[nagdu] Dean & Tyler Harness [was: Purchasing a Guiding Harness]

[Karyn & Thane]

I have a Dean & Tyler harness (the LT version) which I had to adapt somewhat 
to work with my differences in handle hookup placement needs due to the 
wheelchair.

I will say this-- the handles are quite cheap (plastic tubing and nothing 
the quality of cpvc like On the Go/ pawpower Creations used. The handle is 
very long (20-21 inches I believe)

The girth strap also uses a 2 inch fastex (black fastener) right in the 
front leg arm pit location which would be concerning. It also doesn't always 
fasten correctly and can come loose if you don't be sure it fastened 
perfectly.

They claim there is a medium and large as far as girth is concerned but 
unless mine came from a bad batch there is only LARGE. I was able to alter 
the girth strap to a medium size for Thane, but others might not be able to 
do so.

There is no padding at all in the harness body. I added some velcro to ours 
and made Thane pads for his. I personally would not use it without.

There are things I really love about the harness though-- some are related 
to the harness as they designed it and some to the changes I made.

It does not have a martingale which means no hardware on the front or bulky 
connection of multiple straps. This was crucial for us because a lot of hard 
traffic checks due to too many distracted drivers resulted in a skin issue 
for Thane right where his previous martingale connected. It wasn't so much 
the harness as it was just too much hard fast stopping. So for me that is a 
plus. In its place I added a strap that goes around the bottom of the 
ribcage and fastens on each side near the loops for the handle. It works 
MUCH BETTER for us than a martingale strap ever did.

I love the loops-- both their smaller size and their angle.

I love how much better Thane works in this more typical guide harness 
design. There are a lot of people who say we need to eliminate this style 
harness for more ease of front leg movement, but I've found Thane works so 
much better in the more typical guide harness design than in harnesses with 
the Y front yoke of martingale and neck/ shoulder straps.

The handle as I menioned above was cheap and long (even by my standards 
which says a lot) It is also a straight handle with no option for offset or 
shorter length. For us, I just switched hardware and used my handle (On the 
Go offset style) but this may not be an option for those who don't have 
access to someone who can sew. Personally I think the price is a bit steep. 
I bought it because I needed a harness right away that was cooler for Thane 
in the summer heat.

Karyn and Thane