A small is what all our adult male Kai, as well as Kaiju, Loa, Haru, and Ahi wear. Kumi, ChoCho, and Ayu wear an xs.
A pack should carry the bulk of the weight over the dog's shoulders, not their mid section. The medium would mos def fit Ahi, Kaiju, Ritsu, Kona, and Akashi but the weight of the pack would end up more toward the middle of their back which is dangerous on long hikes (too much pressure on their spine).
We used to own a number of the medium sized webmaster harnesses for our Akita, and they fit perfect, but now we don't use a medium at all. Blue, Parka, Luytiy, and Masha wear a large. No size they make will fit Kodi, unfortunately.
With Backcountryedge.com if you are a new member you can get a coupon code for 12% off your first purchase. That makes the palisades pack priced at $79.16. I'm going to order a small and hope it fits Tikaani, his girth measures 31inches so maybe I could squeeze it on him. If not, I can try to fit it on the other two and use it for light things like empty poop bags and extra snacks.
I've read about that Brad, which is why I wanted to go with the smalls. I didn't want the weight to end up on their backs and a smaller harness and pack would put it further forwards.
I went ahead and ordered the small Approach for $52.76 after 12% off. If anything, I can modify it (like I did Conker's Approach II) so it fits Sasha better. I really like the Palisades on Juneau, and she's the more active of the two so it works better for her to be able to carry slightly more. I really want that Singletrack though, but with no dog to put in it, I didn't order one. Finding Singletracks at such a good price is hard, and unfortunately the small is too big for Conker.
How's that Omnijore thing working out? I wanted to try some sort of joring thing with Juneau but I'd probably kill myself due to her prey drive. It's insanely high and nothing has worked to get it down XP
@Losech - We picked up a few canicross belts for Christmas (Canadog brand) and it's amazing at how easy it is to keep the pups from dragging you when they pull in the wrong direction. I have Tetsu and Miyu hooked to me while Tom has Tikaani, and when they all tried to go after a squirrel, we were able to stop and remain in one spot. Since their pulling doesn't work against your center of gravity like it does when you hold the leash in your hand. We have started to do regular walks using the belt as it makes it is a lot more comfortable in general
Are you taking about skijoring, canicross or bike joring?
I think caniX is the easiest. It is really important to have a good belt. With Inu it was pretty easy, he is easily corrected if he goes too fast. He has always liked to keep the line taut and he just fell inline with my pace. Inu has pulled me into a few ditches and bushes, he can be surprisingly strong when least expected.
Inu and I are fast together so we are going to start competing in ISRDA caniX competitions later this year. We are also planning on attending the IFSS World Championships in 2013. My husband and Inu have a good chance to place in the top 5. Inu and I could place in the top 10. CaniX is a great sport. I hope it catches on more here in the US. I was thinking about organizing meets here in Spokane.
You should give it a try if your pups are healthy to run.
I am too scared to do bike joring, cause if the dog pulled you off balance that could be really ugly, same with skijoring...haha!
I've tried the bike thing, fun but hella scary. I don't have skis (and my feet stick out so it's hard to keep them inline and not do the splits, I don't think a snowboard would work either) so I guess canicross is what I'd do. That or a scooter thing, the ones with the big wheels that look like mountain bikes.
Juneau is pretty healthy and in good shape. Sasha doesn't much care for running, she will, but she doesn't find it fun. I might give canicross a shot with Juneau since it seems like it would be a lot of fun for her.
Hey guys... I've gotten some words that Ruff Wear is coming out with a new Web Master and Palisades next month (don't know about the Approach yet). A couple sites have already begun to mark down their "older" models in preparation for the new, so be on the lookout for more sales and clearances once those come out!
I got my Palisades packs in the mail and they're the old kind, which means they're just a little too big for my dogs. Phooey. I guess that's why they were so cheap.
So, I could try to sell them and get the newer ones that fit better, or I could alter them so they fit better. The front straps over the chest just need to be tighter to pull the back more over the shoulders. It wouldn't be too complicated. Or, I could just buy two new webmaster harnesses and add the buckles to accommodate the packs.
I'm leaning toward buying new webmaster harnesses because I like the new style better than the old style. The pads are nicer and I don't like that the older ones have plastic attachment rings on the back. The new ones have really solid metal rings. I could always add a metal ring, too, I guess.
@Losech How did you alter the harnesses? Anyone else modify their harnesses?
I didn't do any adjustments to the straps though. I guess you could do that by cutting the stitching on the straps you want to mod, then shortening the strap and resewing it back together like it was before. Just shorter.
Ooo, pictures and everything! Very good. I have an older Approach pack, too, so I could mod that as well. That demonstration is helpful if I decide to buy new harnesses. Really, it would just be an issue of adding the female end of the buckles to the harness. No biggie. I'm looking for deals on the webmaster harness. Know of any? I wonder if the online retailers are waiting for the new one to come out before they mark down the old one.
This site gets Ruff Wear stuff in every now and then, usually at very nice prices that lower over time. But if you wait too long someone else might buy the item you're looking at: http://www.geartrade.com/browse/dog-packs-and-accessories#b
I don't know of any other deals right now, but if I spot any, I'll post them here.
I had a webmaster small on my 30lbs Shiba... That was too big so I cut and sewed the lengths shorter.
Since I had the sewing machine out, I made clips similar to the palisades packs on the harness. I then sewed two fanny packs on light fabric. I made another pack to support a water bladder so he can carry his own water on hikes. The last pack was a somewhat weight vest where I had 6 pockets to put 1lb weight bars. I used it when we were doing strength and conditioning. I only had 4 lbs max on him.
All of the top packs were interchangeable with the web master.
I ordered that webmaster harness you linked to, @Losech. I also ordered a marked down one from Backcountry K9 for $32, and I see now that the user name for the one on Gear Trade is Backcountry, so I may have bought the same harness twice, lol. We'll see. Hopefully I end up with two harnesses one way or another.
So, I had bought last years' style XS webmaster harness for Juno, and she was growing big enough that I thought I'd soon be maxing out the front and middle straps. I ordered her a new small of the 2012 webmaster harness so she'd have room to grow. I also own a Medium from past years for my bigger dogs.
Turns out the new small is just a scootch smaller than the old medium, and maybe 2 inches longer in the body than the old XS. After several (10-12?) uses, I see that the New Style Small is too long for Juno- she looks a lot more comfortable and less interfered with in the old XS. I maxed out the straps and it fits with a little to spare- I dont think she's growing any further (I mean, she's almost a year and a half old and holding steady at 27.5 lbs for months.) On the Ruffwear website, they describe fit as ' when between sizes or for a 'performance fit' get the smaller size.' I guess I will just think of Juno as wearing a 'performance cut' harness.
The Small was as long in the body (maybe a quarter inch smaller) as the medium, but the girth straps are not as long as the ones on the old medium. So its not the *same* as a Medium, but for a lithe spine, Im liking the old XS for Juno. I think it's supposed to sit like an english saddle- nearer the withers than the actual back-
Additionally, the NEW harness has tight fabric covering the top of the strap clips, I think for smoothness, but I hate it. In my old harnesses, I can reach my fingers to pinch the clips from above or below the dog, from the same side or the opposite side. With the clips tucked up in the covering, you can only comfortably get your fingers under there to pinch the clips and release the straps if you come at them from below and on the same side of the dog. When I'm undressing dogs, I like to be able to unclip everybody from wherever I can reach and not have to wrangle them into position/bend my hands into pretzels so I can reach the clip better. The covered clips are a pain in the BUTT.
Otherwise I like the harness- its supposed to be lighter, but it doesnt seem much different to me- though I dont have one of the same size to compare it to new vs old. It is lighter than the almost-same-sized Old Medium, but thats not really apples-apples. Maybe Old - New Smalls wouldnt be apples either. Its negligible. Reminds me of when i was on a goalie forum long ago and guys would rave about how this or that new set of pads was 3 oz lighter than their old pads- was it that 3oz holding you back?
In conclusion, I will be sticking with my old-style XS for Juno. Not sure what to do with the new Small- perhaps a future slightly bigger dog will fit it, but I'll still have to deal with those stupid clip covers/pockets...Possibly I can cut them away. If anyone has a bigger dog than Juno and wants a half-price red small newstyle webmaster harness, holler at me before I modify anything! Maybe you are less fussy than me about clip access...i'm 'old' and dont like change.
Maybe you can find an older style Small that will work better than the newer Small. I know they are still out there, Conker's harness is the Web Master II (two generations ago) and I still see them in retail stores every now and then.
I'd let Ruff Wear know you don't like the fabric clip covers. They pay pretty good attention to their consumers, and maybe if enough people dislike the "streamlined" covers, they'll remove them from future lines.
I haven't gotten my hands on a newer style harness yet. I'm very good at deciding if I like something just by handling it in the store, but I haven't found one. I'd like to compare it to Conker's current, and the past model and see which I like better. I do like the Girl's harnesses better than Conker's, and since I haven't upgraded him yet, I'd like to know if I should go for the previous model, or the newer one.
I have an old style small. Actually I have two. I'll trade you. I didn't realize that I would find it annoying to have identical harnesses for dogs with different adjustments. I was going to just put little tags on them so I can tell them apart, but I kind of want to try the new one and get a direct comparison.
Or not. Upon rereading it seems like you're happy with the xs. I have an xs, too, and it's way too small for either dog. I can squeeze them in, but not comfortably.
Heidi- Ill trade you for an old style small. For one thing, I bet it is shorter in the body than the new style small. and Juno is in her summer coat now- her winter coat may be too thick for the XS to be as comfortable. Message me your address and I'll get it out to you. Tell Sosuke that the dog it smells like is his sister
Backcountry.com has a 10% off deal with 2day shipping available. What's the girth of your dogs? Our new adopted dog is 30 inches so a medium looks like in order judging by ruffwear's size. I read a few posts on this tread where a small might fit better. They are currently out of the medium and if the small fits, I'll buy it! @Calia, how is the small working for you?
The picture is the same. If you scroll down and look at the images that people put in the comments, they are a little different. They must have changed the image for the old one by accident or something.
Here is Eevee in her medium 2012 palisades pack. She likes the pack, but a size smaller would be nice. She was not comfortable with Sasuke's small web harness. Smediums would be wonderful!
I bought it in 2009. Sasuke chewed and broke the top layer and the unmodified straps barely fit Eevee when fully extender ; which us why I got a medium this time.
Eevee fits the small 2009 swamp cooler after I enlarged the head hole. Her thunder shirt is a large.
The medium harness looks fine but imho, it could benefit with a smaller pack. The saddles are a little too spread apart and it dangles too much. I also wished the weight was closer to her withers than her back. This might be fixed by adjusting the shoulder straps. I didn't want it too tight that it restricts her neck movements.
I didn't even notice Kona on the reviews! He looks like a tank.
Comments
A pack should carry the bulk of the weight over the dog's shoulders, not their mid section. The medium would mos def fit Ahi, Kaiju, Ritsu, Kona, and Akashi but the weight of the pack would end up more toward the middle of their back which is dangerous on long hikes (too much pressure on their spine).
We used to own a number of the medium sized webmaster harnesses for our Akita, and they fit perfect, but now we don't use a medium at all. Blue, Parka, Luytiy, and Masha wear a large. No size they make will fit Kodi, unfortunately.
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I went ahead and ordered the small Approach for $52.76 after 12% off. If anything, I can modify it (like I did Conker's Approach II) so it fits Sasha better. I really like the Palisades on Juneau, and she's the more active of the two so it works better for her to be able to carry slightly more.
I really want that Singletrack though, but with no dog to put in it, I didn't order one. Finding Singletracks at such a good price is hard, and unfortunately the small is too big for Conker.
Kagome excited for a walk.
How's that Omnijore thing working out? I wanted to try some sort of joring thing with Juneau but I'd probably kill myself due to her prey drive. It's insanely high and nothing has worked to get it down XP
I think caniX is the easiest. It is really important to have a good belt. With Inu it was pretty easy, he is easily corrected if he goes too fast. He has always liked to keep the line taut and he just fell inline with my pace. Inu has pulled me into a few ditches and bushes, he can be surprisingly strong when least expected.
Inu and I are fast together so we are going to start competing in ISRDA caniX competitions later this year. We are also planning on attending the IFSS World Championships in 2013. My husband and Inu have a good chance to place in the top 5. Inu and I could place in the top 10. CaniX is a great sport. I hope it catches on more here in the US. I was thinking about organizing meets here in Spokane.
You should give it a try if your pups are healthy to run.
I am too scared to do bike joring, cause if the dog pulled you off balance that could be really ugly, same with skijoring...haha!
Juneau is pretty healthy and in good shape. Sasha doesn't much care for running, she will, but she doesn't find it fun. I might give canicross a shot with Juneau since it seems like it would be a lot of fun for her.
So, I could try to sell them and get the newer ones that fit better, or I could alter them so they fit better. The front straps over the chest just need to be tighter to pull the back more over the shoulders. It wouldn't be too complicated. Or, I could just buy two new webmaster harnesses and add the buckles to accommodate the packs.
I'm leaning toward buying new webmaster harnesses because I like the new style better than the old style. The pads are nicer and I don't like that the older ones have plastic attachment rings on the back. The new ones have really solid metal rings. I could always add a metal ring, too, I guess.
@Losech How did you alter the harnesses? Anyone else modify their harnesses?
I did two types of modifications where I cut the packs of the Approach type to make a Palisades type. I used one older model and one new.
http://losech.blogspot.com/2012/01/approachisades-pack.html
http://losech.blogspot.com/2012/01/other-approachisades-pack.html
Another blogger saw what I did and modded hers as well, but did a slightly better job than me.
http://musingsofabiologistanddoglover.blogspot.com/2012/02/modifying-ebons-pack.html
I didn't do any adjustments to the straps though. I guess you could do that by cutting the stitching on the straps you want to mod, then shortening the strap and resewing it back together like it was before. Just shorter.
http://www.geartrade.com/browse/dog-packs-and-accessories#b
I don't know of any other deals right now, but if I spot any, I'll post them here.
Since I had the sewing machine out, I made clips similar to the palisades packs on the harness. I then sewed two fanny packs on light fabric. I made another pack to support a water bladder so he can carry his own water on hikes. The last pack was a somewhat weight vest where I had 6 pockets to put 1lb weight bars. I used it when we were doing strength and conditioning. I only had 4 lbs max on him.
All of the top packs were interchangeable with the web master.
I ordered that webmaster harness you linked to, @Losech. I also ordered a marked down one from Backcountry K9 for $32, and I see now that the user name for the one on Gear Trade is Backcountry, so I may have bought the same harness twice, lol. We'll see. Hopefully I end up with two harnesses one way or another.
Turns out the new small is just a scootch smaller than the old medium, and maybe 2 inches longer in the body than the old XS. After several (10-12?) uses, I see that the New Style Small is too long for Juno- she looks a lot more comfortable and less interfered with in the old XS. I maxed out the straps and it fits with a little to spare- I dont think she's growing any further (I mean, she's almost a year and a half old and holding steady at 27.5 lbs for months.) On the Ruffwear website, they describe fit as ' when between sizes or for a 'performance fit' get the smaller size.' I guess I will just think of Juno as wearing a 'performance cut' harness.
The Small was as long in the body (maybe a quarter inch smaller) as the medium, but the girth straps are not as long as the ones on the old medium. So its not the *same* as a Medium, but for a lithe spine, Im liking the old XS for Juno. I think it's supposed to sit like an english saddle- nearer the withers than the actual back-
Additionally, the NEW harness has tight fabric covering the top of the strap clips, I think for smoothness, but I hate it. In my old harnesses, I can reach my fingers to pinch the clips from above or below the dog, from the same side or the opposite side. With the clips tucked up in the covering, you can only comfortably get your fingers under there to pinch the clips and release the straps if you come at them from below and on the same side of the dog. When I'm undressing dogs, I like to be able to unclip everybody from wherever I can reach and not have to wrangle them into position/bend my hands into pretzels so I can reach the clip better. The covered clips are a pain in the BUTT.
Otherwise I like the harness- its supposed to be lighter, but it doesnt seem much different to me- though I dont have one of the same size to compare it to new vs old. It is lighter than the almost-same-sized Old Medium, but thats not really apples-apples. Maybe Old - New Smalls wouldnt be apples either. Its negligible. Reminds me of when i was on a goalie forum long ago and guys would rave about how this or that new set of pads was 3 oz lighter than their old pads- was it that 3oz holding you back?
In conclusion, I will be sticking with my old-style XS for Juno. Not sure what to do with the new Small- perhaps a future slightly bigger dog will fit it, but I'll still have to deal with those stupid clip covers/pockets...Possibly I can cut them away. If anyone has a bigger dog than Juno and wants a half-price red small newstyle webmaster harness, holler at me before I modify anything! Maybe you are less fussy than me about clip access...i'm 'old' and dont like change.
I'd let Ruff Wear know you don't like the fabric clip covers. They pay pretty good attention to their consumers, and maybe if enough people dislike the "streamlined" covers, they'll remove them from future lines.
I haven't gotten my hands on a newer style harness yet. I'm very good at deciding if I like something just by handling it in the store, but I haven't found one. I'd like to compare it to Conker's current, and the past model and see which I like better. I do like the Girl's harnesses better than Conker's, and since I haven't upgraded him yet, I'd like to know if I should go for the previous model, or the newer one.
I have a tag to send you anyway.
Backcountry.com has a 10% off deal with 2day shipping available. What's the girth of your dogs? Our new adopted dog is 30 inches so a medium looks like in order judging by ruffwear's size. I read a few posts on this tread where a small might fit better. They are currently out of the medium and if the small fits, I'll buy it! @Calia, how is the small working for you?
edit: Here is the link: http://www.backcountry.com/ruffwear-palisades-dog-pack-ruf0036
The newer model is: http://www.backcountry.com/ruffwear-palisades-dog-pack
Honestly, they look the same to me.
Here is Eevee in her medium 2012 palisades pack. She likes the pack, but a size smaller would be nice. She was not comfortable with Sasuke's small web harness. Smediums would be wonderful!
It sure would be nice if they would stick with a sizing system.
Eevee fits the small 2009 swamp cooler after I enlarged the head hole. Her thunder shirt is a large.
The medium harness looks fine but imho, it could benefit with a smaller pack. The saddles are a little too spread apart and it dangles too much. I also wished the weight was closer to her withers than her back. This might be fixed by adjusting the shoulder straps. I didn't want it too tight that it restricts her neck movements.
I didn't even notice Kona on the reviews! He looks like a tank.