The first thought that many people have when they think about walking their Westie or keeping them under control while out and about is to use a collar and a lead. While the collar-lead method is a great way to do just that, it isn’t the only option.
Throughout the years, dog owners and experts have found that harnesses may be a better choice for many dogs rather than collars. This is because harnesses more evenly distribute the applied force, so you have better control with less pressure put on your dog.
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of harnesses on the market, which means that choosing one can be difficult. Today, we’ll be reviewing the Trixie Soft Dog Harness to find out if this specific type of harness is a good option to fit your current needs. We’ve found that using a harness makes sense for our Westie. Will it make sense for your pup, too?
Trixie Soft Dog Harness
The Trixie Soft Dog Harness (or, in the US, the similar one is PUPPIA) is a soft dog harness that is made to help control your pet and walk them safely while still ensuring he’s comfortable. While this type of dog harness might not be right for everyone, it’s a great option to consider.
Who Is This Product For?
This soft dog harness is a great choice for all dogs with a girth measurement between 13 inches and 23 inches, thanks to the adjustable nature of the harness. If you have a Westie like we do, this harness will likely be a great fit unless they are on the small side.
This harness is a good choice for owners who want to have a safe, comfortable way to control and train their dogs. We found that using this with our puppy as he was growing was a great way to give us full control, which helped our training attempts.
What’s Included?
This harness is equipped with an adjustable strap but doesn’t include any other accessories. There is a single clip location on the harness, and all of the pieces have a good amount of padding on them.
Overview of the Features
The Trixie Soft Dog Harness is a soft, padded harness that is made from a breathable mesh material. The combination of mesh and nylon in the harness helps to ensure that it stays fresh and is easy to wash.
The padded strap, which wraps around the belly area, is fully adjustable between a specific range of sizes, so you can easily get a snug and correct fit for your dog. We found that it was very easy to adjust the size quickly so that it would hug our Westie’s body without causing constriction.
The extra soft padding on this harness is a big part of what sold us on trying this harness on our Westie. Call us soft puppy parents, but we don’t want to be using anything on our dog that might dig into their skin or make them uncomfortable. The padding on this harness prevents that from happening.
Trixie’s harness is set up in such a way that it can be used for walks, security, or even for hooking up to a car safety belt. We’ve used ours in all three situations and found it to be easy to make use of.
Pros
- Very soft padding
- Adjustable chest sizes
- Comes from a reliable company
- Good for use during car rides
Cons
- Only one ring hook location
- Long term durability issues
Sizing Your Dog’s Harness
Before you simply decide that this harness should be the right size for your dog, it is important to do a little bit of research. This is to make sure that the sizing will actually make sense and be comfy enough for your pup to use.
We’re speaking from experience here! The first time we got our Westie a harness, we had severely overestimated how big it would be, and this made the harness all-but-impossible to use. Generally, our Westie fits into XS- or S-sized harnesses depending on the design or the brand where it came from.
Here’s what you need to know when you choose a harness for your own Westie or another dog:
- Measure your dog’s girth by wrapping a tape measure around the largest part of their chest cavity.
- Check the girth measurements on harnesses while shopping.
- Make sure that your dog falls around the middle of the girth range if possible so that you can adjust the size to be just right.
As mentioned earlier, this particular harness from Trixie is best for dogs with a girth between 13 and 23 inches. If this size doesn’t seem right for your dog, you will want to look elsewhere.
Alternatives
If the Trixie Soft Dog Harness doesn’t seem like the right one for you and your pet, don’t worry. We saw many other harnesses in our hunt for one for our Westie and have a few others to recommend.
One great option is the Louvra No-Pull Reflective Harness. This harness has multiple locations that can be used to clip into a lead, which increases the flexibility of use.
If you would be comfortable with a less padded, performance-focused harness, another great option would be the DOG & CO harness. This harness features reflective strips, which helps level up the protection your pup gets during walks at night.
Conclusion
While there are, of course, situations when we stick to a simple lead-to-collar set up when we head out on a walk, we’ve found that mixing in a harness to our walk and training sessions helped our puppy to learn better manners than we could have ever imagined him learning so quickly!
Harnesses really do help to prevent pulling, and they also put less stress on the neck area, which makes them very important to the health of your dog. Not only does a harness help to disperse pressure, but it also helps you to have more control over your Westie.
Regardless of how you have felt about harnesses in the past, give you and your pup a chance to try out a harness that can truly revolutionize your walks!
