|
|
HARNESS INFORMATION Back to Harness Page Sledding and Weight-Pulling harnesses are specially designed to allow the dogs a combination of maximum pulling power and comfort. The harnesses are designed to transfer the stress and energy of the pull to the neck and shoulder areas, where the harness is padded. Harnesses must never place any pressure on the dog's spine, particularly in the loin area where the vertebrae are unsupported by the ribs or pelvis. The energy of the pull is focussed by the harness onto bony points of the dog: the withers (shoulder blades), prosternum (breastbone) and ribs. This stops the harness from digging in to the softer fleshy parts of the dog’s body which would cause discomfort when pulling. Sledding Harnesses Sledding harnesses are designed for dogs to pull at speed, such as in sled dog races or when exercising a dog attached to a pushbike. Car or walking harnesses should never be used for this work as the harness does not apply pressure in the correct way to the dog and can cause injury. Likewise a dog should never do this work with a lead attached to a collar for the same reason. It is also important that the webbing used for harnesses is not too wide in proportion to the size of the dog. Webbing which is too wide will not sit flat as it curves around the body, and the edges will tend to dig into the dog when pulling causing discomfort. For sledding harnesses the standard webbing width is 1 inch, but for very small breeds a narrower webbing should be used. The breastplate section that runs down from the neck between the forelegs can be wider as this sits flat on the dog, and a dog with particularly prominent prosternum (breastbone) may be more comfortable with the “keyhole” or open type breastplate section. Which Style?
Harness Fit It is important that any working harness is a good fit on the dog to maximise comfort and minimise rubbing and injury. Because every dog is built differently it is best to get sledding and weight-pull harnesses made to measure to fit your dog.
Working harnesses are padded around the neck and chest areas to prevent the webbing from digging into the dog. We have tried various types of padding but have found that polar fleece padding wears the best, is easy to keep clean and is very quick to dry. We have well-used harnesses that are 10 years old with the polar fleece padding still in quite good condition, whereas we have found other types of padding have worn within a very short time with very little use. The join of the webbing at the ribs should sit just over the last rib, so it is important that this point can be located on your dog. If the last rib is hard to locate it could be that your dog is carrying excess weight which he or she must lose before doing any long distance strenuous exercise. This allows the harness to place minimal pressure on the rib cage when pulling, and therefore keep the lung cavity area free to expand.
The sledding harness should be attached to the bike or scooter with a bungee-line. The bungee-line incorporates an elastic section which takes up the shock and therefore prevents jarring injuries to your dog. This is a must for most types of harness work at speed - a static line (rope, lead or chain) should never be used. Note that a correctly fitting harness will often appear too short when it is sitting loose on the dog. Correct fit can only be assessed when firm backwards pressure is placed on the harness by pulling on the toggle loop as would be the case when the dog is pulling a load during sledding. This is the time when the maximum stress is being placed on the harness and therefore the time when injuries are most likely to happen and good fit is critical. A harness that appears to be the right length when sitting loosely on the dog will, in most cases, be too long when pressure is applied during pulling. Harness Colours
For those with a number of dogs it is important that each dog’s harness can be easily recognised, so it's a good idea if different coloured harnesses are used for different dogs or we can supply embroidered name-tags for harnesses if the team owner prefers a matching team colour. For our teams we use a combination of different colours and name-tags which allow us to quickly locate a harness for a particular dog by colour, and the name-tags allow other handlers to locate a harness for a particular dog. Weight-Pulling Harness Weight pulling harnesses are designed for pulling a heavy load for a short distance at a slow speed, as in weight-pull competitions. In these competitions the dogs pull a low trolley loaded with increasingly higher weights over a short distance of around 16 feet. Alaskan Malamutes have pulled well over 1000 kilograms in weight-pull competition, so good fit of the harness is very important.
The weight-pull harness has a lower centre of pull which is designed for pulling a trolley, and incorporates a rear spreader bar behind the hindquarters so that the rear legs are not laterally compressed when pulling a heavy load. The weight-pull harness also has additional padding around the chest area. Harness Care A well looked after harness will have an increased life-span, be less prone to wearing and will be much more pleasant for you to handle and for your dogs to wear. Unwashed harnesses become stiff, increasing the rubbing action on the dog and reducing the life of the harness. Dirty harnesses are also more tasty for your dog to chew. We wash our harnesses in a mild soap such as Wool Mix whenever they appear visibly dirty or get smelly, wring them out or spin them in the washing machine and hang them out to dry in a shady place. Here are a few tips on keeping your harnesses in top condition:
Make
sure your harnesses are still in good condition and, most importantly, still fit
before the sledding season commmences. Sledding outfitters are busiest at this
time so it’s best to get your orders in early if new harnesses are going to be
required to avoid the situation of starting the season having to use ill-fitting
harnesses.
|
The
most popular and versatile sledding harness is the X-back harness (left)
which can be made to fit almost any breed of dog. For very narrow builds of dog
the H-back harness (right) may also be suitable, but this is not a
harness for the beginner or inexperienced sled dog.
It
is important that the webbing used for the weight-pull harness is not too wide
in proportion to the size of the dog. Webbing which is too wide will not sit
flat on the dog as it curves around the body, and the edges will tend to dig in
causing discomfort. For weight-pull harnesses the standard webbing width is 1
inch, but for very small breeds a narrower webbing should be used. For very
large breeds a slightly wider webbing could be used up to a width of 1.5 inches,
and the webbing can be wider through the breastplate section which sits flat on
the dog.