Do-it-yourself harness for dogs: patterns, sizes, types. How to make a harness for a dog with your own hands?

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:46

Undoubtedly, walks on a harness for an animal are more comfortable than on a leash with a collar. Because it does not put pressure on the neck and allows you to breathe freely, and it is easier for the owner to control his pet.

For fighting dogs, the same harnesses are used, but of a more durable and complex design. But despite the fact that in our time there is a large selection of ammunition for dogs, if you wish, you can put a little effort and time to get an exclusive harness for dogs, made by yourself.

Materials for the production of dog ammunition

Today, you can buy such accessories for absolutely any dog: be it a Pomeranian or a Doberman. Sew a dog harness basically:

- from braid or ortalion;

- nylon;

- tarpaulin;

- velor;

- leatherette and other materials, including natural cotton fabrics.

How to choose a harness for a dog, every pet store salesman will tell you, but not always there are funds to buy it, or there is no suitable one among the assortment. Fortunately,you can sew a regular walking harness on your own. This is not at all difficult, and the model in this case will certainly suit the owner of the dog.

The main thing is that the product should fit correctly on the pet: it should not press, but only fit snugly to the body.

For dogs of medium and large breeds, harnesses are necessary in the process of training or when playing sports: for towing a skier, various dog competitions (running in a harness) or just for muscle development, etc. Do-it-yourself dog harness is sewn from fairly durable materials with a strong buckle and a carabiner: leather, thick belt or braid. However, the accessory should not be too heavy for the dog to be comfortable.

Also, you should not wear a harness all the time, because during movement a pet has a different center of gravity in it than from movement in a collar, and after training with a harness, it becomes more difficult for a dog to get used to something else, and when the need to temporarily walk without a harness, a four-legged friend will not be able to feel comfortable.

Nylon harnesses

They are much lighter than leather or leatherette. Moreover, they are the most durable and durable, not inferior to products made from other materials. To sew a fairly comfortable thing for your pet, first of all, you should decide what you need it for:

- for towing;

- for a harness (a model made of nylon without buckles and rings is appropriate here, as well as with buckles and a fastening cable).

Leather harnesses

To deal withservice dog, it is better to sew a leather product with strong and wide buckles and straps. Just make sure that the rings are well soldered, and the straps are stitched properly, so that you get a strong harness for the dog. Any pattern you like will do.

And you can make a combined model: from leather and nylon, so it will turn out to be lighter and cheaper. Buckles and rings when buying also feel free to check for quality.

For the smallest dogs

For decorative dogs, the harness has already become an obligatory accessory. For example, four-legged with thick necks, such as pugs, French bulldogs and others, are much more comfortable walking on a harness. And miniature fragile dogs with a delicate neck and a thin neck (Yorkshire Terriers, Chihuahuas, etc.) are also better off with soft velor harnesses than collars.

And you can decorate the finished product with whatever your heart desires: crystals, rhinestones or spikes, so long as the decorations do not harm the animal.

Sewing Rules

How to make your own dog harness? The most important point is that it should fit perfectly in size. In addition, the product must be designed for the physical strength and temperament of a four-legged friend, and the breed also matters. You should choose the type of harness and depending on why you need it: for ordinary walks or sports activities, for a guide dog or helping in search activities.

On what before sewingshould focus on:

- You can choose any material you like, but it must be both soft, wear-resistant, durable, and easy to wash.

- It is better to equip a harness with not one fastener, but several at once. This is necessary so that during the procedure of putting on the accessory the dog does not have a feeling of discomfort. And therefore, it is better to immediately abandon the model into which it will have to be "squeezed".

- Recall that a harness with a snug fit to the dog's body is the best, however, it should not squeeze or restrict movement in any case. And it is not difficult to check whether the size of the product is chosen correctly: you just need to put your palm between the body and the animal, and if it calmly enters, then everything is in order with the size. Also, if the harness is too loose and sagging, you need to adjust it in order to avoid injury.

- You should make sure that the straps in the upper part of the product converge with the width of the dog's back, they are not narrowed, otherwise they can cut into the body, and such a harness for the dog will cause pain. The pattern must match the parameters.

- At home, you need to take off the harness, and on the street there is no point in wearing it all the time.

- It is important to combine a harness with a collar, especially for dogs that regularly attend exhibitions. Otherwise, in the ring, your friend will experience discomfort in the collar, because the harness will have to be removed there.

How to properly measure your dog

To perfectly measure your dog, you will need a tailor's meter. Necessaryfollow the rules of measurement.

- The defining measure is the length of the back from where the withers begin to where the base of the tail is.

- Wrap around the neck where the collar is.

- Chest girth should be measured at its widest point, behind the front paws, adding 2 cm to the resulting figure for a loose fit.

Sewing instructions

Do-it-yourself harness for dogs does not require a lot of expenses, you only need:

1. Your chosen material.
2. Material for lining.
3. Soft braid.
4. Rings for fasteners.

We decide on the material for sewing the harness (for a harness for large dogs, you need to use a more durable material), whether it be leather, nylon, leatherette or something else.

1. Having measured your dog as previously indicated (under the paws in the chest area), we build a pattern with an allowance for the seams. If it is nylon - add 2 cm to the seams, if leatherette or leather - about 5 mm to the seams.

2. According to this pattern, we make a lining of soft material and stitch along the inside of the future harness.

3. We cut out the entire product and sew a soft braid around the entire perimeter. Outside, we sew the straps, and in the back area we attach the fixing rings. You can also make straps with rings to adjust the length if the dog continues to grow.

4. We think over the decoration at our discretion. Harnesses intended for decorative miniature dogs are more oftentrimmed with colorful rhinestones, stones, fabric stickers, bows, etc.

If the tailoring of the harness did not take place, do not be discouraged, few people succeed the first time. You can remake the product or sew it again, and if the lesson seems too difficult, you can order in the workshop.

Weights for harnesses

A weight harness for dogs is only necessary for large and strong animals, such as fighting or service animals. The accessory is recommended in case of an acute shortage of loads prescribed for the breed to restore the lack of muscle mass. Such a thing is ideal for training endurance in medium and large animals.

However, a harness for dogs with weights for animals under one year old is not sewn, because their bones are still in the process of formation. Otherwise, you can seriously harm the dog, and not benefit.

In general, for some breeds, increased power loads are very useful: these are pit bulls and staffords, pit bull terriers and rottweilers, shepherd dogs, etc. For such powerful animals, they came up with different ways of strength training. It has been proven by veterinarians and researchers that a weighted harness is simply necessary for dogs that are deprived of physical activity for some reason. And this kind of accessory with a load, dragged by dogs behind them, should be used by owners who want to see their dog he althy and strong. Walking and exercising with a weight harness can help you quickly gain weight, correct back arches, and strengthen your hocks.

When you canapply ammunition with weights

The period when you can wear a harness with weighting depends primarily on the breed of the pet and the nature of the training. For some, cargo is advised from a year, for others - from one and a half, for the third - not earlier than two years. Therefore, before buying this harness and starting to use it, the owner must definitely consult with an experienced trainer or at least with a veterinarian, and then clearly follow all the recommendations received.

And most importantly, a do-it-yourself dog harness with a load should be sewn by knowledgeable people, because you should take into account a huge number of nuances, and if you miss something, do not take into account, then your he alth will suffer from one wrong step pet. You need to be very careful and competent to be able to distribute the weight of the load. Cargo harness for dogs requires exclusively individual tailoring, specifically for your dog, in order to avoid big problems in the future. It is better to refuse independent tailoring of such a thing with little experience.