New "Ezydog" harness for Blue

Model dog ;-))

With our holiday to the Lake District approaching, it was time to seek out a new harness for Blue.

As Blue is not able to go off lead, both for his temperament and the safety of livestock, and some humans, previous harnesses have worked well, but his current one had a few issues. They were namely, both front feet had to be lifted into the harness and then buckled up. Some days this became a battle of wills or costly in treats, but once on, very effective. Previously it had shown signs of stress, and deformation, curling up. So time to part with a few pennies down at "Pets at Home" our local pet shop.

We settled for the "Ezydog" mainly due to the size of dog it could accommodate. Blue was in the shop with us when we brought it, along with his squeaky toy and treat. But it did not seem right to try it on in the store, and they don't have fitting rooms, so off we went home to try it on.

With the extra large fitting, it was a little snug on his chest, but by loosening up the neck it was a better fit. Adjustment is very easy with sliding plastic buckles, and fitting is a doddle, with the aid of a few treats. Two fittings were all that were required before the strap length was suitably adjusted.

Fitting could not be easier, necessitating in only needing Blue to raise one paw, and the rest did up around him.

The webbing felt softer, and with high visibility stitching would aid visibility, the breast plate sat nicely on him. Time for the true test, how would he tolerate it on a walk.

We took Blue to the local University, for a decent walk in the spacious grounds.

The harness looked comfy, and the fact that Blue was taking no notice of it, meant he was relaxed with it on. It has a metal ring suitable for attaching any lead clasp to, and both buckles make a good solid snap when pushed together.

As we walked along, the harness started to "roll" the "x" part of the lead was lying further down the shoulder on the side that the lead was being held. Alarmed at first, I just lifted it back to the centre of Blue's shoulder blades, but it soon became evident that this was happening due to the fact that, a long lead on a large dog, is going to be different to a short lead on a little dog. 

On closer inspection, the breast plate remained dead centre of his chest, the straps were allowed to move freely, but maintain position of comfort. 

Our walk was just under an hour, changing sides periodically the harness had a natural roll on either side. Design or not, my gut feeling is that it is designed to remain static. Could this be a problem for eccentric wear in the future, who knows, only time will tell.

Tightening up the buckles, may prevent "rolling" but may also impede on chest heave, when heavy breathing through excessive exercise is required.

After the walk, Blue showed no signs of distress or discomfort, no chaffing or redness on any part of his body, we vote it a success.

Cost was £22.00 so not budget range, nor top end. 

The colour black suites Blue as you can see in the various shots below.

Because Blue has his own Twitter page, @BluetheGSD he had to share with +Pets at Home 

As seen above his tweet was favourited and replied to;

With his harness off Blue was ready to play with the old "Jollyball" once more

Something different in his smile (Occam's Razor)

Say cheese

Blue was happy playing in the garden having a great time with his pool and his footballs.

Uploading his pictures onto Flickr, one stood out, he was catching bubbles, another of his favoured games.

Looking closer, his canine teeth seemed to be less prominent than they should be, so the search began, what could be the cause.

• Kong Blue has a kong stuffed with treats when we go out to work, as this is a very regular activity, could it be that he was wearing his teeth out extracting the treats.

• Ceramic bowl breakfast is served in a ceramic bowl, and Blue is often trying to remove the pattern as well as the contents

• Bones these are few and far between so unlikely to be the cause

• Logs and twigs a favourite of blues, but prefers to carry, and snap smaller twigs, again not enough to cause the wearing down on the scale seen.

• Stones no not even on his radar

Then came the eureka moment when it struck me,
 "Jollyball"
could this be the cause, lets look at the facts.

Blue plays with this ball every day, sometimes several times a day, the ball is hard and durable, designed to be virtually indestructible, though now it is showing signs of serious wear and tear. Blue has managed to put a hole in it and change its shape. His canine teeth will be the main point of contact.

To ensure there is no further wearing down of his teeth, the "jollyball" will be semi-retired, out of sight, out of mine and a more tooth friendly alternative introduced into Blue's world.

The "JollyBall" has been a great success with Blue, sadly too successful. To other dog lovers, I highly recommend this ball with a caution, not to overuse.

Excuse the pun, but I may be barking up the wrong tree, but it is the only remaining viable explanation.

Occam's razor

It is often understood as 

"the simplest explanation is usually the correct one" 

until a greater explanation is found