Choosing your mantrailing harness
Harnesses are an essential part of mantrailing kit that allows your dog to trail safely and comfortably without restrictions on its breathing and movement. Although collars are used to move to the start and back to the car at the end of trails, they are never used during the trail itself as a matter of safety.
With such a wide variety of harnesses available it can be very overwhelming, especially if you're new to the sport and looking for your first mantrailing harness. In this blog we’ll be looking at the desired features in a harness to help you find the right mantrailing harness for you and your dog.
What does a good mantrailing harness look like?
Firstly we are looking for a harness that the dog will find comfortable, especially if your dog is going to be pulling into that harness on the trail.
The most important feature in a mantrailing harness is the overall design or style.
This will dictate how comfortable it is for the dog and how freely the dog is able to move its legs, as harnesses only cover the front half of the dog we only need to worry about the shoulders.
To allow our dogs as much free movement in the shoulder as possible, we need to have space for them to move. This means we are looking for a harness that gives plenty of space around the shoulder when viewed from the side and doesn't cut straight across the front of the shoulders.
The harness that has a straight strap around the front , often sold as no-pull harness, prevents the dog from moving their leg through the full range of movement and places stress on the shoulders and neck if the dog pulls .
This restriction in leg movement can be uncomfortable for the dog and cause injury over time, it would be like us trying to walk around with a belt tied around our thighs.
This need for movement leaves us with only one suitable style of harness, the “Y front”. These have a strap that come over each shoulder and either merge into one or connect to a breast plate.
This Y front design can create plenty of space around the shoulders allowing free movement whilst also distributing the force when pulling onto the dogs sternum, allowing it to be better distributed across the body.
The next thing we are looking for in our mantrailing harness is to reduce the likelihood of rubbing and chaffing. Here we need to strike a balance between having a harness that's so bulky it rubs and one that is so thin its cutting into the dog.
This means we are looking for something that has reasonably small parts and straps whilst also having sufficient padding to make the dog comfortable.
The next aspect we need to consider is the harness length, this refers to the length along the dogs back. Y front harnesses can come as long or short harnesses. The short harness is the one most people are used to seeing and does not extend beyond the ribs whereas long harnesses tend to finish near the base of the tail.
Long harnesses are specially designed for specific sports such as canicross and are designed to work under consistent pulling so can become uncomfortable when the tension drops. They also offer less control than their shorter counterparts.
Short type y front harnesses give us great control when we are trailing our dogs however it is important that we don't go too short, as some shorter harnesses don't allow enough free movement behind the shoulder.
So the ideal mantrailing harness will be Y fronted, be the short type but still leave plenty of room around the back of the shoulder and have narrower straps and plates that have some padding and offer us a nice connection with the dog.
The final part is the correct size, when trying a harness on you should always check how well it is fitted under pulling conditions, you can do this by holding the back of the harness and gently pulling back to mimic the dog pulling into the lead. You should be able to fit two fingers in between the dog's body and the harness.
As long as your new harness meets the outlined requirements then it will be suitable for mantrailing however there are a few harnesses that come highly recommended.
Sporty paws have a dedicated mantrailing harness and a short back harness that are both great options for mantrailing. The short back is simple and lightweight and is easy to put on, The mantrailing harness is highly adjustable making it a great fit to maximize comfort and control.
Zero DC are another brand with some great harnesses, although they don't have a dedicated mantrailing harness, their short back harness and their Easy Peasy harness are popular choices, Both are nice simple designs, the short back is a very minimal design so it is nice and light. The Easy peasy has more padding on the back so is a little more bulky but also has a useful grab handle.
Another good option is the Niggeloh harness which is a specially designed mantrailing harness thats durable and well padded and allows plenty of movement.
Julius-K9 also have developed their own mantrailing harness, this harness is well padded with plenty of adjustment options to ensure a comfy fit and good control.
Hopefully this has helped you narrow down the search for your mantrailing harness, and remember even if you dont want one of the ones weve recommended there are plenty of other harness out there that are suitable for mantrailing. Cost may be a big factor in your decision but as long you follow the guidelines above there’s plenty of Y fronted harnesses that are well suited to the job.
