We prefer to use a harness for most activities with Poppy. A good harness allows a handler to control the dog without choking the dog in the process. There are many harnesses out there, all with different features, so you will have to decide what you are looking for in a harness before starting your search. For day hikes, training (obedience and agility), and going around town, we look for a harness that is light-weight and allows Poppy full mobility and range of motion. For backpacking trips and situations where we might need to assist Poppy (such as jumping over boulders or river crossings), we look for a heavier duty harness with a handle that we can use to assist Poppy over challenging obstacles.
Poppy used this harness over a period of 12 months before we wrote this review. She wore it everywhere: on walks, trail runs, day hikes, training days, and as her basic everyday harness. Our verdict: Ruffwear’s Front Range Harness is a good first harness. If you are looking for a true active or adventure harness that can be used outdoors, we would recommend Ruffwear’s Web Master Harness (if you want a harness with a handle) or Hurtta’s Adventure Harness (if you want a low-profile harness without a handle). We liked this harness at first, but after trying other harnesses, we would opt to use a different one.
Product details:
Price: $39.95
Comes in 6 colors.
Available is 5 different sizes (XXS-L/XL). Size guide available here: https://ruffwear.com/pages/front-range-harness-fit-guide
Fit: 4/5
For reference, we purchased the "small." According to Ruffwear, small fits a girth size of 22-27 inches (56-69cm). We used the size chart listed on Ruffwear’s website and the harness runs true to size. If you are in between sizes, we would recommend sizing up, but contact your customer service representative to get their recommendation for your dog. When we initially purchased the harness, Poppy's girth was 25 inches. Her girth now is 27 inches. Using Ruffwear's size chart, "small" is the correct size for her.
This harness was designed to sit up higher on the dog’s shoulders compared to other harnesses, so if you have a dog with a longer body (such as a greyhound), this harness will probably not work because it might rub behind their armpits. The harness fit fine at first but after about a year of growing length-wise (her back length is currently 21 inches long from her withers to the base of her tail) the harness now sits too high on her back and the straps sit too close to her arm-pits. Poppy still has space to adjust the straps that go around the girth of her chest as well as her neck, but the back straps rub her arm pits. It should be fine for dogs with normal or shorter body lengths (like pugs, labs, etc.)
The harness is adjustable at four points: 2 points in the front and 2 points in the back. These adjustment points ensure the right fit for your dog.
The harness did not restrict her in anyway initially and she was able to move freely when she was wearing the harness, but as her body grew longer (as described above) the harness began to rub behind her arms.
For future versions of this harness I would like to see Ruffwear move the straps farther away from behind the dog’s arms.
Design and features: 4/5
Some information below was taken directly from Ruffwear’s website.
The harness features a hidden ID pocket on the back of the harness for the dog’s name/info tag. This is useful if you don’t wear a collar, but still want identification on your dog. The ID pocket does collect dog hair and we didn’t like this.
Reflective trim that shines at night if you point a light source on the harness. A great feature at night so you and others can spot your dog.
My favorite feature of this harness is the two attachment points: 1) A sturdy aluminum D-ring located on the back of the harness and; 2) a reinforced webbing in the front, chest area. We wish all harnesses had this feature! The attachment point at the chest was great for training Poppy to walk by our side instead of pulling. It was nice to have the option to switch back and forth between the attachment points.
Note: While we had complete confidence in the D-ring located on the back of the harness, we are not sure about the strength of the front attachment point. The front attachment point is webbing with some rubber wrapped around it. We checked the attachment point regularly because we were afraid it would eventually rip off. We are happy to report that after a year of use, it hasn’t ripped off. In future versions of this harness, we hope Ruffwear updates this attachment point so that it is made of the same sturdy aluminum material as the D-ring on the back of the harness.
The Front Range harness is stylish and comes in a variety of colors (6 colors in total). We chose the purple and loved how it was a nice contrast from her coat and also dark enough to hide dirt that many have gotten on the harness.
There are two buckles around the chest area of the harness that clip/unclip. This allows you to slip the harness over your dog’s head to put it on or take it off. The straps around the neck do not unclip.
The harness is also more bulky than we would like it to be. In the winter, we like to layer a jacket or coat over Poppy and this harness adds considerable girth to the dog. The harness would have to go over any layers instead of under. If you plan to layer over your dog’s harness we recommend going with a lower-profile harness.
Functionality: 4/5
We loved how light this harness is (only about 6 ounces depending on the size you get)! The harness is strong and light. The D-ring attachment point holds up to pulling and the buckles are very secure. We are not sure if this would work for dogs who try to escape their harness as Poppy has never tried to wiggle out of her harnesses so this was never a problem for us. It was very easy to put on and take off.
This harness does require a lot of cleaning compared to her other collars and harnesses. Be ready to spend time every week cleaning and washing this harness. It is not made for an adventure dog that spends a lot of time outdoors. However, we will say that it cleans up very nicely. We hand-washed the harness and line-dried it. We just don’t like that we had to spend a lot of time cleaning it.
Quality: 3/5
This was Poppy’s first harness. It works well if you are looking for a non-technical, basic harness. For example, if you are going to use this harness for everyday walks or just around town, it will work great.
Our main complaint about this harness is the material. After a couple of months, the outer material started to fray around the edges (see photos below). In addition, the material in the inside of the harness collects a lot of hair. Even though Poppy has short hair, we had to use a lint roller at least once or twice a week to take off all the hair that stuck to the harness. The material also seems to get smelly after a few adventures. If you use this harness for adventures on trails, at the dog park, or around water, be prepared to clean it frequently. These issues were a huge pain. Poppy’s other harnesses did not need as much maintenance as this harness. Since Ruffwear markets this as an all-around adventure harness, I wish they used material that didn’t fray around the edges and didn’t collect hair, dirt, or odor.
Besides these issues, the harness held together well for a whole year. If your dog jumps in the water and gets the harness wet, it takes a while to dry while your dog continues to wear it. It seems to dry faster when it is off the dog, but the harness is not necessarily made for water activities.
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