Hey, slightly different post. I am looking for a dog harness for hiking. Recently I read about the Ruffwear Flagline harness (https://ruffwear.com/products/dog-harness-flagline). Do any of you use them and can share your opinion? Are they much better than the usual harness with one strap under the belly?
For context, I live in Switzerland and we walk quite difficult trails in the Alps.
* Sorry for mistakes, English is not my first language.
by Nimfatus
3 Comments
Yes! Have 3 of them on rotation, would not hike with/walk my dog in anything else than a 3 point harness (the ruffwear webmaster -used also in search and rescue- would possibly be even better, but it has a paw-pullthrough construction on the front cheststrap (i.e. One sided buckle, which my dog hates) and for overnight hikes I sometimes let my dog carry her own gear in her ruffwear front range day pack which is essentially a safetyharness x backpack)
As opposed to one strap harnesses, this is a safety harness. Correctly set up, your dog cannot get out of it. If you have a buckle issue, ruffwear has a great customer support that sends replacement pieces.
And my favourite and big plus, you can also use the handle to safely lift your dog/ the harness generally allows for safe lifting, or to help your dog off where jumping may be too dangerous.
(Edit to add: we hike medium/hard Vosges/Ardennes landscape mostly, but some „actual” mountains as well, and the flaglines hold up great – So I’d say this would definitely be a model for you to look into for proper Alpine hiking as well)
This is what I use when hiking with my Rhodesian Ridgeback. I like the multiple points of contact and the handle on the back to help move her. For me, the biggest thing I pay attention to when initially fitting her with this, was making sure it wouldn’t rub on her armpits and chaf.
I use this for more control on my reactive dog on long walks/hikes. The support fits her great, better than any other harness I could find. She’s a rescue with a skinny body and pronounced rib cage. The handle on top is extremely helpful and the great fit gives me ease of mind when using it.