Circle-E custom made mobility harness. Photos taken 03/06SERVICE DOG HARNESSES
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Sub Title: "Rain SD and my Experiences with Mobility Service Dog Harnesses"
2005 When Rain and I were with the service dog program I asked the trainer what kind of harness Rain would have to help me walk as the only types of harnesses I saw their SDs wear were nylon back packs with a short nylon handle. I was told Rain would have a back pack. I asked how she was supposed to help me walk and brace and do the things I needed if I only had a soft nylon handle to grab. That type of "harness" may have been all that a person in a wheelchair needed, but I could still walk short distances and it would not be sufficient to help me. In hind sight it was a good thing that we left the service dog program because I was then free to do my own research for a product to meet my specific needs and not having to just accept what the service dog program used.
I went on line to locate sources of service or assistance dog harnesses. I also joined an on-line service dog group from which I gained a lot of knowledge about the ADA, the Supreme Court of the United States (the SCOTUS), District Courts and their decisions ever narrowing who qualifies as disabled under the ADA, service dog issues and information about service dog harnesses. I had an idea in my head of what I needed: leather harness, rigid handle of some sort that I could use to brace.
Despite reading negative remarks from users of the Bridgeport mobility harness and really good things about the custom made LDS mobility harness, I purchased the Bridgeport mobility harness because of its low price.
The Bridgeport mobility harness comes in sizes: S, M, L. Rain seemed to be a M (medium). The fixed handle heights were 3" or 6". When standing next to Rain I could put my knuckles on her shoulders, I then ordered the 3" high handled mobility harness.
When it arrived it looked really nice and I put it right on Rain and we began to use it. Then one day maybe a week or so later I changed to a pair of clogs, they made me taller and I had to lean to grasp the 3" handle. So I ordered the 6" fixed handled Bridgeport mobility harness. The price of the two harnesses was nearly 1/2 the cost of the custom made LDS harness and I thought I was doing well.
A few weeks of using the harnesses I noticed that Rain wasn't eager to have her harness put on, in fact she began ducking her head to avoid having the harness put on her. I then began to really notice that the front chest strap of the Bridgeport harness severely restricted her shoulder motions when she went up or down stairs or got in and out of the truck. These very things were most important for Rain to be able to do. So I took the Bridgeport mobility harnesses, one at a time to a friend who repairs saddles and he followed my suggestions modifying the chest straps of both harnesses. At first Rain seemed fine using the harnesses again but that was only for a very short time. Soon she began avoiding putting her head willingly into the harnesses. Despite the modifications her full range of shoulder motion was not achievable. The negative remarks of Bridgeport rigid handle mobility harnesses rang true. I should have listened and saved my money.
I immediately took Rain's measurements as described on the LDS site and ordered Rain a custom made rigid adjustable, articulating handled mobility harness. What a difference between this LDS harness and the Bridgeport harnesses. Unlike the Bridgeport, I was able to chose the leather color and the metal of the buckles, the handle could be lengthened or shortened to accommodate me wearing clogs or low shoes, the handle could be folded down onto Rain's back when needed.
Another difference I noticed immediately was that the chest strap attached to a brass ring up on the center of her shoulders, not across her chest like the Bridgeport one. The "saddle" for the handle on the LDS mobility harness was also directly over Rain's shoulders with the girth strap set back. The Bridgeport mobility harness handle was in line with the girth strap thus the handle was behind Rain's shoulders. The placement of the handle is important as any weight placed on the dog MUST be on the shoulders. Weight on the back of the dog can permanently injure the dogs back. The padding of the "saddle" on the LDS was a honeycomb hi-tech material which wouldn't collapse and was washable. The Bridgeport harness used fleece, fake sheepskin on it which easily compressed to flat and was not washable. I had ordered the ambidextrous handle from LDS as Rain works on both sides and I can use either hand. Later I ordered the ergonomic left handle for the harness as I found I was using Rain more on my left side and the ambidextrous handle was hard on my wrist when I used it every day. The handles are very easy to exchange on the harness and I am glad that I have both the left and the ambidextrous handles. LDS recently came out with an insulated back pack that fits between the handles of their mobility harness and guide dog harnesses. I ordered one and found that it sat a little too far back for my liking so I modified it moving it forward. The pack was also too big - too deep and too tall for my liking.
A short time ago a friend who uses a manual wheelchair complained that the pulling harness handle she'd paid extra for from LDS was causing her SD to lean sideways when pulling her as the handle was out over the hips of her dog. I made a modification to her harness and Rain's mobility harness using an English leather bit converter, rolled leather and you get two in the pack for $19.95, one for her harness and one for Rain's. I attached one end to the brass ring at the top of the chest strap on the shoulders and the other to the girth strap as low on the back "saddle" as I could get it. This made it an easy to hold, easy on the hand handle that put the dog exactly along side and it was able to pull with its body straight up, not leaning away from the wheelchair.
Since I wrote the above, about the LDS harness, Rain began ducking her head not wanting to wear this harness. I also noticed that the harness handle had become unstable and thus no longer safe for me to rely on. I went looking for yet another harness and found Circle-E custom made harnesses, 2006. (See reviews of the various harnesses Rain and I have tried)
Once I was asked by someone about where to get a service dog mobility harness. After thinking about it this is what I replied: 'Mobility harnesses can be found on the web, but buyer beware because it is a real "fishing expedition". You have to know what you want out of the harness, what you want the harness to do, how the harness fits the dog, do you want or are you willing to buy an off the shelf kind - you know like the ones that only come in a couple of sizes and you try to get one that fits your dog and your needs, do you want a custom fit harness, do you want or need accessories or a special function involving the harness, do you know what material you want the harness made from, do you want a harness that takes upkeep like leather or basically no upkeep like nylon, how easy is the harness to put on and take off (this is very important in cold climate States as SDs typically toilet out of harness when they are working, or if the user had hand dexterity/strength issues), do you want or need an adjustable solid handle, do you need an articulating or adjustable handle or an ergonomic handle, etc.
These are just some of the things that one must know before buying a harness and no one but the user knows better what their personal needs and preferences are. I wish that there was just one place I could recommend where you could get answers to your questions and see/test the different harnesses out there. Unfortunately unless you belong to a group for service dogs where you have the opportunity to ask questions of users of those harnesses, you will like many of us have to go with as educated guess as you can make, trial and error and hope you don't waste too much money while trying to find the right harness that works for both of you OR hurts your dog, whether temporarily or permanently in the process before finding the harness that works well for the dog and you.
Some of the companies on the web are responsible and responsive to their customers, others are not. Some mobility service dog users have a "bad" experience with a company while others do well with the same company. Some companies have a return policy that is cancelled if you even put the harness on the dog one time but unfortunately you are not informed of that until you put it on the dog and find it doesn't fit and want to get the company to either exchange it for the proper size or make the necessary changes in the harness. The only advise I can give you about mobility harness shopping is "good luck fishing"...it's a real crap shoot. Keep in mind that Dobies are a deep chested relatively narrow built breed and harder to fit.'
Word of caution: know what your needs are for a mobility harness, what is it you want the mobility harness to do to help your mobility, before you make your purchase. Also more importantly, make sure that what you are purchasing is a mobility harness and not a guide dog harness or a tracking harness as they are totally different harness' made for totally and non-compatible purposes. One is for guiding - showing the way to a person who cannot see, one is for helping Search & Rescue keep track of their dog. The mobility harness is a specialized piece of equipment that the SD wears to assist a person with mobility disabilities where they need help in stabilization, counter balancing, bracing for stairs or curbs, even helping their team member get up off the ground when they fall, to name a few.
A lot of obedience work goes into the SD candidate before making the actual mobility harness purchase and then only after doing ones research. In preparation of that purchase additional commands, directional commands, must be taught to the SD candidate so that it can be directed once in a mobility harness.
One cannot just buy a mobility harness, slap it on the dog and expect the dog to know what is needed and how to do it. That would be like climbing aboard a horse that has never been ridden by a human by someone who has never ridden a horse before and expecting the horse to act like a calm well ridden saddle horse. It is NOT going to happen. Working in a mobility harness are the result of skills that are taught to the SD, not something that just magically happens when a mobility harness is placed on it.
Service Dog Vests/Capes
Modified padded vest from Active Dogs with custom "pockets" on both sides and several inner zippered compartments, reflective program patches, reflective zipper pulls and reflective chest strap.
Soft harness has a top zippered top pack with two reflective piping along side of outside zippered compartment and zippered compartments within, reflective program patches, reflective chest strap (not viewable from this angle), rolled leather handle, and sheepskin padding of shoulder straps to keep Rain's fur from breaking.
2005 I think that the name "vest" or "cape" are interchangeable and really mean the same thing, it is a piece of cloth material that lies on the dog's back sometimes denoting thru patches that it is a service dog or assistance dog. I use the words interchangeably but do not confuse this with a harness which is made of nylon straps or leather straps.
2006 I have now modified a padded vest from ActiveDogs by adding pockets to both sides with inner zippered compartments and made a soft harness with a small pack both can be used when in the wheelchair.
