question about pulling harness?

Ive been looking at weight pulling for a way to help keep mikey in shape and i was wondering what people with a little mor experiance in the matter think of this harness http://www.cabelas.com/information/HuntingOptics/PaddedDogPullingHarness.html
id only have him pulling between 40-50lbs would lis be ok or should i get an actuall weight pulling harness with Tbar and every thing

Jamie-
I think a lot of it depends on the kind of sled you will use to pull with. The weight pull harness really distributs the weight well then if you decide to comepete later with him you have the right harness for that as well.

In my opinion, a conventional harness is the way to go. It's just simpler because you've only got one line instead of two and it completely puts all pressure below the hips. I've never used (or seen a dog pull with) the one from the link.....my thought was that it could possibly discourage the dog from breaking the sled out because the lines would be flopping around so much....meaning more tangles and confusion. (But I suppose that wouldn't matter so much if you do a low weight.) Also, a regular harness would spread the weight more evenly across the shoulders and chest, enabling full leg movement. But, I'm just going by what I've seen and experienced.

One thing with a regular weight pull harness is that if the weight is small enough, the dog will try to take off with it, and leaping into a full stride could be problematic because his legs will hit the bar......but it's all fixed with training.

beth showed me a couple links with regular weight pulling harness and there within 10-20 dollars of the cabelas one so i probly will go with one of those then if i want to move up in weight or possibly enter an event later ill have the right
equipment.

We are getting ours harnesses from
Harnesses by Carol
she was recommended by Karen who is a weight puller and where this weekend's pull event is - in Leslie.
there are several others who make harnesses.
When we ordered she had 35 orders ahead of us, so if you order one from her it will take a few weeks.

Jim

If you're interested, I can look around and get you some contact info for a couple companies that I go through.....might be faster. Just let me know.

I see that this thread is still only one page long- So Kel has not had a chance to post on this subject yet. Hee hee. The biggest thing here is to get a perfect fit if your dog is pulling any weight at all.
Yes, our family are very strong supporters of the siwash style. With it the dog's shoulders and throat (when fitted properly) are free of restrictions. Annie does live in your general vicinity, as does the lady we have gone to for years for harnesses , backpacks (and her husband made our dogsled). Any of them could help you with fit. With the siwash, you want to make sure that the junction of the three straps (the meeting point of the legs of the Y) meet directly over the center part of the breast bones when there is tension where the harness gets hooked to your load. If that sits too low, your dog is impeded. Too high, your dog will choke himself. Another thing to watch is the location of the speader bar in the back- you don't want the dog's legs to hit the bar with a full stride (but this is easily adjusted).
I could go on and on here. I'll let Kel do that later.

Angela wrote:I see that this thread is still only one page long- So Kel has not had a chance to post on this subject yet. Hee hee.

That was funny!


I do love reading Kel's posts because they are always filled with very valuable information.

Labwake wrote:If you're interested, I can look around and get you some contact info for a couple companies that I go through.....might be faster. Just let me know.

that would be great id like to check out some others as well esspecially if people have used them before.

Matt,
I PM'd you.

Angela wrote:Matt,
I PM'd you.

BAD! NO TALKING ABOUT ME BEHIND MY BACK!

Lol, ok... I'm not going to deny that I tend to make long posts. Haha.

Anyway though... I have to agree with what others have said. The siwash style harness is really the way to go. Buckle/cross-chest style harnesses work okay for very light loads, BUT your dog's movement is going to be much more restricted and the pull is not spread out as much. With a siwash style, the dog's shoulders are completely clear, allowing for more reach and drive. If you are looking for a carting/wpull style harness without "breaking the bank" by going with one of those super-fancy types, or just want something that will work well but isn't quite as heavy duty, I would highly recommend getting a carting harness (same design as a wpull harness, but with less wide webbing) from the Edge's in GR (as she is fairly near you, if I'm remembering correctly). I'm sure Annie could direct you to some additional harness makers as well.

As for the spreader bar, like mom said, it is easily adjusted. I would recommend you request that whoever makes your harness, not attach the spreader bar themselves. Thus, you won't have an extra set of holes in the webbing should you need to change its position after trying it on. While it's not a big deal, it does make it "less pretty" and decreases its overall strength over the hole sites (although not by much).

Hmmm... I think most else has already been covered. So, this post gets to stay reasonable in length. Hehe. But, let me know if you have any other questions and I'll be glad to make this a multple page post.

THANKS EVERY BODY FOR ALL THE INFO THATS WHY I LOVE THIS SITE SO MUCH YOU CAN USUALLY GET SOME GOOD ADVICE . I KNOW IVE HEARD OF EDGE BUT ANY ONE AROUND GR KNOW WERE IT IS

JT wrote:THANKS EVERY BODY FOR ALL THE INFO THATS WHY I LOVE THIS SITE SO MUCH YOU CAN USUALLY GET SOME GOOD ADVICE . I KNOW IVE HEARD OF EDGE BUT ANY ONE AROUND GR KNOW WERE IT IS

Who, not where. That's her last name. I'll PM you her contact information as soon as I get home again... which should be in a few hours.

oops i know ive heard of a place caled the edge around gr so i was thinking the might make dog harness to

The Edge's run Frosty Hill Farm.....I'll trust that Kel gave you the contact info. I have a few more in mind if you're still interested, but I got my wp harness from Frosty Hill...tell 'em I sent you.

actuall kel hadent got back to me with the info yet so if you have it if you want to pass it on that would be great

I think Angela posted the Edge's contact info in a seperate topic, and I'm pretty sure she listed the phone number.

Another great company is Hall's. The equipment is made by Frank and Nettie Hall. Frank passed away this past winter, but I'm almost positive that Nettie still makes the harnesses. I know of a few other Hall's dealers, so I'll search around for their number and get back to you asap....I can't find a website.

I was also thinking of Thunderfeet Kennels and Sleds. The makers are Ted and Ann Nelson. I've even gotten a dog from them; they're great friends of mine. Their website is also down , but I'll call my grandpa and get their number.

I should have everything for you by tonight!

Sorry I didn't get a chance to PM you the info, Jamie. Here it is, copied from the new thread Annie mentioned:

Jamie,
I may be wrong, but I don't think Kel had a chance last night to PM you. If she already did, you can ignore this.
Perhaps
when you heard people speak of getting harnesses, etc. from Edges' you
may have thought they were speaking of a store or something. They were
probably speaking of the Edges. The husband makes the dog
sleds, the wife, Beth, makes the harnesses, backpacks, booties, etc.
They operate out of their home. They live north off of 4 Mile Road and
a way west of Alpine by a local high school. Cann't drag the name of
the school or road on which they live out of my head, but here is their
phone number:
616-784-2919
Just make sure to either measure your
dog or, better yet, bring him with you to visit them. Beth takes one
look at the dog and makes a harness that fits. Don't know how she does
that without measuring!
You can tell them the 4-H family from Oxford sent you.
Take care.
Angela

THANKS THAT SOUNDS LIKE ITS NOT TOFAR OUT OF THE WAY FOR ME ON MY WAY HOME SO ILL GIVE THEM A CALL

Number for Thunderfeet 231-957-6883. I think they're up by Big Rapids or something....it sounds right, but I'm not sure.

The Edges do make great equipment though!!





*Edited because good grammar is always nice!*

Hello Everyone

I love my CDPIT weight pulling harnesses.......
Alley Cat
Both Alley and Bubbles have harnesses



http://www.itsmysite.com/cgi-bin/itsmy/go.exe?page=2&domain=1&webdir=cdpits

Hey Melissa,

About time you came on the new UAD board. We missed you crazy girl!! Of course, you came on here showing off two members of Team Triple Threat Just kidding, you guys have every right to be proud!! Cool, those are two strong bitches Love the powered by CAT. Don't know too much about harnesses... but the padding looks real nice on those!

We will have to meet up this year, sooner than later!!


Barb and Rock

When I first saw the picture I thought they were pulling a car out of the garage.

Hey that's a great idea. I can use Rocky to move my project car in and out of the garage! Now I won't have to push it anymore and I can call it "training" or "conditioning". He will love it.

lol something like this?


Hey Barb,,,,

Yea I missed you all too. It took me some time to figure out how to log on.... geesh must be blonde. )