Blue-9 Buckle-Neck Balance Harness, Fully Customizable Fit No-Pull Harness, Ideal for Dog Training and Obedience, Made in The USA, Orange, Medium/Large

Excellent fit for a “not-shaped-like-a-lab” dog!
Love it. 3 buckles + many points of adjustment + not having to slip a closed loop over this guy’s head are the best features. An unexpected bonus is that the colored dorsal (back) strap is made of a webbing that is strong, but soft for less chance of a hand burn when using it as an emergency handle during a lunging episode. (If you have multiple nylon webbing leashes, you know the difference. They look alike, but some are perpetually stiff and just painful. This webbing is excellent.) And MADE IN THE USA? Wow. Worth a few extra dollars right there. And it’s a quality harness.This collie dog is very long bodied and lean, but deep-chested and with a smallish neck, so most harnesses are far too loose near the head, too short on the back, and can chafe his armpits. The typical padded harness is also too fat between his front legs. I want a harness that clears the whole shoulder blade for free movement, but with clip options on both chest and back. I want a harness that can’t be wriggled out of. I’d honestly prefer padded for most uses, but we also need a webbing harness for swimming and certain sports. Boy, this balance harness is terrific for all that.Yes, the dorsal (back) strap does slide around while walking, as mentioned by some reviewers, but that’s expected for a harness that is not giving structure, but rather fitting a dog’s moving body. The portion that goes around the neck needs to slide, too, right? And of course this does. Not a problem. For me, the sliding issue is just aesthetics you can get used to, and expected especially with a design that has one encirclement of the torso. A webbing harness is naturally going to provide a different experience than a more structured, somewhat stiff padded harness that brings its own architecture. Some readers will understand the imperfect analogy of a bralette versus padded underwire. Which is better? Preference.Having just the dorsal strap colored works for me. A flash of pretty, but much easier for me to work out what goes where. I’d be in a lot of trouble with just one color.One reviewer mentioned no instructions. I sympathize with anyone confused by buckles and straps, because I have great difficulty figuring such things out. But I thought the illustrated “Fitting Tips” tag that came attached to my harness to be super-helpful. Blue-9 also has a couple of very clear videos on their website and YouTube with titles like “How to Properly Fit Your Balance Harness.” Worth checking out.Mr. Slinky Dog’s favorite part? He says it’s just terrific being kitted up for a walk without having to be brave and stick his head into a thing.

Fantastic quality, Great design – difficult to explain to others
Pro Tip: take nail polish or a paint pen, and mark each set of clips on this harness so others (groomers, pet sitters, friends, children, etc) can figure out how to put it back together. I love the ability to adjust all the dimensions, and the front clip is great. Not to mention the materials will likely last for the life of our 75lb golden retriever. It is seriously well built – but ya its very confusing to assemble the first time, and anyone who isnt used to clipping it back together will struggle. The color coding helps a bit though

Doesn’t ride up into armpit area, easy to fit
This harness was easier than the 2 Hounds Freedom harness to get to fit our dog correctly and it doesn’t ride directly on her moving shoulder muscles when she walks. It hasn’t rubbed or chaffed at all on our short haired dog. While it isn’t recommended for all day wear, our 10 month old dog is adopted from a shelter and had zero training. Because she didn’t know her name/recall and would initially counter-surf, we found it ideal to keep both a harness and collar on her as she’s being trained. The harness is great insurance in case she were to slip out of a collar, and hooking onto the chest loop is great for changing her direction on walks and having no pressure on her neck if she does tug at a stimulus when excited. She walks really nicely on a leash, so I can’t say whether this harness is ideal for that or not, but holding the leash clipped to the chest area and leash parallel to the ground helps us to get her moving if she has a “donkey” moment refusing to walk. She’s been in and out of lakes in this and since there is no padding it doesn’t hold water badly. It’s super easy on/off and waring it all day until bedtime has caused her zero irritation. We really like it and plan to use it with the 2 Hounds Design Reflective Training Leash and Euro Leash.

I like how many adjustment points there are. The harness will shift when front-clipped if our dog is trying to pull. However, we are able to size it so even when it shifts, it’s not rubbing on her.This has significantly reduced her pulling. I also like that you don’t need to put it on over her head since there are so many clips. I wish our other harness (for a different dog) was like that.The only thing I don’t like is the price point. I’m sure there’s just as effective options out there that are more affordable.

This harness is very lightweight and fits my dog in the right places. I have a portuguese water dog with long wavy coat so it’s also important that the harness doesn’t tangle his hair. We have been using this for months and still looks like new and dog seems super comfortable in it! Using the front hook also improved his pulling. Worth the buy!