I’ve had to use a Martingale collar for him because his head is so small, he slips out of a regular collar. He’s a good pup, so a little tug is enough to get him back on track. The big problem was when he is up against his instincts. When he sees a new dog, he’s excited to go investigate.
A Martingale collar doesn’t choke a dog because it has hard stops, but it does exert neck pressure like a training collar. When he’s working on instinct, he can pull hard enough to feel choked. It’s a problem at dog parks or camping. I got him a Rabbitgoo harness. It’s a dumb company name, but it’s pretty nice and Sparky doesn’t mind wearing it.
Sparky wouldn’t mind wearing the harness full time, but I can’t pet him properly. He really likes being petted. That means to take him out in the Winter, I have to put the harness on him, then put the Carhartt jacket on him. I thought a good idea would be to combine the two and make the jacket into a harness.
Having a sewing machine is great. You may be thinking, “but Uncle Rick, sewing machines are for girls”. Sure, nice comment Andrew Tate, but have you learned nothing from Brie Larson? Anybody can do anything now.
Nylon webbing can be sewn easily and buckles and D-rings are parts that I keep in stock. I’m looking forward to customizing some tarps this spring.
When Sparky wears it, he looks a little like Inspector Gadget.
It wouldn’t have been difficult to make the jacket into a harness just by adding webbing, but I wanted the chest plate from the harness. The chest strap and belly strap were removed from the jacket. The straps on the harness had to be altered and buckles added. I threw away the top plate of the harness. The whole harness is only $20.
With the leftover belly straps, leg skirts could be added. Here they are pinned on.
It makes him look like a samurai. Mudflaps to cover the top of his ass are also possible. It was getting too busy. If I start designing outfits, we may go full battle rattle.
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