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A Duh Moment: Harnesses and Winter Coats

A Duh Moment: Harnesses and Winter Coats

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I almost didn’t post this.

It’s not a “real” post, but, something happened this weekend that kind of rocked my world and even though you guys probably already know, I feel like I should tell you. Just in case there are any goofballs out there like me, who are fussing over nothing!

Let me start out by saying that I love our harnesses and I love our coats.

They make our lives so much easier. I have one super pet peeve though: they don’t play nicely together. The leash loop on the harnesses are about an inch lower than the opening on the coats. ARGH. You can kind of Macguyver it up. If I pull on the coat just right over the harness, I can grab the hook with the leash. The only problem is that this means the coats bunch up, the velcro pulls loose and they are a pain in the tail.

I just sucked it up and lived with it, since it’s been the same problem with every leash and every harness I’ve tried.

Then, something happened that rocked my  world.

We were out walking and a friend watched me adjust Kolchak coat for the 97 zillionth woofing time. She looks at me and goes “Why don’t you just put the harness on over the coats?”

Um… why didn’t I think of that?

You put the coat on, then you put the harness on. The harness holds the coat in place.

It almost seems too simple…

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Duh. It *is* simple. Simple and totally life changing.

Has something like this happened to you? Do you have a simple solution that makes every day life with dogs easier? Spill it!

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Elyse and Riley

Saturday 1st of March 2014

I've never used a coat with Riley, and have only used a harness on a few occasions, so I can't be all like "Umm, duh, why have you been living under a rock for the last decade??" ;) I had an "Aha" moment yesterday though...now that we don't need this solution in our house anymore, of course! When Chloe was alive, she used to ALWAYS get into the trash. We tried trash cans with lids, but she was able to knock them over and the lid would pop off. Anyway, we finally resorted to using a much smaller trash can and shutting it in our cabinet, under our sink. Okay, so the "Aha" moment yesterday was this: Why in the heck didn't we just get a big air-tight dog food container, stick a trash bag down in it, and keep it out in our kitchen so we could put a lot more trash in it, but we could also securely seal the lid (I'm thinking of the dog food containers that the lids are on a built in hinge, unlike those cheapo trash cans that you just place the lid on top)? I'm sure Chloe would've still found a way to get into it, but it just seems like a much better idea than using a tiny trash can underneath our sink and having to take it our a bazillion times a week.

KolchakPuggle

Saturday 1st of March 2014

LOL, yes! So I'm not the only one then.

As an aside, did you know they sell "locking" trash cans that require thumbs to open them? There's a compression button that has to be pushed while you lift.

jana rade

Thursday 27th of February 2014

We had a challenge with Jasmine's harness and cooling vest. In her case, though, the harness itself liked to travel, so didn't really matter how we sliced it.

Jan K, Wag N Woof Pets

Thursday 27th of February 2014

We've never used coats in the past, but I would like to get one for our puppy Luke. so this is great to know...don't feel bad, I never would have figured it out on my own either! I can usually barely get the darn harnesses on right!

KolchakPuggle

Thursday 27th of February 2014

Awwwww, puppy breath! LOL, I hear you on the harnesses! I really love Felix's Quick Fit harness from EzyDog because it's sooooooo easy to put on!

http://store.ezydog.com/?avad=48627_d615d055 (<--- that's an affiliate link, but we really do use and love this harness.)

Dawn Ross

Thursday 27th of February 2014

Clever! I should have done that with Maya's coat. She doesn't usually wear a coat, but it was so cold out recently. And I hated how it fit her. If only I had thought of putting her harness on over the coat (forehead slap)!

KolchakPuggle

Thursday 27th of February 2014

I have no idea why I didn't think of it before, honestly! It makes so much sense!! Coats are such a tough thing to fit on a dog, aren't they?

Emma

Thursday 27th of February 2014

LOL! Sometimes those simple things just jump out and bite you! Good solution!

KolchakPuggle

Thursday 27th of February 2014

Thanks!

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