Julius-K9 IDC High Visibility Powerharness - 0

Julius-K9 IDC High Visibility Powerharness is the IDC Powerharness in JULIUS-K9's high visibility finish, listed here with sizes 0, 1 and 2 on the one page.

Key Features

• Goes on in one movement: The chest strap closes with hook-and-loop over its whole length and the belly strap clicks shut with a buckle. On a dog that knows the routine it is a few seconds, which is the practical reason this harness is the one so many working handlers use.
• Pulls from the chest, not the neck: The chest strap sits parallel to the leash, so the load goes into the breastbone and the muscle around it instead of into the throat. On a dog that pulls, or on any flat faced breed, that is the whole argument for a harness over a collar.
• A wide chest strap, and a chest pad if you want one: The strap is deliberately broad so the force spreads over a large area rather than biting into a narrow line. JULIUS-K9 offer an optional chest pad on top of that.
• Control handle across the back: A sewn handle over the shoulders, for holding him back at a kerb, steadying him at the vet or helping him into a car.
• Reflective stitching and a panel for patches: Reflective elements are built into the webbing, and both sides of the chest strap take the interchangeable JULIUS-K9 patches.
• Handcrafted in Europe: JULIUS-K9 manufacture in Europe and build these by hand. It is why the harness costs what it does and why a well kept one lasts years rather than a season.
• Built to be seen: A high visibility finish with the reflective elements the range is known for. The case for it is an unlit road, a car park at night or long grass, where a dark harness disappears and this one does not.

How To Measure

• Measure the chest girth, not the neck. Pass the tape right round the deepest part of the chest just behind the front legs, with the dog standing square on all four feet, and keep it snug without pulling it tight.
• Part the coat on a thick coated dog and measure to the skin, then allow for the coat when you choose between two sizes.
• Breed is not a size. Two labradors of the same age can be two sizes apart, and the tape is the only thing that settles it. Send us the measurement in centimetres if you want us to confirm before we dispatch.

The Size Ladder

• Baby 1 for a chest of 29 to 36 cm, Baby 2 for 33 to 45 cm, Mini-Mini for 40 to 53 cm and Mini for 49 to 67 cm.
• Size 0 for 58 to 76 cm, size 1 for 63 to 85 cm, size 2 for 71 to 96 cm, size 3 for 82 to 115 cm, and size 4 above that.
• The sizes overlap deliberately. Where your dog falls in two of them, take the larger one if he is still growing or heavily coated and the smaller one if he is fully grown and fine coated.

Fitting It Safely

• Two fingers should slide flat under the chest strap and under the belly strap. Tighter rubs; looser lets a determined dog reverse out of it.
• Check behind the front legs for rubbing after the first few long walks. That is where any harness marks a dog first, and a chest pad or a small change of adjustment usually settles it.
• A harness is not a car restraint. Use a crash tested travel harness or a crate in the car, and take this one off when the dog is unsupervised or crated.
• It gives you control of the body, not of the head. It takes the strain off the neck, which is the point, and it is not on its own a cure for pulling. That is training.
• Through the Dubai summer, walk early and late, keep walks short and take the harness off at home rather than leaving it on all day. Press the back of your hand to the pavement for seven seconds first, and if you cannot hold it there it will burn his pads.

Looking After It

• Hand wash in cool water with a little mild soap and dry it away from direct heat. No machine and no tumble dryer, because heat is what makes webbing go hard and hook-and-loop lose its grip.
• Brush the hook-and-loop out regularly. Hair and grit packed into the loops are the usual reason a chest strap stops holding.
• Rinse it after the beach. Salt and sand together wear webbing faster than anything else, and here most harnesses meet both.
• Look over the stitching, the buckle and the D-ring every few weeks, and look harder on a dog that pulls. Replace it at the first sign of fraying webbing or a buckle that does not click home cleanly.

Good To Know

• Three sizes on this page. Size 0 fits a chest girth of 58 to 76 cm, size 1 fits 63 to 85 cm and size 2 fits 71 to 96 cm.
• Pick the size from the dropdown before you add it to the basket, and measure the chest first.
• Takes the Large JULIUS-K9 patches, sold separately.
• If your dog is smaller than size 0, the standard IDC Powerharness runs down to Baby 1 in eight colours. Ask us what is on the shelf.
• Reflective and high visibility finishes help a driver see your dog. On an unlit road a clip-on light does more, and neither replaces keeping him on a short leash.