Weight pull harness

I bought my dog a weight pull harness but now that I got it home the neck line looks way to small, it'll fit but it's a bit snug, could this hurt the dog? Keep in mind he wouldn't actually be pulling much weight it's more for a short work out than actual weight pulling.

 

Yes, you want a properly fitted harness. Was this a custom made harness in which you sent in your dogs measurements? If not, i'd strongly suggest doing that. If your harness was custom made, obviously sending it back for alterations/new one is the best thing to do. BrownDog Design (Missy) and ColdRiver Supplies (Katrina) are both great and highly respected harness makers in the weight pull community. You can find them both online or on FB. Also, some pics of your dog in the harness will help determine just how poorly fitted it is.

 

No, I got it from a guy I know.
Since I wouldn't be using too much weight I didn't think that having it fitted exactly for him would be too important. I'll probably see if someone can help me alter it and I'll get some pictures tomorrow. Since I live in Mexico buying one over there makes for expensive shipping hahaha.
If it doesn't work out I'll probably just get rid of it.

 

The comfortable the dog is the more work you can get out of it. That goes for a lot of things in life

 

some pics of him in it would be helpful

 

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Not sure if the pictures will be good enough if not I can get more, on a side not something I hadn't noticed before but noticed just now, it's rather difficult to get it off it gets stuck on his head.

 

From the pics it looks like a nice snug fit.

 

What worries me is the fit on the neck, it seems too tight on the neck from what I've seen on other dogs. I just don't want to accidentally hurt his neck if I use it, and I don't want it to cause any long term effects either.

 

i agree it looks pretty good. Mine is also tight around the neck, almost hard to slip over her head. But when you get him pulling some weight, it'll slide down just a bit and hug right at the base of his neck/shoulders

pictured here is a properly fitted harness for reference

 

That's great to hear actually, thanks for the help I'll get him used to it and try to post some pictures when I get him pulling!

 

remember to start small.

harness fit 101 - Harness Fit 101 - What to look for in a harness that DOES NOT FIT PROPERLY!!!

tips for starting weight pull - BDD Starting An Older Dog

 

Yes I'm gonna be very careful with that he was never intended to do any kind of work I bought him just as a pet so I will start him slow and get him used to it before I get him pulling. I myself do sports so I know what it's like to suddenly do too much as I've done it myself and with something like weights I will take it seriously. Thank you for the links, I'll do some reading on weight pulling before hand too.

 

It should be a tight fit, otherwise it will push on the shoulders

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Thank you, I already got him to walk and run just dragging his leash so he starts getting used to it, at first he wouldn't even move.

 

Find you a dead squirrel and clip the tail off of it and tie it to the end of a fishing pole and after he starts pulling weight pull it out every now and then to excite him. Work with all of my dogs and got an extra spark out of all work outs.

 

haha will do, or try to. I appreciate all the help from everyone!

 

So I had a bit of a set back today. I took him out and since he's been pulling a chain around with no problem, I found a cinder block and decided to try it. He didn't move, he kinda just sat down, my last resort was to wave a leather toy in front of him to get him to move and he did. He have a few good lunges and moved about 5 feet then he stopped again and didn't move at all after that. Could it have been too big a change in weight? I don't think he gets that he can pull things pretty easily with the harness?
Anyone have any suggestions to motivate him a bit more?

 

a cinder block is like 30lbs. I don't know the size or length of chain you were using so i can't say how big of a jump in weight it was. But for sure the shape of the cinder block doesn't pull easily on the ground. That's not gonna work unless it's in some type of cart that will easily slide across the ground. Stick to your chain weight or go garage sale shopping for some weights like the one pictured below




the key for starting out is to keep it easy and fun for him, you always want to end on a good note. Work on your technique and keeping him motivated before you work up to more weight and another good thing to have is a cheat rope connected to the weight to help get him get started if he's having issues or becoming frustrated. You'll get it, practice practice practice

 

The cheat rope is a good idea, I also do it after we run don't know of that could also be a problem

 

dragging a cinder block across the ground isn't a good idea IMO, it needs to be on a sled to allow it to slide easily.