Why should you purchase a leather harness for your puppy?

I often hear from customers that I would like you to make such a beautiful leather harness for my dog, but I will wait until he has grown out. I always find this such a shame to hear, because it is not for nothing that I say please buy one now and when he has grown out the forever harness. In this blog I will explain to you why I think that a leather harness for a puppy is already very important.

A harness for a puppy

The model harness I make (the Y-harness) I make because all the organs, vertebrae, the trachea and the esophagus are then free while the dog wears the harness. I have written a blog about this before, then you can read more about this model harness. So if your puppy does not wear this harness or you wear a collar, it means that your puppy will get pressure from a very young age because of this. And with pressure I mean that the harness or collar then pinches the organs, vertebrae, esophagus and trachea. You understand that everything in the body of humans, but also of dogs, is closely connected to how it all works on the inside. Which means that wearing the wrong harness or collar can have consequences for the entire body.

Besides that, a puppy is of course still discovering the whole world around him and can sometimes shoot to the left or right because a leaf flutters over. These are all points why you would want your puppy to have a good harness.

A leather harness from puppies onwards

Okay, it's clear why it's so important for a puppy to wear a Y-harness, but that's not all. It is also very important that the harness fits perfectly. And then we haven't even talked about the fact that you want it to last longer than a month, so it also has to be adjustable.

I am a lover of leather and especially for dog harnesses. You want your dog to have a well-fitting harness and then you also want it to be comfortable for the dog. Because leather will completely form to the body, you create this. And for puppies or small dogs I also use very soft leather, so that this is from moment 1. You do not want your puppy who has just come home to immediately have an unpleasant association with a harness. You have some dogs that really hate wearing a harness and this could be one of those reasons. This soft leather also ensures that you do not get chafing or a matted coat.

If you see a leather harness in the pet store, it is usually made of 1 layer of leather and always made of harness leather. I love leather, but I hate harness leather. At least for dog harnesses. Because harness leather is mega stiff, because it has hardly been treated, okay that is not entirely true, it has been treated, but different from the leather that I use, but that is a whole other subject. Harness leather only becomes stiffer after 1 rain shower. And you do not want that for a harness that your dog wears every day, even several times a day. You want it to feel comfortable for your dog right away when he puts the harness on. So I make my harnesses from cowhide and always check when buying it whether it is not too stiff. I do have slightly stiffer leather for the big and strong dogs, but that also fits very nicely around the body within a week. And as I said, for puppies or small dogs you want this right away.

A perfectly fitting leather harness

And then we come to the last part now that you know why you would like to put a Y-harness on your pup and why you would like it to be made of leather. And that is that the harness also has to fit perfectly. By this I mean that you want to put about a small hand behind the front legs before the harness starts. In this way your dog has all the freedom of movement. And you create this by making a long back part and a long part that runs between the front legs. And also that the latter is adjustable.

I have not seen all these 3 points + the fact that you want the harness to be well adjustable before, but because we all harnesses are handmade in our workshop in Dordrecht  making this is possible. If you measure your puppy properly I can make sure that you can still adjust the belly, neck and the part between the front legs as much as possible so that you should be able to use it at about half a year of age. And after that it is time for a harness that is wider and also larger and therefore more adjustable.

Do you want a perfectly fitting leather harness for your puppy? Then I explain in this blog + video completely out how to measure this. Don't trust it? Then film your dog while measuring and whatsapp it to me so I can take a look with you. Do you live near Dordrecht? Then of course you can also come by appointment and I will measure the dog for you.

Love Amy