Eco by Lupine

In July of 2014 we were getting ready to head out for vacation.  That year we were heading to a house in West Virginia on the banks of the Potomac River and I was looking for a harness that would hold up to the river grit & grime, but was inexpensive enough that if I needed to toss it after vacation it wouldn't hurt the wallet too much.   I ended up with a Tropical Sea colored Eco harness by Lupine.

For anyone who is unfamiliar with Lupine, all of their products are guaranteed, even if chewed, and they will replace anything.  I looked through a lot of their harnesses and at the different designs, but eventually settled on the Eco because they are made from recycled plastic bottles.  What can I say, I'm a bit of a sucker for things made out of recycled products

Being made out of recycled plastic bottles, you would think that the harness would be stiff; it isn't. It feels very similar to a medium weight, nylon harness.  The color is nice and bright.  As you would expect from a Lupine product, it feels like a quality made product all around.  I got the step-in style harness, it has 3 places to adjust the fit.  Hudson is around 37 lbs, and wears the 20"-30" girth harness. Everything is sized about in the middle, but at almost 3 years old, I don't see him growing much more.

This harness took on the mighty Potomac River with ease and has quickly become my go-to harness for hiking, or any event I think he'll get gross and dirty.  If your dog is a big of a puller, like Hudson, the harness won't prevent the pulling, and if your dog pulls off to one side or another, the harness will slip a little to the left or right, but I have not had Hudson slip out of it, and don't see that as an issue.

As a side note, I also clip the poop-bag holder to the d-rings on the back and make Hudson carry his own poop bags.  Now, I do carry the full bags (lucky me!), but maybe one day I'll get something with bags to make him carry his own poop too.  

Some reviews have noted that these are hard on the edges and cause rubbing or coat breakage.  I haven't noted either of these on Hudson.  Since we use this harness on hikes, he is usually wearing it for an hour, or longer, at a time and I have not noticed any issue.  

Amazon - Eco by Lupine

Lupine's Store

Ruff Rider ROADIE Canine Vehicle Safety Harness

Hudson spends a good bit of time in the car with us.  When we picked him and his brothers up, we did a 12 hour drive from NC to NY.  A few months later, we did a 10 hour drive to Ohio for Christmas, and then then 10 hour drive back.  We made the same drive in February and again in April.  Plus, for vacation we went down to the Outer Banks area and drug him along.  All and all, he has spent a lot of his short life in a car.

When I got him, I knew that there would be a lot of trips from NY to OH and back, since that is where our family is, so I started looking for a solid, safe car harness.  Both for if, God forbid, there is an accident, and to keep him in the car until I had a leash hooked on him.  Most of our driving is interstate and I cannot imagine how terrifying it would be to have your dog get loose at a rest stop or gas station.  I also know that our cars are too small to safely secure a crate for a full grown Hudson.  So, car harness it was.  What I finally decided on was a Roadie Harness.  They are a little expensive, but I liked that they were designed for car safety first and foremost. I also liked that the car attachment was permanently attached and that it gave my 6 ft leash a little extra length.

I ordered the smallest size for Hudson because he was still an itty bitty puppy.  It was easy to figure out how to put on, which was was the front, which way was the back.  It seemed comfortable for Hudson, he didn't shy away from it like he does his EzyDog Chest Plate and it had several different places to adjust.

When he out-grew this harness, I toyed with replacing it with another Roadie, but since he was still growing, I went with a less expensive harness with a car seat attachment until I knew what his final chest size would be.  Since then, I have had a chance to think about it and I am not sure I'll be adding another to my harness roster.  Here is why.  It was a little tricky getting it on and there was a bit of tugging on his one leg to get it through the leg hole.  Definitely not something I would suggest if you have an older dog who has joint issues. That also makes it hard for me to ask anyone else to put it on him, if I was also getting ready to go outside. My other big issue with it is that, being a harness designed to keep a dog secure in case of an accident, it is the only harness I've seen Hudson wiggle out of.  We were at a park and he get his long line wrapped around a pole and in his struggle to untangle himself, he got loose!

In the end, I liked how it fit him, though a little difficult to actually get one and I liked how it looked.  If I was looking for just a general, everyday wearing harness, I would look at a Roadie, but at $50+, it's a little expensive for just a walking harness.   

As a "keeping in the car when the door is open" it definitely works well and even though there are several other harness brands with 'car attachments', I like how long the one on the Roadie is.  It gives the dog plenty of room to sit or lay down while traveling, which I think is important on long drives.  I no longer worry about keeping him in the car when I open the door, partly because I keep his leash on him the entire trip now that he is past chewing on it (dogs!) and partly because he is very good at "Wait" until I have the leash in my hand and tell him it's "Ok".

Roadie Car Harness

Ezydog Chest Plate Harness

I like this harness.  I like it more than Hudson does.  Bright colors are my favorite things, which you will notice as you see more and more pictures.  My harness is the bright, neon orange.  Neon orange anything is the best.

This was purchased in mid-February of this year and has held up really well.  It's a little dirty, but the stitching has held up great.  Speaking of stitching, it has reflective stitching, but since we are rarely out after dark in it, I don't know how reflective it really is.  It ships with a removable car seat attachment. It attaches to the D-Ring on the back of the harness, then the seatbelt is fed through the loop, and buckled.  The problem with having it detachable, I promptly lost mine.  Luckily Hudson is good in the car and I don't worry about him jumping out when I open the door.

Hudson is not super thrilled with this harness.  I don't know if it is the chest plate piece that he doesn't like, or if it just fits weird on him, but he has never liked it.  At 35 lbs, and a 24" chest, he is solidly a medium, but from the first time I put it on him, he acted like it was uncomfortable.  Normally after wearing it for a while he seems to forget about it, but every time it goes on he acts like it bothers his back.  It might be because it buckles up top, close to the spine and Small Boy has no extra meat on his bones.  This is not a harness I would replace, but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone.

Ezydog Chest Plate Harness