a quieter setting. We were able to find another empty ball field nearby, and although there were a few gaps in the fencing I thought as long as the dogs were focused on playing it wouldn't be an issue. Ruby ran laps with her flying disc in her mouth before giving it up for some fetching. She doesn't catch it mid-air, instead waiting for it to stop moving before she goes after it, reminding me of my non-athletic self in grade-school P.E.  She and Cosmo even played tug briefly, although Cosmo is not big on toy-sharing. Ruby's energy is boundless and I think she would have been happy to stay there for another hour, but I had a brunch date downtown.


April should be a lively month with more and more beautiful weather and the arrival of our foster potcake dog! We are also looking forward to trying yet another subscription box, courtesy of a Bugsy's Box giveaway from Lapdog Creations. I'm excited to see all of the creative posts from those of you taking part in the A to Z Blogging Challenge, and hearing about your springtime adventures!

8 comments:

  1. Dog twin could have written every word of your harness review. The behaviorist really pushed me into buying the Freedom harness, which is the most adjustable of the front-clips, and even she had to admit that it didn't fit great. Plus, she saw Silas's "panic and put both feet on the leash and start to back up" routine and immediately aborted our outdoor training session.

    I also really like the webbing size on the Lupine. Silas is usually stuck between something in 5/8" webbing, which looks way too light, and 1," which is too much.

    The ONLY thing I don't like about Lupine products is that their webbing joins are really rough on the inside. I had to put moleskin pads on the chest strap.

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    1. Do you agree that the Lupine is fairly escape-proof? I don't want to be overly-confident but I feel like it's pretty safe in that regard.

      Yes on the webbing size, too! Ruby had a really cute Up Country harness with squirrels on it in the puny width - it was donated.

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  2. I have never used their harnesses, but I love Lupine's collars and leashes, owning five different sets. They are durable, and Lupine will replace them for free.

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  3. I've been looking for a better harness, so thanks for the suggestion.

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  4. I started my old lady, Scarlette, in the Lupine Roman harness - puppy love flavor. I then moved her to the step in version. I can't remember where I read it/heard it, but something about the step in style harness was supposed to be more beneficial to dogs with separation anxiety. Maybe that same swaddling concept that the Thundershirt/Anxiety Wrap companies use? I also appreciate that she's free with one click, rather than a click and over the head.

    And I've used the martingale collar on my big girl, Savannah. And when she gnawed through the leash, they replaced it, no questions asked. We also gave several of those at Christmas for our family's whippets. I just love Lupine!

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  5. I have a horrible time fitting Bentley with a harness. They don't make many for vertically challenged Basset Hounds! I'll check these out!

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  6. Looks like a nice harness! I'm new to the world of harnesses myself, and feel like I I got lucky that the first one we've tried seems to be working out -- the 2Hounds Freedom No-Pull Harness. Not sure if that was one your list of expensive failures...

    Anyway, I've mentally flagged this Lupine one as well, since harnesses will be the way of the future for at least Bowpi.

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    1. I do have a Freedom (I had two in different sizes and kept one with a closer fit). It's one of the better ones although Ruby seems to be right in between sizes. They sure do come in great color combinations, though, and I love the velvet!

      One thing I really like about the Lupine is how the chest pieces come down in a "V" so it sits very low below the throat area.

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