Hi everyone! I hope you're all having an awesome Fit Dog Friday! Today I am so excited to share our review on the Freedom Harness from 2 Hounds Design! As you all know walking can be great exercise for you and your dog but when they pull it can be so frustrating! There are many challenges in leash walking and if your dog is reactive like mine and you're walking on a regular collar they could slip out of it or they could pull the leash right out of your hand! Not only that, it can really hurt their throat and the surrounding tissue when they pull. Contrary to popular belief, dog throats are very sensitive, just like ours! (See this article for more info on neck sensitivity) For that reason, I prefer using harnesses when we go on leash walks. The Freedom Harness is an awesome tool that helps provide extra control, while also being extremely comfortable to wear and allows the dog to move naturally. ZoePhee was given two Freedom Harnesses with their "training package" (training leashes included) in exchange for an honest review but we were not monetarily compensated.
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| Freedom No-Pull Harness |
Loose Leash Walking is one of the more challenging behaviors for me to teach. Both of my girls love to hunt for critters and sniff like crazy. They have minds of their own and teaching them to do what I want them to do can be a pain in the butt at times. Pulling is actually my biggest pet peeve! I can't stand it when they pull and we still struggle with it because it's so easy to reinforce! When the dog pulls, she gets to go where she wants to go and then pulling is reinforced and will likely be repeated. It can be a tough behavior to fix when it's really ingrained. It's so wonderful to have tools like the Freedom Harness to help train them to walk nicely! It's also great to have that peace of mind that they can't slip out of the harness!
We are huge fans of 2 Hounds Design and if you would like to read more about the company please see our previous review on their gorgeous collars! ZoePhee: Reviews 2 Hounds Design.
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| Swiss Velvet Lining Also, note the harness does not cut across the shoulders! |
The Freedom Harness
features a patented control loop on the back of the harness, that is similar to a martingale collar, which
tightens gently around your dog's chest to prevent them from escaping and discourages pulling. The Freedom no-pull Harness is made with
stainless steel hardware and four adjustment points to ensure that it is
more than strong enough to hold any size dog, from 14 lbs all the way
up to 250+ lbs. The chest strap is lined with Swiss Velvet, which helps
prevent rubbing and chaffing sores behind the legs and the straps are
all turned out to prevent sores and raw spots along the seams.
The Freedom Harness gives you better control! On the front of the harness there is a structural ring. Connecting to this ring is optional but it does allow you to connect to the front and back of the harness simultaneously. The main connection on the back of the harness tightens gently around the chest to discourage pulling behavior, while the connection on the front of the harness allows you to redirect your dog's attention back to you for training and treats.
The Optional Training Leash allows you to connect to the front and back of the harness simultaneously. Alternatively you can use the training leash to connect to the harness and a collar at the same time, providing additional control points. The training leash is a shorter leash, 3 feet in length when attached to both rings or 5 feet in length when attached to one ring. Additionally, they have a longer "Euro" training leash that you can order if you need that. The "Euro" leash is 8 feet long.
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| Patented Control Loop |
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| Clip to the front and back for better control! |
The Freedom Harness gives you better control! On the front of the harness there is a structural ring. Connecting to this ring is optional but it does allow you to connect to the front and back of the harness simultaneously. The main connection on the back of the harness tightens gently around the chest to discourage pulling behavior, while the connection on the front of the harness allows you to redirect your dog's attention back to you for training and treats.
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| Training Leash |
The Optional Training Leash allows you to connect to the front and back of the harness simultaneously. Alternatively you can use the training leash to connect to the harness and a collar at the same time, providing additional control points. The training leash is a shorter leash, 3 feet in length when attached to both rings or 5 feet in length when attached to one ring. Additionally, they have a longer "Euro" training leash that you can order if you need that. The "Euro" leash is 8 feet long.
The Freedom Harness comes in so many colors! There's a color of harness for even the pickiest of pooches! You can get your training lead to match, too! How neat is that? Zoe and Phoenix love having matching gear!
The harness comes in two widths, you can get 1" for the bigger pups or 5/8" if you have a smaller dog. I ordered the 5/8" harnesses because the girls are right around 30lbs and they are between small and medium in size.
2 Hounds Design is the exclusive manufacturer of the Freedom Harness, which is made in the USA! The Freedom Harness also comes with a chewing guarantee! They do repairs so just click on the link to learn more about that. The harness is also washable. I've washed them probably around four times since we got them in a lingerie bag in my washing machine. They come out looking perfect.
One of my favorite things about 2 Hounds Design is that they also give back to the community! They often donate products and host fundraisers for rescue animals. In the last 10 years they have donated more than $500,000 to rescue groups around the world! Isn't that awesome? I've even seen some of their products at my local shelter!
I've been walking the girls in their Freedom Harnesses for about three weeks now. I love these harnesses! They help prevent pulling without causing any sores in the armpits! We've had so much trouble with previous no-pull harnesses and their sensitive skin. It's nice to find a harness that really agrees with them. I also like that the harness doesn't cut across the shoulder. If you look at the pictures above you can see that it goes above the shoulder and allows more natural movement than any other no-pull harness we've tried. The harness fits them so well and I really like the training leashes, too. The harness was really easy for me to figure out and put on them and I didn't have any trouble with it. It's a little bit harder to adjust the fit but I like that it doesn't loosen up like other harnesses we've tried. I really like that they can't slip out of it and we've enjoyed our walks a lot more since this harness came into our lives!
I'm also really excited to try these harnesses out at dog events! We plan on going to Pet Expo in October. I love that the training leash can be attached to both the front and the back. My husband is notorious for forgetting to keep Zoe close to him when we are at these sort of events and having a shorter lead will be helpful for managing my husband's forgetfulness! It's a lot harder to train husbands than it is dogs!
Overall, I LOVE the Freedom No-Pull Harness and I would highly recommend checking it out!
ZoePhee was provided with two Freedom No-Pull Harnesses and two training leads in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine and 2 Hounds Design is not responsible for the content of this blog post.
Bailie is a big puller especially when she sees a critter, then it is really crazy and she adds in her loud hunting call making Mom crazy! We might check this out. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteZoe does the same thing, especially if there are bunnies!
DeleteVery interesting harness - I like the Martingale piece of it as I think those are effective and the double leash...good idea. Does it get any more tangled? I've been looking for harnesses, so maybe this is a good option.
ReplyDeleteI didn't have any trouble with them getting tangled. :)
DeleteLooks like a great harness. Great review.
ReplyDeleteThanks! :)
DeleteIt looks like a good harness. Are they pulling less the more you use them?
ReplyDeleteYep! It really does help. We've also been working on our LLW skills, too! :)
DeleteThe girls look great in those harnesses! I pull very badly on my leash and harnesses make it worse for me. These look like they did a good job for your dogs though. Love Dolly
ReplyDeleteLove this idea. I walk all of our dogs on harness and I'm always looking for something more comfortable for them and easy to maneuver for myself. Thanks for sharing. I look into these.
ReplyDeleteI really like the harnesses, we've had so much trouble with rubbing in the armpits from other harnesses and they would get sores. They haven't gotten any since we switched to the Freedom Harness!
DeleteWalking four dogs can be like herding cats. This looks like something to investigate.
ReplyDeleteThat does sound challenging!
DeleteKilo pulls like a bandit and is very reactive/anxious. Luckily he is quite small. I would not use collars at all. I have been using the fabric harness as it spreads the force and avoids hurting his puggy throat. However, he slipped out a few weeks ago and took off. Do you think these would work for his shape and body? X Susie
ReplyDeleteI think the Freedom Harness would be a great one for Kilo! He'd have a really hard time slipping it since it tightens like a martingale. :)
DeleteLooks like a good harness. The only harnesses we have are car harnesses!
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Oh they sound great!!!! I am always on the lookout for good no pull harnesses!!!
ReplyDeleteღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
Yeah, we really like them!
DeleteA friend of mine tried a LOT of harnesses with her reactive dog, and she couldn't say enough good things about the Freedom Harness.
ReplyDeleteThat's so awesome!
DeleteThat looks like a really interesting harness! I like the idea of the double rings. I tried a harness with Barley, but she's so oddly shaped that it's hard to find one that fits her properly. Luckily, she's really good at loose leash walking and on the rare occasion she does pull, I just stop walking until she realizes we're not moving and sits; then she's usually good for the rest of the walk. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThe girls are hard to fit with harnesses, too! We've tried so many! These seem to work really well, though!
DeleteLooks like a nice harness and a great fit for your pups! I have a tough time with harnesses on Rocco with all his fur... it's a mess! These look great, though.
ReplyDeleteOh I bet! I'm sure it's hard to brush him out after he's been in one!
DeleteI want one! I mean two! Thanks for the thorough review!
ReplyDeleteThey are really awesome! I'm very happy with mine!
DeleteAwesome review! I wished they came in a slightly smaller size though. :/ Pike is 9lbs, but could benefit from this, especially in crowds.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I bet if you contact Alisha she could make one smaller!
DeleteI would love to try one of these out just in hopes my coonhound could not slip out of it! His pulling is pretty much under control (except for rare critters) but so far I've not found a harness he hasn't manage to back out of!
ReplyDeleteI bet he'd have a hard time backing out of this harness! If you end up getting one, I'd recommend getting the smallest one that will fit him. So, basically say he has a 26" chest and you could get a large (26"-32") or a medium (22"-28"), I would recommend getting the medium and fitting it so it's snug. The top part of the martingale will gently tighten so he should not be able to get out of it.
DeleteI just recommended this harness to a friend a week ago! She's thinking about it but she also found this custom harness maker so she might go that direction. Apparently her dog is hard to fit.
ReplyDeleteShyla received a Freedom Harness as a gift from a friend when she arrived almost three years ago. We love it (and the lack of chafing at the armpits!). And, I can attest that it is durable, although we tend to use it only in town, not around our forest. Great harness!
ReplyDeleteI do the same thing! When they run out at Thousand Acres they just go in their collars but when we go on any other leash sort of walks we use the harness. :D
DeleteHmmm. I may have to consider this. I've been trying to find the right harness for Rita for ages. Right now we just use a slip lead because she's not a puller and will mostly walk beside me with a loose leash. BUT I need something that gives me control when she's being reactive to another dog. I tried an Easy Walker harness on her. Worked great on my last dog who was a huge puller (I swear she was part sled dog!) but Rita could almost leap out of it when she was reactive, and it chaffed her chest/shoulders. Since we don't really need this for the pulling, do you think it this would work well just for the odd moments when she's reactive? (which happens maybe once every other walk)
ReplyDeleteI think it would be helpful for a reactive dog and I don't think she'd be able to slip out of it because it does tighten. I also think having the two attachment points are helpful because they give you more control if they do react.
DeleteThanks - maybe I'll try one of these for her. (Love the velvet and all the color choices!)
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